Bird flu: coming to a neighborhood near you.

[buttmunch]

The deadly strain of bird flu that killed 60 people in Asia has spread to the fringes of Europe, officials confirmed yesterday. British scientists said the virus found in Turkish poultry was the H5N1 strain that health experts fear will mutate into a human disease that could kill millions of people worldwide. The results of similar tests on dead birds from Romania are expected today.
Last night, British health officials called for the elderly and children in high-risk groups to seek out the winter flu jab, effectively urging the inoculation of more than 10 million British pensioners and approximately 1million children. </IMG>

The fear is that flu sufferers who come into contact with avian flu could act as a catalyst for the virus to mutate. An official said: "We recommend seasonal vaccination for all those over 65 or all those who suffer from ailments that put them at higher risk from flu such as asthma, diabetes or serious heart or lung conditions."
The EU health commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, urged countries to stockpile antiviral drugs to prepare for a future pandemic. He said the commission was proposing to set aside €1bn (£680m) to help make and distribute antivirals and new vaccines.
Mr Kyprianou said: "We have received confirmation that the virus found in Turkey is an avian flu H5N1 virus. There is a direct relationship with viruses found in Russia, Mongolia and China." He said hundreds of millions of vulnerable people in Europe, including young children should be given the standard flu jab, but sought to calm fears of an imminent human pandemic spreading across Europe.
Bird flu is a potential disaster for Europe's farmers but there is no evidence the virus has mutated into a form that passes easily between people. "We don't want to create a panic at this point," said Mr Kyprianou. Scientists at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey, who carried out the new tests are expected to confirm today whether samples from birds in Romania also contain H5N1. Local tests have narrowed the strain to an H5 type virus.

[SammysMom]

I saw a story about it on 20/20 or Primetime a couple of weeks ago. I told my husband about it and he was like "oh well". Yeah "oh well" when the US doesnt have enough Tamiflu and in most cases it will kill you in a short amount of time. My mom, I was telling her this past weekend and she is slightly freaked out. She got the flu last year. She has diabetes and is 60 yrs old. She promised to get a flu shot and the first sign of anything she is going to go to the doctor, last yr she waited to go to the doctor until she had a fever of 103 and then she had to stay in the hospital for 4 days.
It really scares me to be honest.

[SVZ]

I loved on the daily show they talked about how they were battling the avian flu by unthawing an incurable hundred year old virus