The Tao of Bird Flu
25. Would that bird flu left no trace when it passed, but there are dead birds, men with masks, people in hospitals, countries in crisis. Bird flu may be invisible, but its effects certainly are not.
Pandemic Alert ?
The Irish Independent, February 25, notes that “We are now in phase 3 of a pandemic.” From the newspaper:
*The World Health Organisation (WHO) is operating an ascending code for the level of pandemic alert for human Avian Flu which started at Phase One. It currently stands at Phase Three.
*Phase Three: The virus is causing infection in humans but no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
*Phase Four: The first human-to-human transmissions are identified, probably in a local cluster in south-east Asia.
*Phase Five: Widespread human-to-human infection.
*Phase Six: Pandemic.
Of course this is not big news. I mean, we have been in phase 3 for several months now. I’m not even really sure what this does except add a sense of drama to the situation, much as the color-coded terror alert system added drama to our daily lives for several years in this country. But I present this to you for your information, lest we start thinking this is all a hoax or something. After all, the World Health Organisation is taking it pretty seriously.
Has anyone heard of Flu Wiki, a website for extensive information about bird flu, etc? I checked it out and wasn’t too impressed. Here is an article about it for those who are interested.
Just for the record, bird flu continues spreading (it has now reached Switzerland) and it continues killing, so we are not out of the wood on this yet.
Tags: bird flu, avian flu, pandemic, H5N1, flu, influenza, health,
25. Would that bird flu left no trace when it passed, but there are dead birds, men with masks, people in hospitals, countries in crisis. Bird flu may be invisible, but its effects certainly are not.
Pandemic Alert ?
The Irish Independent, February 25, notes that “We are now in phase 3 of a pandemic.” From the newspaper:
*The World Health Organisation (WHO) is operating an ascending code for the level of pandemic alert for human Avian Flu which started at Phase One. It currently stands at Phase Three.
*Phase Three: The virus is causing infection in humans but no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
*Phase Four: The first human-to-human transmissions are identified, probably in a local cluster in south-east Asia.
*Phase Five: Widespread human-to-human infection.
*Phase Six: Pandemic.
Of course this is not big news. I mean, we have been in phase 3 for several months now. I’m not even really sure what this does except add a sense of drama to the situation, much as the color-coded terror alert system added drama to our daily lives for several years in this country. But I present this to you for your information, lest we start thinking this is all a hoax or something. After all, the World Health Organisation is taking it pretty seriously.
Has anyone heard of Flu Wiki, a website for extensive information about bird flu, etc? I checked it out and wasn’t too impressed. Here is an article about it for those who are interested.
Just for the record, bird flu continues spreading (it has now reached Switzerland) and it continues killing, so we are not out of the wood on this yet.
Tags: bird flu, avian flu, pandemic, H5N1, flu, influenza, health,
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Four books in one volume, including, for the first time in print, The Tao of America. Click here for more information about this volume, including excerpts.
The Tao of Politics Anthology, now available as e-book (only $6.00), or as paperback.
Also check here for The Tao of Love.
posted by Ed Bremson, MFA @ 10:00 AM
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