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Mossel Bay bird flu spreads

July 19, 2006, 16:45

The outbreak of bird flu in the Mossel Bay area has spread to a second farm which is adjacent to the farm where the virus was first detected two weeks ago. More than 3 000 ostriches had to culled and destroyed. Tests by the department of agriculture in a radius of 20km have found no further evidence of the virus.

http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,131532,00.html
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[Not sure we are allowed to excerpt from USAToday]

7/19/2006 6:41 AM ET

At least six states plan to buy smaller quantities of antiviral drugs than the federal government has offered them, a setback for part of the government's bird flu pandemic plan.

[ Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota ]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-18-flu-drugs-usat_x.htm
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Indiana: No help from feds if bird flu strikes, City Council hears
Wed, Jul. 19, 2006

Allen County’s top public health official warned the Fort Wayne City Council on Tuesday about a possible flu outbreak and the importance of early preparation.

Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County health commissioner, told the council that the bird flu virus is expected to hit the United States this fall, although it was unlikely to be found in the Midwest at that time. She said the virus currently has a more than 50 percent mortality rate, although there have only been a few hundred human cases. She said it’s up to local governments to handle an outbreak, if one ever occurs, and that is why her department has been working for 1 1/2 years planning.

“We have been told repeatedly that we should expect no help from the federal government,” she said.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/15072436.htm

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"Bird flu, influenza and 1918: The case for mutant Avian tuberculosis"

Lawrence Broxmeyer's Avian Influenza, H5N1 And the Pandemic of 1918

WHITESTONE, NY, July 19, 2006

Dr. Andrew Noymer and Michel Garenne, UC Berkely demographers, reported in 2000 convincing statistics showing that undetected tuberculosis may have been the real killer in the 1918 flu epidemic. Aware of recent attempts to isolate the "Influenza virus" on human cadavers and their specimens, Noymer and Garenne summed that: "Frustratingly, these findings have not answered the question why the 1918 virus was so virulent, nor do they offer an explanation for the unusual age profile of deaths".

Bird flu, Lawrence Broxmeyer points out, would certainly be diagnosed in the hospital today as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Roger and others favor suspecting tuberculosis in all cases of acute respiratory failure of unknown origin.
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Should the Pandemic of 1918 ever return doctor Lawrence Broxmeyer asked: "What are the implications of mistaking a virus such as Influenza A for what mycobacterial disease is actually causing? They would be disastrous, with useless treatment and preventative stockpiles. The obvious need for further investigation is presently imminent and pressing."

http://medamericaresearch.org/