by DemFromCT
H5N1 is still with us. Who says so? Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Heath Association.
Experts agree that we are long overdue for the next flu pandemic, and concerns persist. A 5-year-old girl died in Indonesia last week from avian flu, raising the country’s H5N1 death toll to 77. Vietnam this week confirmed its first case of human bird flu - a 30-year-old man from the northern Vinh Phuc province - since 2005.
And Rebecca Patton, president of the American Nurses Association.
As the President of the American Nurses Association, I am pleased to join in this signficant discussion on a real threat to our country and the world. We know that as registered nurses we must be ready to respond, both personally and professionally. Being prepared does not apply only to those of us who respond at the time of need, — all citizens must take this seriously and begin to plan for any potential disaster that may occur in our own community.
And a social marketer. And the founder of eBay. And a social activist. They're all blogging with me over at the Health and Human Services Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog to get the word out about pandemic preparedness.
Dr. Benjamin is absolutely right... H5N1 is still around to remind us of the potentials and pitfalls of how ill influenza can make people, even if we can’t say for certain that H5N1 is the next pandemic virus. Why not? There are others...
This is a low path H7N2 in Wales and not a high path H5N1, and folks don’t get as ill, but it still is worrisome whenever a bird flu crosses over to humans. Any of these events could have been the beginning of a major outbreak. That they are not (as of now) is no reason to let down our guard. So, as we use our contacts to educate folks, there will always be recent and current examples of why it’s important to prepare. I'd be negligent not to point that out. The HHS blog summit runs from May 22 - June 27. For the latest news, and prep tips, go here.
Speaking of mutating viruses, the Creation Museum opens tomorrow. Who's going with me?
Posted by: emptypockets | May 27, 2007 at 09:42
DemfromCT, thanks again, I always learn so much from your eminently readable posts.
Posted by: John Casper | May 27, 2007 at 10:43
emptypockets, mjs has a great post over at Jesus' General entitled:
"Mo' Betaphysics," that debunks Intelligent Design much as you did.
The current post at the General's is by Austin Cline. "Mo' Betaphysics" is right below Austin's.
Posted by: John Casper | May 27, 2007 at 10:47
is there an underlying cause? perhaps we can reverse engineer the situation for just a moment. we have had epidemics before. swine flu, bird flu. and where do these pandemics present? where we collect such animals for slaughter and consumption? so if we didn't eat them and farm them, this might not be an issue we could blame on the creatures? as a result of "priorities", we seem unable to do anything but react. And the poisons we feed these animals to make them "healthier" to eat? my, but we seem to compromise on so many levels. couldn't be us that caused these issues with our manipulation?
ignore reality and the cause long enough and search for a fix. it is the human way of rationalizing their bad choices. evolution will cure such ignorance. or should I go out on a limb and describe it as stupidity rather than ignorance? it seems even as scientists we are a silly lot. rule out that which can't be proven, and then consider drawing conclusions to then rule out if possible. what would our silly club do if we acted rationally and followed the science instead of our stomachs?
Posted by: oldtree | May 27, 2007 at 11:04