NYT: New Asian Flu Outbreaks in China Raise Fears of a Mutant Virus

[DeepModem Mom]

New Asian Flu Outbreaks in China Raise Fears of a Mutant Virus
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: June 11, 2005


Two reported new outbreaks of avian flu among birds in western China have raised fears that the virus is being spread widely by migrating birds and mutating rapidly.

The regional director for the World Health Organization, Dr. Shigeru Omi, told reporters in Beijing yesterday that the two recent outbreaks in remote areas in which hundreds of birds died were worrisome because they involved migratory waterfowl and domestic geese, birds that until now had been fairly resistant to the disease....

***

For the last two weeks, rumors circulated on some Web sites tracking infectious diseases that more than 120 people, including six tourists, had died of avian flu in Qinghai, and that hundreds had been quarantined.

However, they all proved traceable to a site run by antigovernment dissidents, which said it could not verify information members had posted anonymously....A government spokesman said there had been no human deaths there, and The Associated Press reported that the health minister had given the W.H.O. officials permission to visit the sites of the reported bird deaths.

As of Wednesday, according to the W.H.O., there were 54 known deaths from avian flu in the world, all in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/11/health/11flu.html

[asjr]

1. Wal-Mart will be the first to import it.

[acmejack]

2. The Chinese Govt is as untrustworthy as ours

The flu pandemic is looming. This what they should be afraid of. The odds of dying as the result of a pandemic are significantly higher than being the victim of a terroristic act.

[still_one]

3. the odds of dying from malaria

are significantly higher than being the victim of a terroristic attack or a flue pandemic

[still_one]

4. what about the world health organization

you don't trust them either

The Chinese government is working with international groups such as the world health organization. They are NOT going to go through the same fiasco that they did with SARS. Like I said international health organizations are already involved