August 29 Flu Update
Man, its the slowest weekday in a long, long time.Ulster has 100,000 doses of Tamiflu coming shortly.
Also in Ulster, farmers are meeting with the government to discuss bird flu restrictions.
The Russians are implementing bird flu guidelines.
Also in Russia, they say the cost of bird flu has been 38 million rubles.
The CDC plans to seek public comment on its flu pandemic plan.
The Marin Independent Journal in California has this on the potential pandemic.
Utah is preparing for a pandemic.
Effect Measure is asking where the Democrats are on the pandemic.
Crofsblogs has the reports from Finland, which continue to confirm LPAI....or exhaustion.
posted by Orange @ 10:16 PM
5 Comments:
I don't mind slow 'flu' news, if it reflects what is actually going on in the world. Unfortunately, I think media outlets are just losing interest until something dramatic happens and that the stories will pick up again very soon (flu season is almost here!)
The CDC and PHAC are inactive for "off season" until October, likewise EISS. However, see my blog for a link to EISS avian flu map dated 24 Aug 2005.
I'm sort of confused about the bird flu. We don't even know if it will ever mutate right? So everything could be just fine. But it could mutate as soon as september?. What are the chances of that happening though?. If they were high I think we would be getting more information and preparation for it.
Stephanie--As always, thanks for looking in. There are always little ebbs and flows in the coverage, but this is unusual for a weekday. I do think you are right, to the MSM it doesn't seem like anything new is coming up.
Matt, thanks for looking in, and thanks for your interest in learning more about the flu pandemic. I guess I would answer your good questions this way.
First, it will mutate sooner or later. We have always had flu pandemics and we always will. What the scope of the disease is, and what the toll is, that remains to be seen.
As for starting as early as this September, I think that's probably looking unlikely. But, we may not be very far away.
I like to make this analogy for people. If you have seen the movie War Games, there is the part where Joshua (the computer) is trying to guess a password. It just keeps throwing combinations up until it hits the right one. That's what the highly unstable RNA based flu virus does every day, in millions of birds. No one knows when the virus will hit the right combination.
As for getting more information from the government, most of the people who post here are very critical of the preperation going on around the world, and especially in the US. Recombinomics, Effect Measure, CIDRAP and others all feel strongly that the governments of the world are substituting hope for preperation.
Finally, if the bird flu hits, and if it is of 1918 caliber, there will be widespread and serious suffering.
But, Matt, keep checking in. Look at what people say and make your own mind up. We're always interested in your comments.
Thanks Orange,
I check back on this site whenever I can. It's really interesting to see what the developments with the flu are. I am getting a better understanding the more I research. Keep it up!.
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