No need to panic, but perhaps there's a need to
stay on top of the still-evolving H5N1 (bird flu) situation.
"
Infections in birds and people are increasing, particularly in Asia,
where the virus was first identified a decade ago. Viet Nam, Hong
Kong, South Korea, Japan and Nigeria reported diseased birds in the
past month, while Indonesia, China and Egypt found new human cases." (quote from
International Society for Infectious Diseases report, Feb. 16, 2007).
If keeping track via
FluWiki or the many
discussion groups isn't your thing, you could just check for the
the flashing red chickens every so often :-)
posted by Quiplash
on Jan 17, 2007 -
25 comments
Bird flu update: "At this moment, birds that travel flyways in Asia, where most bird flu cases have been found, are mingling with birds that fly through North America." Officials in
Kansas and
Ohio warn it will arrive this fall, as those birds fly south for the winter on North American
migration pathways. The Onion jokingly predicts the
government's response.
posted by salvia
on Apr 9, 2006 -
23 comments
Is H5N1 flu transitioning to a human-to-human illness? Recent
reports of familial clusters suggest that it may be, though there are certainly other possible explanations, such as families living in environments contaminated by virus-laden bird feces. On the other hand, it would seem that epidemiologists are growing increasingly interested in the possibility that these clusters are indicative of human-to-human transmissions. Further, the virus may be inching towards being asymptomatic, which isn't as good as it sounds: if people can carry the virus and transmit it to others without showing symptoms, it will be very difficult to impossible to tell who is a vector and highly difficult to control any emerging epidemic.
posted by chakalakasp
on Dec 2, 2005 -
23 comments
