# 299
There are a handful of really good reporters out there who cover the avian flu threat. Helen Branswell is probably the best known, and deservedly so. But she isn't alone. Another writer you may be familiar with is Maryn McKenna, who up until last summer was the CDC reporter for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Now Ms. McKenna is a freelance journalist, and several articles of her's have appeared on the CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy) website. Her latest offering delves into the the real problems of changing the unsafe practices of people in developing countries who raise and handle poultry. It makes for illuminating reading.
This article, entitled Avian Flu Prevention Puzzle:Linking Knowledge, Actions illustrates just how difficult it is to change existing behaviors, even once the knowledge of the risks has been dispensed.
Public information campaigns have been waged in countries like Cambodia, and awareness of the risks of the H5N1 bird flu virus is relatively high. Yet despite these information campaigns, many local poultry farmers continue to engage in practices such as eating or handling sick or dead birds.
Knowledge and education doesn't necessarily result in changes in behavior.
All in all, an excellent article, and one that demonstrates just how pervasive the problems we face really are.
The value of having respected writers such as Helen Branswell and Maryn McKenna promoting pandemic awareness cannot be overstated. They, along with a handful of other dedicated reporters, have continued to carry the message to the world that we dare not let down our guard in the face of a potential viral threat.
They lend credibility, and visibility, to a subject that many would not take seriously otherwise.
Maryn McKenna is the author of a book on the EIS (Epidemic Intelligence Service), a little known division of the CDC, called Beating Back The Devil. For more information on Ms. McKenna, and her book, I invite my readers to visit her website at:
