MetaFilter posts tagged with H5N1

You Got Transmissibility in My Lethality!

drdanger — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:06:22 -0800

In a hot lab in the center of Lyon, space-suited virologists want to create a superflu as contagious as H1N1 and as lethal as H5N1. Why? So nature doesn't get there first.

Bird flu spreads in Asia, jump in cases

Quiplash — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 08:17:52 -0800

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 :-)

Bright Birds That Eternally Flu

salvia — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 13:46:21 -0800

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.

Is H5N1 flu transitioning to human-to-human transmission?

chakalakasp — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 01:30:31 -0800

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.

Harbin, Benzene and H5N1

[expletive deleted] — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:39:57 -0800

Government is a Brand, Whether You Like it or Not: Officials in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, likely with the knowledge of the central government, lied to the public about the toxic spill that forced Harbin to shut off its water. A chillingly illustrated real time account reveals how the coverup was exposed amid a panic in Harbin. A PR man in Beijing discusses how this could result is a serious loss of public trust in the government of China, and how behavior like it compromises China's transition to a market economy. This story lends credence to the theory that China is not being honest about H5N1, previously discussed here. Has China learned nothing from SARS?

Don't fear the (bird) reaper

docgonzo — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 06:28:18 -0800

Evolutionary biologist Paul Ewald, author of The evolution of infectious disease and an expert on the development of pathogen virulence (see this, this and this for a good intro), responds to this editorial in Scientific American and pours cold water on fears of pandemic influenza.

H5N1, shmaitch5N1

Eothele — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 08:35:05 -0800

Dengue in Texas. If it ain't the flu, it's the haemorrhagic fever. Disease info from WHO, CDC, Wikipedia.

Personal Pandemic Preparedness Plan

stbalbach — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 16:52:52 -0800

Personal Pandemic Preparedness Plan.

Bird flu

jeffburdges — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 09:11:25 -0800

What is really going o n ?

Fears growing that an H5 pandemic is likely

spock — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 17:49:00 -0800

"Fears growing that an H5 pandemic is likely" A followup to 37271 (Dec. 2004) - “It appears this virus is progressively adapting to an increasing range of mammals in which it can cause infection, and the range of disease in human beings is wide and clearly includes encephalitis.” The New England Journal of Medicine says "These cases suggest that the spectrum of influenza H5N1 is wider than previously thought." The WHO is encouraging the stockpiling of bird flu vaccines now. There is concern in Britain that they are not moving fast enough.