Avian Flu Pandemic A Near Miss In December
After reading this post by Sally O'Reilly I sit stunned. The Avian Flu outbreak last year was just like the movie. Literally. Millions upon millions could have died. (9%) A pandemic was just barely averted. It was too close for comfort.
Read the true life adventure story here.
Read the true life adventure story here.
posted by bruce | 5/28/2005 02:15:00 AM
1 Comments:
Bruce, I've posted on this topic a couple of times based on information I have from my day-job. The most recent post was http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1115653866.shtml, and contains links to related Web sites and posts. The most conservative estimate of deaths in the U.S. from an avian flu pandemic is 1.7 million (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services) based on the percentage of the population that contracted and subsequently died from the 1918 Spanish flu (the avian flu - H5N1 - is virtually identical in design and effect to the 1918 virus). This number sounds too incredible to be true, but the case is compelling when you look at how this was derived. Furthermore, since our population density is greater and we're more mobile now these projections could well be especially low.
There are many medical and scientific blogs tracking developments, and a good place to start is http://avianflu.typepad.com/avianflu/. In addition, someone very knowledgeable and concerned about this issue works near you: Dr. Michael Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota.
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