Act 1 of Bird Flu In North America
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Maryn Mckenna, journalist, author, and everyone’s favorite scary disease girl (see Maryn McKenna’s TED Talk - What do we do when antibiotics don’t work any more?) - writing in her National Geographic blog Germination today - explores the recent costs of avian flu in North America and the prospects for its return this fall in:
Bird Flu Cost the US $3.3 Billion and Worse Could Be Coming
It’s been almost a month since a case of avian influenza was detected in poultry in the central United States. So it might seem that the epidemic—which over several months caused the destruction of 49.5 million chickens and turkeys—can safely be considered over.
But in fact, it may have only taken a break. And if it returns, as some experts predict it will, what one government official calls “the largest animal-health emergency in this country’s history” may turn out to be just an opening act.
Maryn is also the author of two award winning books, Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA and Beating Back The Devil and is working on a third.
