Sen. Sam Brownback said Tuesday that the possibility of a swine flu pandemic was a major reason he supported Gov. Sebelius’ nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

But the next day, his Kansas colleague, Sen. Pat Roberts, issued a statement suggesting that the threat of a pandemic was being overblown, particularly by the news media.

"…I have to say that I do not think the 24 hour news cycle is doing (the swine flu issue) justice and is unnecessarily creating fear among the American public and some of our trading partners,” Roberts said in the statement.” If you watch the newscasts on this issue, you'd think a pandemic was already occurring. Bottom Line: The American people need to be aware and able to protect themselves from the H1N1 virus, but we don't need to terrify them.”

Roberts said a Senate committee on which he serves had inaugurated several steps to head off any flu-related pandemic.

"This Committee has done much to help better prepare us for a response to an outbreak of this, or any other virus. One of the efforts I'm most proud of is legislation I introduced with Secretary of State Clinton when she was the Senator from New York.”

That legislation, called the Influenza Vaccine Security Act, “will better prepare us for any vaccine development, distribution, and tracking that might occur due to this virus,” Roberts said.

While panic isn’t justified, Roberts indicated the situation was serious.

“We are clearly prepared, but I want to caution that while this is serious, we should not be overreacting,” he said. “Millions of Americans get the regular flu every year that can result in tragedy. This new virus is real and it must be treated seriously.”

Roberts also took issue with the term "swine flu," which he said unfairly points a finger at farmers and ranchers in Kansas and elsewhere.

“Every time some reporter or politician calls this the ‘swine flu’ they are doing a disservice to agriculture producers in Kansas and throughout this nation,” Roberts said. “Call it what it is: The H1N1 virus. Quit trying to blame it on farmers and ranchers and current production practices. These claims do not hold water.”

Wednesday, with the number of outbreaks around the world still quite small but increasing, the World Health Organization raised the alert level to 5, indicating a pandemic is "imminent."

- Phil LaCerte

The Week in Review