From the New England Journal of Medicine
Are we at more risk today from a Flu Pandemic than the last time we had a major outbreak in 1968? From the New England Journal of Medicine in May of 2005 in an article Preparing for the Next Pandemic by Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., M.P.H.:
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It is sobering to realize that in 1968, when the most recent influenza pandemic occurred, the virus emerged in a China that had a human population of 790 million, a pig population of 5.2 million, and a poultry population of 12.3 million; today, these populations number 1.3 billion, 508 million, and 13 billion (emphasis added), respectively. Similar changes have occurred in the human and animal populations of other Asian countries, creating an incredible mixing vessel for viruses. Given this reality, as well as the exponential growth in foreign travel during the past 50 years, we must accept that a pandemic is coming — although whether it will be caused by H5N1 or by another novel strain remains to be seen.It makes it easier with the large numbers of pigs and birds for something bad to happen as Recombinomics has been reporting on for some time. Don't forget Hyscience. The first source for me of in depth Bird Flu news was Hyscience.
Update:
Posted by movermike on
Wednesday June 22, 2005 at 9:46pm
