Hi, if I may interject?
There have been a few cases of person to person spread, in Vietnam and in Jakarta. They do not fit the definition of pandemic spread, as they are mostly within families. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the index patient in each case has spread to patient #2, and then that patient #2 has infected someone else. So far, it stops at patient #2.
You can believe me or not, but I have kept up on this issue for literally months, at this site and others. There is a lot of precise information in the links found at the Avian Flu Surveillance Project thread. If you do a search for that title, you'll find it. There are countless links there.
There is, however, a significant chance that as more animals and people are infected with H5N1 (and Jakarta has a large outbreak from a zoo) a recombination of H5N1 and another influenza virus already present in the same person will occur. Viruses do this.
At that point, the deadly pandemic that most are concerned about will begin. Ordinary flu is extraordinarily contagious, and when combined with the morbidity and mortality of bird flu, the outlook is serious. WHO, the CDC, China, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and many other countries are greatly concerned and attempting to stockpile Tamiflu, Relenza, and other antiviral drugs as quickly as possible. There are few Tamiflu manufacturers, and it takes an entire year to manufacture a batch. Furthermore, there are signs that Tamiflu is losing its effectiveness as a treatment for influenza.
You may not wish to do all the looking and learning that we've done, and that's fine. Draw your own conclusions, it's no problem. I'm not trying to convince anyone, but I'm happy to share information.
I hate to be a pain, but please provide proof.
They do not fit the definition of pandemic spread, as they are mostly within families.
Each person could have been infected in the same way the first was.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that the index patient in each case has spread to patient #2, and then that patient #2 has infected someone else. So far, it stops at patient #2.
Scientific proof that patient #2 was infected by patient #1 is needed.
Is that the Jakarta story I posted that you are talking about? Or is there another?