HAS TO BE H2H!

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=13292

Cats with bird flu may mean human danger

March 8, 2006 - 5:39AM

Reports that a cat contracted bird flu could mean the virus is adapting to
mammals and poses a potentially higher risk to humans, a World Health
Organisation (WHO) official says.

Michael Perdue, a scientist with the WHO's global influenza program, said
more studies were needed on infections in cats, including how they shed
the virus.

But Perdue said there was no evidence cats were hidden carriers of the
virus, which can wipe out poultry flocks in the space of 48 hours and
infect people.

Austria said that a cat in an animal sanctuary in the southern city of Graz
had tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus but had yet to show any
symptoms of the disease.

However, the virus could take up to a week to strike and it was possible
the cat in Austria could still develop clinical signs, Perdue said.

"We have to follow-up with laboratory studies to see if
it (the virus) changed genetically and is not causing clinical signs," Perdue
said.

"If it is true, it would imply the virus has changed significantly," he said.


The virus has killed 95 people in East Asia and the Middle East since late
2003.

Most of the victims contracted the disease directly from sick poultry, but
experts fear the virus could mutate and spread easily among people,
sparking a pandemic which could kill millions.

Animals carrying H5N1 without showing any
signs of ill health could make it harder to detect and contain bird flu.

The longer the virus remains dormant in a mammal, without it getting
sick or dying, the greater the risk of it also mutating into a more
dangerous form.

"The longer it stays in mammals one would assume it is more likely to be
adapted to mammals, as opposed to staying in birds.

"If the virus obtains all the mutations needed to transmit easily between
mammals it could imply higher risk to humans," Perdue said.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Cats-with-bird-flu-may-m
ean-
human-danger/2006/03/08/1141701533026.html

gricha, I'm fairly certain the nukes were a joke.  Gallows humor if you will.  However, the distrust of the WHO is warranted.  They're playing politics with human lives.  I don't care if they have a cruel master.  If they get the pandemic alert to 4, I'll reconsider.  Until then, they're a bunch of hapless toadies in my book.  

You have become a cynic like me.

Congratulations!

Years ago that would have meant that you were not with the mainstream. Today, it means you are a free thinker.

If you examine the funding of the WHO and UN, you'll
understand the need to critically examine the information they release.
There are enormous sums of money involved. People die for far less each
day. Every country that has bird flu, has one one time denied having the
disease.

The fact that the WHO appears to be hoarding genetic information about
the virus and offers no explanation leaves makes me more than
suspicious. When an institution does not want to honestly respond to a
problem, their tradmark response, "there is no evidence". I wish I had a
nickel every time I read that frackin statement.

Man Received in Hospital in Belgium with Symptoms of Bird Flu

8 March 2006 | 17:29 | FOCUS News Agency

Brussels. Authorities in Belgium announced that a man with symptoms of
bird flu was received in hospital in Brussels, Reuters reported. The man
returned from China recently.

Earlier on Wednesday it was announced that a nine-year-old girl from
Eastern China died from bird flu. This is the tenth case of a human death,
caused by the disease in the Asian country.

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?
catid=135&newsid=84096&ch=0&datte=2006-03-08

When the expected antigenic shift occurs that makes this virus a human pathogen then you will not be considering outbreaks of sixty cases.  Hundreds of thousands will be affected.  Some of the press I am seeing now reminds me of the reports I use to read from my travels in Africa, where every outbreak of febrile illness was described as "Malaria".  "700 die from outbreak of Malaria in ___________ province."  the headline would read.  Sometimes the illness was malaria.  Frequently, it was measles.  Less often it was Ebola. Or Rift Valley Fever.  Or West Nile Fever.   My point is, press reports can be accurate and completely wrong at once and at the same time.  700 deaths from some illness is indicative of a problem and is true enough to provide pause for consideration.  Does it matter if it was measles or malaria?  It only does of you intend to intervene.  Because the action you would take to minimize the scope of the illness would be different, depending on the identity of the causative agent.  Spray for mosquitoes or begin a vaccination program ? You choice for effective action would depend on the identity of the causative agent.  Diagnosis is never made  by consulting a symptoms table.  Fever and respiratory symptoms are common to beaucoup illnesses.  Hell, while we are waiting for H5N1 to megasize, some other influenza virus just might sneak up on us.  

Welcome Gricha56 and yes your post gave a lot of pointers, your last sentence holds a lot of truth. while we concentrate on one virus another one sneaks up suddenly