| Monday, October 17, 2005 |
| Bird Flu (H5N1 Avian Influenza) |
I'd like to commit the next few posts to the topic of the bird flu. My intentions are not to scare but to inform. Here are is a short list of tidbits that are rattling around in my head:
- Pandemic - Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population.
- The bird flu has infected 119 people since the first case was detected in Hong Kong in 1997. It has killed 60 people in Asia.
- The so-called Spanish flu of 1918-19 is thought to have been an avian flu. The Asian flu of 1957-58 and the Hong Kong flu of 1968-69 were bird flu diseases that passed to humans and then mutated to the point of passing between humans.
- H5N1 avian influenza re-emerged in Korea in 2003. It has now been found in birds in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
- The World Health Organization predicts that this strain of flu will make 25 million people sick and will kill 7 million.
- This morning, Greece confirmed its first case of bird flu was detected on a turkey farm on the island of Chios. It has also been found in wild fowl in Romania and Serbia.
- Switzerland's Roche Holding AG has developed a pill called Tamiflu to reduce the severity and spread of the flu. Good luck finding it on the retail market because entire nation's are banning its retail sale.
- The US could buy the flu vaccine and have it ready for many of the "high risk" citizens in 6 months. A news report I heard said that 6 months may not be enough time.
- The US Government is contemplating using the military to enforce a quarantine of affected areas.
- Heather and I have discussed stockpiling groceries just in case. Be prepared, right?
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posted by Joe Napalm @ 1:47 PM   |
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| 1 Comments: |
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I am already feeling a little light headed and warm after reading this post...
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I am already feeling a little light headed and warm after reading this post...