Enemy at the gate: saving farms and people from bird flu

FAO report:

"Impact figures for the avian influenza epidemic are staggering even for a continent the size of Asia. More than 140 million birds have died or been destroyed. Combined losses to gross domestic product (GDP) are estimated at US$10 billion to US$15 billion. As of early 2005, forty-two people have died of the flu. An FAO study estimates that in Viet Nam alone, the disease has touched 36 000 people living on the edge of poverty and 88 000 who were already poor."

Of course, according to the World Health Organization, we may be seeing the beginning of a pandemic in humans, given that there is little immunity to the new strains of avian flu. Previous flu pandemics in the 20th century each have killed millions to tens of millions of people; of course that was before AIDS provided a population of tens of millions of people with compromised immune systems. The failure of vaccine production systems in the last year also leads one to fear the potential of a pandemic. And one does not fully appreciate the effects of a pandemic by counting deaths. There would be expected to be much larger numbers of people needing hospitalization for treatment of flu, further stretching already overextended health care facilities in poor countries. Moreover, huge amounts of time would be lost from work by those who were ill or caring for the ill.

I hope we will avoid these scenarios, but that will be more likely if the nations of the world take action now!