I posted a story titled the White House Rodeo by Mike Davis last November 11, 2004. In it were the four 'horsemen of the apocalypse' which he used as a format for his story. One of the four was the avian flu and the warning of a world wide pandemi that we are not prepared to deal with.
Today a story in the Chicago Sun Times says that Earth may be on the brink of a worldwide epidemic from a bird flu virus. Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said scientists expect that a flu virus that has swept through chickens and other poultry in Asia will genetically change into a flu that can be transmitted from person to person.
The avian flu now spreading in Asia is part of what is called the H1 family of flu viruses. "Each time we see a new H1 antigen emerge, we experience a pandemic of influenza," said Gerberding. In 1918 H1 appeared and millions died worldwide. In 1957 the Asian flu was an H2, and the Hong Kong flu in 1968 was an H3.
"The science here is all alerting us that we have a great deal to be concerned about," she said.
We might not be able to afford the flu shot screwup next year.
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