I hate being blase about tragedy but what's with this Swine Flu?

We were all going to die from the Bird Flu and SARS. Now we're all going to die from Swine Flu?

Really?

This morning on the news they said the first person, sadly a little child, has died in the US of this flu. However, they also qiuetly mentioned that in a normal year 36,000 people die of flu in the US. That's a lot of people and the rabid newsreaders don't usually scream about it year in, year out.

I'm just confused about the rise and fall of these "super" flus. They seem to bugger up already struggling economies (previously in Asia, now Mexico). But in the end they never end up being all that bad, in comparison to what normally goes on with flu every winter around the world.

So what's up? Is it just a case of distracting us from what is really happening in the world? Is it just poor media coverage/journalism (I know that one would be a big surprise for everyone!)? Is it just another round of social/health panic which seems to sweep us all up every few years?

Any ideas?