The latest statement from WHO is that we should not stop being concerned about the threat of H5N1 despite the lack of recent fatalities and MSM coverage. I wonder if it is now a case of keep a watchful eye on it but do not get overly worried? maybe we have seen a natural decline in H5N1 infections in humans?
Maybe we have. As a general person I have no idea how these thing’s go away. This is what we want to happen= Yay!!!
WHO: Bird Flu Pandemic Threat Remains High Contributed by William Angelos| 17 September, 2006 20:31 GMT
Many months of warnings and media attention revolving around a bird flu pandemic that has not yet materialized may have caused the public to tire of hearing about the issue, but the threat is still high, according to the World Health Organization. Bird flu has gone global in the past year, spreading beyond East Asia to Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“The virus seems to be very embedded in the environment and, in our view, the risk of a pandemic continues unabated,” said Richard Nesbit, WHO’s acting regional director for the Western Pacific, speaking to reporters prior to the agency’s regional meeting. The fifty-seventh session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Western Pacific will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from 18 to 22 September 2006.
In the worst-case scenario, 70 million people could die in a flu pandemic.
Bird flu is expected to be a main topic on the meeting’s agenda. The H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed at least 144 people since late 2003, and it tends to become more active during the cooler winter months.
New outbreaks among poultry in Cambodia and Thailand, along with continuing problems in Indonesia, are fueling worries. Indonesia reportedly has detected the virus in 260 of its 444 districts. Southeast China is another area of concern. Still, a best-case scenario in which the virus does less harm than in past years is possible.
Vietnam, for example, has made significant progress in combating bird flu, Nesbit noted. Although it is second only to Indonesia in the number of fatalities on record, there has not been a human case of H5N1 in Vietnam since November 2005. The country attributes its success to mass vaccination of poultry and strong political will.
China and Indonesia have stepped up efforts to improve monitoring of animal health in recent months.
At present, bird flu is not highly communicable to humans. Most cases have been the result of direct contact with infected birds. The great fear is that the virus could mutate into a form that easily transmits from one infected person to another. Although this warning has been delivered for so long that people may be tiring of hearing about it, the threat is undiminished, Nesbit emphasized.
A severe flu pandemic could cost the global economy up to US$2 trillion, the World Bank estimates. Developing countries would be worse hit, with mortality rates expected to double those of high-income countries. The World Bank announced a US$15 million grant to Indonesia to help counter the threat there.
70 million is “worst case”… geez, wish it were only that bad.
The Joker – at 00:20
How do you possibly take from the WHO warning that we shouldn’t get overly worried? Why do you think WHO felt it was even necessary to send out such a warning in the first place? IMHO, WHO is worried that the MSM and public are becoming numb to the message when they should be at their most vigilant.
In our instant gratification world, the slow burn that leads to pandemic far exceeds the attention span and imagination of the general public, and that is what WHO is warning against.
The WHO warning makes me MORE worried not less.
Exactly Green Mom and Edna Mode. The fact that the WHO is being so candid now is REALLY disconcerting, and has all my alarms going off. Of course, my mind always goes from “if they are actually saying this, what is it that they are NOT saying”? That’s what worries me most.
WHO can’t seem to win for nothin’. to warn or not to warn - they don’t seem to be believed either way now - too late, they squandered their reliability/credibility. so frustrating that we have to figure out for ourselves what is going on. where are all the experts in this - why hasn’t some “big name” (celebrity? power monger? hero-status seeker even would do) that would more likely than political figure be listened to get on board with this? is it because it isn’t spectacular enough? why do we have to wait for tragedies to begin in earnest before they really get serious and loud? if it was about oil would it have more voice (maybe not - the credibility of “oil peak” seems tainted as well). maybe they figure they can’t win anyway (it is so daunting) so why not just enjoy the ride while they can? so much for grand leadership. I see several heros in the making here on the Wikie, from my perspective…