Avian flu paranoia

There seems to be a lot of bird flu reports. So why haven’t I post anything about it? Because (1) it’s been talked about relentlessly (2) I can’t find a decent photo to go with the topic [until now] and (3) live conversations are much better than mono-blogging ones, but I must give some links for you worrying folks out there foreseeing the near apocalypse. That pic above is the Influenza A virus, the virus that causes Avian flu, by the way. It is hard to say if these are new occurrences or the general climate is now more permissive to admitting a problem. But it is not just birds. Scientists announced that they have sequenced the virus that caused the 1918 flu pandemic, in which tens of millions of people around the world died. Bird flu has been spreading in bird populations across Asia.

Vietnam had 400 dead ducks in southern Bac Lieu province, where almost 40% of its estimated 1.1 million fowl were vaccinated in recent months. The government claims to have vaccinated 56 million out of a targeted 156 million poultry already. Vaccination is controversial because there is some concern that while it prevents the animals from getting sick, it may not prevent them from becoming infected and shedding virus and their immune status prevents easy identification of infection. Vietnam has killed an estimated 50 million birds since the resurgence of the virus in 2003. Malaysia, China, Russia: Indonesia, and Thailand, too, is reporting a new death, its 13th. Then there is India, where the government declares no bird flu at all in south Asia or India in particular. Yeah, right. Romania and Turkey announced the discovery of bird die-offs, consistent with a bird flu.

So that's what's happening. Whether it all means that the apocalypse is imminent is a question that I dont' know the answer. The question is: what do y'all want to do about it? For many of you, and of course for me, the answer is "nothing." Preparation is expensive (prohibitively so for many people) and, besides, it's a pain in the buttocks. However, it's worth a look and a read to be informed. I recommend navigating over to Effect Measure There is a section on pandemic preparedness for those of you who must know. Also, I find the blogger Phantom Scribbler to have much informative details on this topic. If you have stocked Tamiflu in combat with the avian flu, think again. And now, a photo link that will make you cry. Stay healthy!