... of Mexico City's population of 20,000,000 is represented by the 150 amigos who've died of swine flu?
I see your point. "Pandemic" is a scary word -- probably too scary for this disease. One person might use the word to mean "in several countries" but not necessarily common or deadly. Another person might hear "pandemic" and think that many people all over the world will die from it.
I doubt that most people could tell you the difference between "epidemic" and "pandemic." (I had to look it up myself, just to be sure.) And I doubt that everyone is using "pandemic" in the same way.
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