# 1999
Yes! We have no pandemic.
We have no pandemic today
We've Dengue and Typhus
And bacteria that likes us
But the bird flu hasn't come out to play
Oh, There's Malaria and Typhoid
And other germs you should avoid
But so far I'm happy to say
That yes! We have no pandemic
We have no pandemic today!
Apologies to the memory of Frank Silver and Irving Cohn.
To paraphrase my favorite satirist, Tom Lehrer, if any great songs are going to come out of the next pandemic. We'd better start writing them now.
Of course, since bird flu news has all but disappeared, more talented lyricists than I probably have time to come up with something better. I hope so, anyway.
The lack of news of late has been, quite frankly, a bit of a relief. I'm managing to devote less than 12 hours a day searching for news and blogging.
A decided improvement over a couple of months ago.
Ninety percent of blogging is spent doing something other than pounding the keyboard. We spend countless hours scanning the wire services, jumping from one flu forum discussion thread to the next, reading journal articles, talking with one another, and researching topics in the hopes we won't make a bloody fool of ourselves in print.
So even a brief reprieve is appreciated.
But although the news is slow, there is no reason to believe the threat has diminished. Often we don't learn about bird flu related stories until weeks after they occurred. Sad but true.
A case in point, we just learned in the past few days that two siblings died in Indonesia. The first, a 15 year old boy early May, and then 10 days later, his 16 year old sister. We also learned that a third sibling, an older brother, is hospitalized with`bird flu symptoms'.
Now, we only have one positive bird flu result out of all of this, from the 16 year old sister. Apparently the first death was diagnosed as Typhus, and never tested for H5N1. The third sibling who is hospitalized awaits lab results.
Now, a year ago this would have been`news'. A possible family cluster in Indonesia. But today, it apparently doesn't merit a mention in mainstream newspapers other than the Jakarta Post.
So, while the news may appear quiet right now, that doesn't mean that nothing is happening.
Readers who were with me last year know that during the summer months, the number of bird flu stories generally drop off, only to resume in the fall. Hopefully this summer will be the same.
As such, the number of daily blogs I produce tends to fall as well. Some days I may only have one or two items, and (horrors!) some days I may actually post nothing. Of course if bird flu raises its ugly head, I'll ramp up coverage.
So, if you should check in here and find no updates, my apologies.
But it's a pretty good indication that things are quiet, and that it is a good time for you to go out and enjoy the summer weather.
I know I plan to.
