I have nothing to add to this, but thought I would pass it on, as this is becoming a SARS level problem for the Chinese and is pouring over borders already. Will it get to America anytime soon? Don’t know. Will we be ready when it gets here? Can’t say. Modern transportation and trade means that even vast oceans make preventing the spread of airborne diseases difficult. Will the Chinese get their hands around it before it does? Doesn’t look good.
"I want to direct your attention toward avian flu, an issue that, given its scope and potential consequences, receives very little attention both in the traditional press and blogosphere. I've been following this for some time, basically the World Health Organization is doing everything NOT to raise the alert level from stage 3 to stage 5 or 6, and has tried to explain away clear cases of human-to-human transmission (these cases mean we're at Stage 5 at least). There are also LOTS of rumors China is covering up an outbreak of Stage 6 human-to-human bird flu. China has been completely uncooperative with the WHO, refuses to let out most medical samples, and has even threatened epidemiologists. Nevertheless, the few published samples available from China (obtained from dead birds in Qinghai) all have genetic traits of strains that infect mammals, including humans. The worry is that these samples come from a major nexus in bird migration routes, meaning that this dangerous virus will soon be dispersed throughout Eurasia (it's already popping up in Russia)."
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