It was definitely global: and the material reference India and Rome specifically.
I suspect your thinking to the Heavens Gate cult (which is a different incident) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28cult%29
> Well don't you think there's a difference between 1910 and now?
Yes. I never implied there wasnt! The effect of fear is still the same - and though the response has changed it is intriguing.
> The only difference is that there are still a lot of people in Eastern countries who are backward.
You've brought "backward" into this: im uncomfortable with that. Quite where I have suggested any form of backwardness (???) is a bit of a mystery - you've made an assumption I think (my fault: I was too objective in the original statement). I also call bull shit. There are lots of "backwards" people in the world irrespective of culture. No more or no less in Eastern countries. I cant believe you would suggest as much!
There actually is an important difference: but not the one you identified. It is to do with Stigma. In Europe especially there is a HUGE stigma about suicide. In 1910 it was even more so. There was almost certainly terror but the suicide rate was lower (if not almost non-existant) because doing so was bad.
I've noticed that stigma is less apparent (but not, note, non-existent) in some parts of Asia. This I would suggest identifes
> A lot of people live in slums, and these are more likely to catch the virus once it has spread.
You make a superb point and I agree. I havent seen "on the ground" but it would be interesting to see the reactions of those living in slums compared to, say, middle class business men. From previous observations I would suspect that a more "hysterical" reaction would be in the business persons with the others taking a more liberal view.
And note we are talking about panic: which is a bad thing in these circumstances. If it is, as you say, confined to those coming from abroad then mass panic seems overkill. Concern, planning and education is the better approach (but everywhere has fallen foul of that).
But here were on a discussion of panic and hysteria: where I was sort of talking more about how reactions to that manifest.
Here in the UK there has been NO reaction even in the slightest bit similar to that in India, China and lots of other regions (Italy again strikes me as one to join that group from what I have read). A lot of the media hype has met with cynicism. There was some hoarding of Tammiflu but that died off very quickly when people weren't really dying of it. Every few weeks now the media try and whip it all up again but it's not sticking.
I find these to polar reactions interesting: and it really does appear to me that culture is the overriding factor in all of it.