Bird Flu Pandemic
Places to Research Bird Flu Pandemic Information
Besides our feature article, A good place to start your reading on the coming bird flu pandemic is at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The U.S. has set up an official site at pandemicflu.gov, maintained by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, which includes many planning checklists and accurate data.
The World Health Organization has information (including an RSS feed) at
their site.
From the bird's side of things, the National Wildlife Health Center has bird flu info
here.
Another site that has a wealth of info about preparing for the pandemic is the
National Vaccine Program Office. I found their article on Influenza Pandemics: How They Start, How They Spread, and Their Potential Impact a very interesting read. Other articles give a history of other pandemics. The World Health Organization has a similar preparedness site here.
If you would like to have more information in book form, here are 2 ebooks I suggest you consider:
- Bird Flu Survival Guide, written by Stephen Jones, an Australian Biologist. It is 25 pages, easy to read, clear and concise. Just $US14.95.
- How to Prepare for the Bird Flu, which is $US25.77 and includes a variety of bonus material, including access to a members only website.
Recent News Items
As the fear of a potential bird flu pandemic mounts, researchers have used a computer model to figure out the best way of controlling a pandemic should it occur.
Forbes article.
The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 killed 40 million people worldwide, including 650,000 in the United States. Adjusted for 2006 populations, that would translate into about 100 million deaths worldwide today, with 2 million of them in the U.S. If an avian influenza pandemic reached the U.S. today, depending on the flu strain and other factors, the results could be as devastating as the 1918 outbreak, or the virus strain might be benign with no symptoms at all, Dr. Stephen Harrison, emergency medicine specialist at University Medical Center at Princeton, said at an avian flu training workshop for area EMTs hosted Monday night by UMCP's Emergency Department.
Uncertainties dominate hospital workshop on flu pandemic.
Two years ago, the CIO of Microbix Biosystems Inc was shocked at how little public information there was about preparing for a possible bird flu pandemic that could kill millions of people, and cripple global economies. What he did next is outlined in this news item.
Read what farms do to help keep poultry diseases away, an issue that is getting increased attention as the virulent H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to make headlines.
Click here.
Bird flu cases worldwide topped 200 after a dozen people were confirmed to have been infected with the virus in Egypt, the World Health Organization said.
Click here to read the article.
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