The World Health Organisation (WHO) is now warning that the spread of swine flu is "unstoppable".

The warning comes after the WHO raised the pandemic alert from 5 to 6 just last month and governments across the world have been stepping up precautions against its spread.

But, it does not seem to have made any impact on the general public as life goes on as normal.

We ask: Is the threat as serious as it sounds? Or has it been exaggerated by the media and pharmaceutical companies? And are we ready to confront it?

Jane Dutton discusses with guests: Ian Schofield, an analyst at Scripnews.com, a leading global pharmaceutical news website; Nasr-Eldin Tantawy, a medical epidemiologist, and Debora MacKenzie, a journalist at New Scientist Magazine and an expert on flu viruses.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Monday, July 6, 2009.