Watch The Birdie

Some public health experts are concerned that it could surface here, particularly after scientists announced Wednesday they had reconstructed the influenza virus that killed up to 50 million people in 1918 --

I hadn't followed this very closely, but I have to admit that in the past couple of days, after listening to doctors talk about the possiblity that the military would have to be involved if this thing hit, I've gotten nervous enough to send my grown children emails reminding them to wash their hands frequently.

I don't get nervous easily, but I've started paying attention. Does anyone know enough to post any info here?

Fear of Flu Outbreak Rattles Washington

Oct. 4 - Health officials have warned for years that a virulent bird flu could kill millions of people, but few in Washington have seemed alarmed. After a closed-door briefing last week, however, fear of an outbreak swept official Washington...

The day after the briefing, led by Michael O. Leavitt, the secretary of Health and Human Services, and other senior government health officials, the Senate squeezed $3.9 billion for flu preparations into a Pentagon appropriations bill.

Mr. Leavitt acknowledged in an interview that the United States was not prepared for a pandemic flu outbreak. He plans to spend next week touring Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the countries most likely to be the source of an avian flu outbreak, and talking with health ministers there about a coordinated surveillance of outbreaks.

Mr. Leavitt warned in the briefing last week that an outbreak could cause 100,000 to 2 million deaths and as many as 10 million hospitalizations in the United States, one person who was present said. Those numbers have been presented publicly many times before. But hearing them in closed session gave them urgency, some who were at the meeting said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/05/politics/05flu.html?ex=1286164800&en=725b61268694f9c6&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

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