# 4096
I’ve just spent the last 4 hours combing the Internet for something blogable or at least newsworthy regarding the H1N1 virus.
It is a relatively quiet Sunday Morning – the end of a long holiday weekend in the US – and the pickings this am are pretty slim.
Unless, of course, you’re interests lean towards crazy conspiracy theories, wild speculation, or outright pandemic paranoia. Those types of stories are always plentiful, regardless of vagaries of the news cycle.
As a `reality-based’ blogger, however, these types of stories don’t do me much good (although they can be useful for killing off weaker brain cells). Unfortunately, much of what is being reported (or perhaps more accurately, `spewed forth’) on the Internet is of dubious value at best.
Not all of it is dreck, of course.
While you can find a lot more mentions in my blog Reliable Sources In Flublogia, some of the real standouts include:
My `go to’ science bloggers, like Vincent Racaniello on Virology Blog, the Reveres on Effect Measure, and Tara Smith on Aetiology.
And `take it to the bank’ reporting by the likes of Helen Branswell of the Canadian Press, Maggie Fox of Reuters, Jason Gale of Bloomberg, and Maryn McKenna, Robert Roos, and Lisa Schnirring of CIDRAP.
But sometimes I’m called upon to do research on my own, and knowing where to go, and what sources I can trust, isn’t easy.
No source can be 100% reliable, of course, and there are admittedly many things we don’t know about influenza (and many others we think we know, but are wrong about).
But there are some resources that I’ve learned to trust, and that I go to again and again. So I thought I’d share them with you on this quiet Sunday Morning.
First are the CIDRAP overviews. When it comes to easy to read and understand historical and scientific overviews, these are hard to beat. I refer to them often.
Novel H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)
Last updated November 20, 2009
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu): Agricultural and Wildlife Considerations
Last updated September 28, 2009
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu): Implications for Human Disease
Last updated September 28, 2009
While not something I use every day, another resource I’ve found useful is the Thomson Reuters Daily News Briefing on the H1N1 virus.
This is a (currently) 55 page PDF file, updated daily, with background scientific information about the H1N1 virus, with special emphasis on the pharmacology (vaccines, antivirals, diagnostic tests, etc.) and biology of the virus.
While much of this information is specific to the Pharmacology Industry, it provides a good deal of scientific data.
Buried in the websites for the CDC, HHS, FDA, NIOSH, FEMA, Ready.gov, Flu.gov and other governmental agencies are tremendous resources as well.
And finally, two Flu Forum resources that I use often.
The `wiki side’ of the Flu Wiki is a reference site filled with flu information, and maintained by the members of the Flu Wiki. They describe it this way:
The purpose of the Flu Wiki is to help local communities prepare for and perhaps cope with a possible influenza pandemic. This is a task previously ceded to local, state and national governmental public health agencies. Our goal is to be:
- a reliable source of information, as neutral as possible, about important facts useful for a public health approach to pandemic influenza
- a venue for anticipating the vast range of problems that may arise if a pandemic does occur
- a venue for thinking about implementable solutions to foreseeable problems
You’ll also find discussion threads, some written by doctors, on the conversation side of the Flu Wiki, that delve (often quite deeply) into the science of influenza.
And then there’s FluTrackers which has become one of the largest, and most organized repositories of flu information on the Internet. Due to its size and scope, navigating FluTrackers can be a bit of a challenge until you get used to it, but it is worth the effort.
Both FluTrackers and the Flu Wiki have hard working and talented newshounds (see Newshounds: They Cover The Pandemic Front) and have collected years worth of news and journal articles, and analysis, on influenza and other emerging infectious diseases.
In many ways, these forums have become living reference libraries. Sure, you’ll find some speculation on them. But most of it is either reasonable, or quickly refuted by other forum members.
Like anywhere else, Caveat Lector.
On a morning where I’m seeing a discouraging number of conspiracy theories, paranoid rantings, and tabloid stories take center stage, it is worth reminding myself that there are good, solid, and reality-based resources out there.
You just have to know where to look.
