Heads up: What will kill Birmingham first?

A race between swine flu and lost jobs

View H1N1 2009, swine flu, in Alabama in a larger map

U.S. Steel announced earlier today that it plans a temporary shutdown of its Fairfield plant, which employs 2,000 workers. Shutdown and restart dates were not announced. The plant is one of the company’s five (out of seven) North American operations shutting down.

But back to swine flu for a moment …

Health officials announced the first likely case of swine flu in Jefferson County on Saturday. They also confirmed that one Madison child did in fact contract swine flu (see “Heads up: Alabama reports two possible swine flu cases”).
Shelby County announced its first case of swine flu on Tuesday, later identified as a student at Inverness Elementary, which does not plan to close. (The federal government no longer advises schools to close in case of swine flu.)
Overall, Alabama has 25 cases, with 21 in Madison County. The strain of swine flu has turned out to be milder than previously thought.

Above is a map with confirmed and probable swine flu cases in Alabama.

So what’s hurting us more: economic meltdown or mild bug? Or both?