I can't believe it's not a democracy!

Is this how it starts?

NY awaits confirmation of probable swine flu cases. The break out in Mexico is scary, with the flu affecting--and killing--group considered not as vulnerable (which also happened with the 1918 influenza epidemic). But the spread of the disease via modern transportation makes it even more frightening. Especially after my friend Jim sent me the following article: New Zealand students in swine flue scare.

So I'm thinking that I don't need to run out today and ride the subway to 57th street to grab a new pair of sneakers. It can wait. Because everyone is out and about since we have beautiful weather and some of them don't know enough to cover their mouths when they sneeze, that's why.

Is it me or does it seem like we've been getting a fair amount of bird flu news recently?

New bird flu fears as virus found in dead swans (in UK). So far, no avian flu found in birds or humans on this side of the Atlantic, but it lookspretty clear that the version affecting birds has made its way through Europe. We have no option other than to wait and watch, and hope like hell that world health organizations will be able to snap to attention and contain a human outbreak should it occur. Because if we have to depend on the braintrust in the white house......

Because nothing says "Happy New Year" like scary bird flu news:

Two Egyptian women die of bird flu virus. Reuters reports: Two Egyptian women died of bird flu on Monday, bringing to four the number of fatalities from the virus in the most populous Arab country in less than a week as Egypt emerged from a warm-weather lull in avian flu cases.

All four deaths involved women and were believed to have resulted from exposure to sick or dead backyard birds.

* * *

The four Egyptian deaths from bird flu over the past week broke a 5-month pause in human cases in Egypt and brought to 19 the number of Egyptians who have died of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus since it emerged in Egypt in early 2006.

It is also the third winter that the virus has struck after lying low during Egypt's hot summers, when it is much less likely to spread from one carrier to another.

* * *

Around 5 million households in Egypt depend on poultry as a main source of food and income, and the government has said this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated despite a large-scale poultry vaccination programme. WHO officials have said the bird flu virus was now considered endemic in Egypt.

Deaths from bird flu now total more than 210 worldwide since 2003 and have been reported in several African and Asian countries, as well as in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Egypt, with 43 confirmed human cases, has been the single hardest-hit country outside of Asia.

Health experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily from one person to another, possibly triggering a pandemic that could kill millions.

The avian flu can survive Egypt's oppressive summers, exposure to the flu probably came from barnyard birds and 5 million Egyptian households depend on poultry as a main source of food and income. Let's hope that the European community is ready to jump in when the need to contain an outbreak of flu caused by human-to-human transmission (should it come), because if our well-being depends on the quick action of the assholes W has put in charge of public health, we are so fucked.

Because things in Pakistan aren't fucked up enough:

The World Health Organization confirms a case of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus in a family in Pakistan. Well, on the good side the WHO added that there was no apparent risk of it spreading wider. There's that, no? Because on a day like today, you have to embrace whatever good news you can.

Ruh-roh:

UK Bird flu outbreak is deadly strain. The Guardian reports: An outbreak of bird flu on a Suffolk farm is the deadly H5N1 form of the virus, Defra confirmed today, while the government warned that the disease may have already spread.

Fred Landeg, the acting chief veterinary officer, confirmed the strain at Redgrave Park farm in Suffolk, which is potentially dangerous to humans and has swept across Asia, Europe and Africa since 2003.

It is the fourth UK case of avian influenza this year. The H5N1 virus has also been found this year in the Czech Republic, Hungary, France and Germany.

A cull of all 5,000 poultry at the infected farm has already begun. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone were set up yesterday around the farm near Diss, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border.

There hasn't been a transfer of the disease from birds to humans in the UK or the rest of Europe, as animal to human transfer seems to have occurred only in the east (Indonesia and Vietnam come to mind). That said, eventually the bird flu will travel here, and when it reaches one of those gigantic chicken farms.....oh my.

Bird flu is spreading in

western Europe. The Guardian Unlimited reports: A number of European countries today ordered poultry flocks to be brought indoors after Germany and Austria became the latest EU states to confirm bird flu outbreaks.

* * *

Overnight, Austrian officials confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain had been found in two dead swans discovered in the south of the country.

In Germany, two swans found on a beach on the Baltic island of Rügen today tested positive for H5N1 in initial checks.

A third case was suspected in a hawk, and the German agriculture minister, Horst Seehofer, said laws ordering all farmed birds to be brought indoors would be brought in this week.

Denmark, where officials were examining nine dead swans for signs of the disease, has urged farmers to keep their poultry indoors, and a formal outdoor ban was expected to be announced within days. Sweden and Switzerland were doing likewise.

The French president, Jacques Chirac, today ordered the cabinet to "immediately strengthen" measures used to protect France's poultry population, a government spokesman said.

* * *

Last year, all 25 EU governments signed up to guidelines to help prevent the spread of bird flu, including setting up protection zones in outbreak areas to halt the movement of farmed poultry or hunting of fowl. Culling is also seen as a possible response.

The measures have been brought into effect in Italy, Greece and Slovenia, where bird flu has been discovered in recent days.

Once again, coordination and cooperation helps all of us. I hope that the U.S. is involved in worldwide efforts to contain the spread of bird flu. Sadly, my gut tells me our government's efforts are insignificant at best. No doubt there will be a greater effort to contribute to this worldwide effort when the first case of bird flu is found in this country, but why must we wait? Letting the Europeans handle it isn't a strategy, it's a failure of action.

Damn it. The avian flu

continues to spread. Still being found mostly in birds, but not good news. BBC News reports: The virus has been found in wild swans in Sicily, and other cases are suspected elsewhere in Italy, the country's health minister says.

A specialist UK laboratory has identified the virus in dead swans found in northern Greece and Bulgaria.

* * *

The infected swans found in Italy are believed to have been returning to Europe from Russia. Traps for wild birds are being set and farmers are being urged to be vigilant.

The area surrounding the lakes in northern Greece where the dead swans were found has already been sealed off.

Restrictions have been imposed on the movement of commercial poultry and a ban on hunting is in place. The measures are expected to remain in force for at least three weeks.

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Athens says that with large numbers of migratory birds entering Greece, it is going to be a difficult battle to prevent the virus spreading to poultry stocks and humans.

Not good, but again there appears to be on going cooperation and coordination between the governments of the affected nations and world-wide health groups. At least we have that.

Hate to post a downer, but

knowledge is power, right? Nigeria Reports Africa's 1st Bird Flu Case. Cut to the quick: the flu was found in poultry, not humans. The AP reports: A "highly pathogenic" strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria — the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday.

Nigeria reported the outbreak in Jaji, a village in the northern Kaduna state, according to the organization known by the acronym OIE. OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione said the outbreak was the first reported case of H5N1 in Africa.

Nigerian authorities officially notified the OIE on Wednesday about the outbreak, the agency said in a statement. The outbreak affected commercial, battery-cage poultry.

And now for the good news: Nigeria has instituted "quarantine measures and controls on the movement of animals" and is working with the U.N. "to coordinate its response to the outbreak." Coordination and cooperation are two important tools in dealing with a potential pandemic. Containment, by itself, may not stop an outbreak on its own, but it can limit the spread of disease.

WHO Tries to Allay Fears

Over Bird Flu. The AP reports: The World Health Organization on Wednesday tried to allay fears of a massive bird flu outbreak in Turkey, telling people not to panic but urging them to avoid contact with sick or dead poultry.

Preliminary tests in the last week indicate that 15 people in Turkey have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain — the largest number of cases in a single week since late 2003, when the virus began sweeping Asia. Three children have died, but only two of those cases were confirmed to have tested positive for bird flu.

"The worst situation is a panic situation. There is no reason to panic," Dr. Marc Danzon, WHO regional director for Europe, told reporters at a joint press conference with Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag. Danzon said health officials were doing "everything that is known to maintain and manage this difficult situation."

* * *

Turkey's government, anxious to demonstrate to its citizens and the European Union that it was taking decisive action, ordered more than 300,000 fowl destroyed as a precaution. Authorities also distributed leaflets in eastern regions most affected by the outbreak, cautioning people not to touch fowl, while television spots urged people to wash their hands after contact with poultry.

Health officials said Tuesday that most of the 70 or so people hospitalized with flu-like symptoms had tested negative for bird flu.

"The situation has been taken seriously from the beginning" in Turkey, Danzon said.

WHO officials said initial investigations suggest there is no change in how the disease is spread, and experts are hoping there may be some differences in the behavior of poultry farming families in Turkey to explain the high number of cases. Another possibility is a change in the virus. Tests were under way, officials said.

WHO so far has confirmed only four of Turkey's 15 reported cases as H5N1, but said it is confident the remaining samples would be positive.

The bad news is the high number of avian flu cases in Turkey. Why is the number high? Is the flu becoming more efficient at infecting humans? It is unclear that anyone knows the answer, but they are looking. And there is good news. Namely, Turkey is anxious to prove to the EU that it is acting responsibly. Why is that good? Secrecy and lack of cooperation are two elements that can make a bad situation worse. Vigilant monitoring and quick action may be able to slow the flu's progress and/or contain an outbreak if and when it mutates to a form that allows for easy human to human transmission. We don't have an effective vaccine or treatment yet, but we can try to contain an outbreak and limit the spread of disease. At least we have something.

The headline is obvious in a way that is

almost funny, but the body of the story is not funny at all: Turks Urged to Keep Kids From Dead Birds. The AP reports: Authorities urged Turks to keep children away from dead birds Monday as preliminary tests showed five more youths had been stricken with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Indonesia and China also each reported a new case and the U.N. health agency warned every new human infection increases the virus' chances of mutating into a form easily transmitted between people.

Turkey has reported 15 suspected or confirmed cases, resulting in three deaths, and the new ones were in four separate provinces — indicating the disease was spreading.

"It's clear that the virus is well-established in the region," said Guenael Rodier, a senior World Health Organization official for communicable diseases.

Rodier said the human infections appear to have resulted from contact with infected domestic birds, but warned the chances the virus might mutate into a dangerous form transmitted from person to person increases with every new case.

"The more humans infected with the avian virus, the more chance it has to adapt," Rodier said while visiting Dogubayazit, a largely Kurdish town bordering Iran. "We may be playing with fire."

Again, forewarned = forearmed. I've read something recently about a government release that suggests that we keep certain supplies at our homes and businesses. General stuff like food, batteries, etc. I will try to find the article and, if successful, I will update with the link.

Update: Thanks to Wayne who wrote in the comments and provided a link to the government's release re: Planning & Response for Individuals and Families.