No News is . . .


Well, actually there is news. It just has been pushed off the front pages by a barrage of other stories. Bush in India/Pakistan. A tit for tat civil war brewing in Iraq. The Oscars. . .

Somehow, over the past few days, Avian Flu has fallen by the wayside among the mainstream media. Perhaps it's the lack of access to the hot zones, after all, many are in remote (and dangerous) areas of the world. Iraq, Nigeria, Indonesia, China . . . none of which are exactly reporter friendly.

Still, the threat continues to grow.

International avian flu specialists gathered in Taipei yesterday to give an update on the spread of the disease.

Masato Tashiro, director of the Department of Viral Diseases and Vaccine Control at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, warned that cases in which the virus transmitted from birds to humans had begun to rise recently and human-to-human virus transmissions are likely to be seen in the near future.

"Avian-human transmission happens sporadically, but the number of cases are increasing," Tashiro said, "Flu viruses are constantly undergoing mutations, which could result in human-to-human virus transmissions, which is the worst case scenario."

Comforting.

In Germany, a dead cat was found to be infected with H5N1. Not really surprising, as a couple of dozen tigers in the far east died after zoo keepers fed them infected chickens. But in France and Germany, the public is being advised to keep their cats indoors, their dogs on a leash, and not to allow cats to sleep in their beds.

Cat lovers by the hundreds are now dumping their beloved pets at shelters for `adoption or disposal'.

In Azerbaijan, a family of six is reportedly ill with `viral pneumonia'. Officials admit they are concerned this may be another cluster of Avian Flu. Awaiting test results.

Local media in Puerto Rico are reporting a family of 5 that may have avian flu, but right now, this is an unconfirmed rumor. I have doubts as to it's reliability, so just file that one away as a `maybe'.


Chinese officials continue to warn of a `massive outbreak' of bird flu, and say the the situation is `fairly grave'. Film at 11.

And my favorite hotspot, Indonesia, continues to report cases . . . and deaths. Officially, up to about 70 people now. And roughly 1 death a day in the media attributed to avian flu.

And finally, there's this. . .

The WHO has announced a meeting of the Public health experts in Geneva next week for quick action to head off a potential influenza pandemic. This three-day conference is called as a Hong Kong official reported another possible human case of H5N1 avian flu in China, involving a 32-year-old man who died yesterday.

The international body stated: "Even if the pandemic cannot be stopped, public health interventions might buy time to allow countries to further strengthen their response systems, as well as accelerating the production of pandemic vaccine."

THANK GOD WE HAVE A VACCINE!

Oh, wait. No vaccine, maybe not for another year or two.

Nevermind.