Strains of influenza come and go every year. And they kill people — between 100 and 200 a day during flu season.

So naturally, people are asking questions. What is the big deal about the swine flu? Is it somehow more horrible than any case of the flu?

The Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization say most cases of the H1N1 virus — the official name for it — are mild. We can all relax.

The worry comes from how unusual this virus is and how widespread it has become.

But the fear comes from looking at history.

A pandemic in 1918 called the Spanish flu was mild when it first appeared, but it struck severely in the fall. In many places, society nearly disintegrated. Read the book “The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History” by John M. Barry.

The good news is that, unlike many places in 1918, health officials care a great deal about getting the word out about what is happening. The truth helps keep society together when fear strikes. In Barry’s book, he describes places where officials opted to keep secret what was happening because of concerns about the war effort. People began to take an every-man-for-himself attitude.

According to Barry, in places where the truth was told, people worked together. It’s an interesting book that sheds light on the importance of people learning the truth.

So forgive the health officials and the media workers who bring you every detail of this influenza virus. It’s for your own good.

Here’s some good news: Scientists have learned the H1N1 flu is less virulent than imagined. It is similar enough to common strains that most people should be immune.

Still, officials will track the progress of the virus as it treks through winter in the Southern Hemisphere so they can be prepared for its return to the Northern Hemisphere when the cold weather strikes.