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Cyclefrance · 08-28-2005, 04:29 AM

The alarm won't go away this time! Europe is finally switching on to the threat of highly human-infective HN51 (Bird Flu) as it gets closer and closer to our shores.

Predictions of 750,000 deaths in UK alone are putting this one on a par with the flu outbreak of 1918 (Spanish Flu) which claimed 200,000 lives in the UK and 600,000 in the USA. Vaccines that could protect against the curent strain have been developed, but time to market is likely to see these arrive too late to catch the expected epidemic and by the time it is here the strain will have mutated anyway rendering it useless (or so the medics say). Death occurs normaly within 48 hours of symptoms - the young seem mpore at risk than the elderly.

Our government is turning a blind eye to the current wave of publicity and has no battle plan in place or on the cards it seems.

How about in the USA? Ready or not? Generally aware or uninformed?

08-28-2005, 04:29 AM	#1
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	HN51 aware? The alarm won't go away this time! Europe is finally switching on to the threat of highly human-infective HN51 (Bird Flu) as it gets closer and closer to our shores. Predictions of 750,000 deaths in UK alone are putting this one on a par with the flu outbreak of 1918 (Spanish Flu) which claimed 200,000 lives in the UK and 600,000 in the USA. Vaccines that could protect against the curent strain have been developed, but time to market is likely to see these arrive too late to catch the expected epidemic and by the time it is here the strain will have mutated anyway rendering it useless (or so the medics say). Death occurs normaly within 48 hours of symptoms - the young seem mpore at risk than the elderly. Our government is turning a blind eye to the current wave of publicity and has no battle plan in place or on the cards it seems. How about in the USA? Ready or not? Generally aware or uninformed? __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears Last edited by Cyclefrance; 08-28-2005 at 04:33 AM.