'Don't become complacent' warns bird flu virus expert, as H5N1 becomes even more deadly

Monday, March 12, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: bird flu, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) Health officials are warning that the bird flu pandemic is far from over, contrary to the impression created by many in the media. In fact, more people died from the virus in 2006 that in the previous two years, and its fatality rate has risen from 43 to 61 percent.

Jump directly to: conventional view | alternative view | resources | bottom line

What you need to know - Conventional View

• Bird flu, or H5N1, is a variety of the influenza virus that primarily infects domestic and wild birds. While unusually lethal, it is currently not very contagious and usually spreads to humans only through close contact with infected birds.

• Health officials fear that the virus could mutate into a form that is highly contagious from human to human. This could create a severe global health crisis: By comparison, the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic - which killed between 50 and 100 million people - had only a 2 percent fatality rate.

• In 2005, the bird flu virus was considered to be "out of control" in bird populations in Indonesia. It is now considered out of control in Nigeria and Egypt as well.

• Circumstantial evidence suggests that human-to-human transmission may have recently taken place in Nigeria, where a 22-year-old woman died from the virus in January. Despite government controls, bird flu is found in 19 of the country's 36 states, and culling orders are being ignored. Farmers attribute this to the low compensation the government is offering for their birds.

• Compared with last winter, few migrating birds carried the virus this year. The primary cause of its spread now seems to be illegal or unregulated domestic bird trade.

• Quote: "My take-home message is 'don't become complacent'. Don't trust this one." - Robert Webster, virologist at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis

What you need to know - Alternative View

Statements and opinions by Mike Adams, author of How to Beat the Bird Flu

• Contrary to what many people may think, the threat from avian influenza hasn't passed and instead has been uncontrollably spreading. The bird flu's reach has now extended to include recent cases in the U.K. and Russia.

• The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control haven't been able to control the spread of the bird flu virus. Existing vaccines are ineffective, and the virus could mutate to an even more dangerous human form.

• If the bird flu becomes a pandemic, public health resources will be overrun, and even basic medical care may be hard to come by. People who wish to be safe during a pandemic need to take preparedness measures.

Resources you need to know

• World Health Organization Avian Influenza Fact Sheet: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influen...

• How to Beat the Bird Flu: Strategies for Surviving the Coming Pandemic, by Mike Adams www.truthpublishing.com/beatthebirdflu.html

Bottom line

• Bird flu is out of control in more countries than last year, and the virus may have become more deadly. The threat of a human pandemic is far from over.