NEWS: World has slim chance to stop flu pandemic, page 1

posted on Sep, 20 2005 @ 06:21 PM

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The man who was on he front-line of the battle against SARS, Dr Hitoshi O#ani, has painted a grim picture for the prospects of another flu pandemic. He cautions that while the initial outbreak will kill but a few, the world will have only a few weeks to contain the virus otherwise its spread could kill millions. He further points out the H5N1 virus may not even be the eventual source of the pandemic.

news.yahoo.co m [/url]
NOUMEA, New Caledonia (Reuters) - The initial outbreak of what could explode into a bird flu pandemic may affect only a few people, but the world will have just weeks to contain the deadly virus before it spreads and kills millions.

Chances of containment are limited because the potentially catastrophic infection may not be detected until it has already spread to several countries, like the SARS virus in 2003. Avian flu vaccines developed in advance will have little impact on the pandemic virus.

It will take scientists four to six months to develop a vaccine that protects against the pandemic virus, by which time thousands could have died. There is little likelihood a vaccine will even reach the country where the pandemic starts.

That is the scenario outlined on Tuesday by Dr Hitoshi O#ani, the man who was on the frontline in the battle against SARS and now leads the fight against avian flu in Asia.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Scary times indeed. The problem is that while so far we have not had an outbreak awareness needs to be high and responses need to be fast and focused. As we head into winter, the likelihood of an outbreak grows. A vaccine would take 4-6 months to be developed and its doubtful they could make it in the quantities needed. Also, the influenza virus according to recent studies is swapping genes much faster than previously though, thus it could mutate to a more dangerous form or one that does nothing. Its a genetic game of Russian roulette.

[edit on 9/20/05 by FredT]

RLSX

posted on Sep, 20 2005 @ 10:41 PM

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I pose a question. In the recent events of Hurricane Katrina people have been known to say that the U.S. goverment was slow in the aid of the victims in NOLA. Now, In a situation like this how are the poeple to trust the goverment or CDC to contain this virus? I am not saying they can't, But according to Dr Hitoshi O#ani they will only have a couple of weeks to do so. Just curious.

GradyPhilpott

posted on Sep, 20 2005 @ 11:10 PM

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Rule of thumb: Never rely on the government for anything. We are very lucky to have a government that has the means to help its citizens in times of need, but relying on such to be there in a timely manner is completely unrealistic and some might even argue that it is un-American. At the very least, it is imprudent.

FredT

posted on Sep, 20 2005 @ 11:16 PM

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Originally posted by RLSX
I I am not saying they can't, But according to Dr Hitoshi O#ani they will only have a couple of weeks to do so. Just curious.

Where there is a will there is a way. Remember on 911 they cleared the sky of airliners in a matter of hours?

What he is getting at is containment and it will be a global effort.

Regenmacher

posted on Sep, 20 2005 @ 11:49 PM

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Originally posted by RLSX
Now, In a situation like this how are the poeple to trust the goverment or CDC to contain this virus? I am not saying they can't, But according to Dr Hitoshi O#ani they will only have a couple of weeks to do so. Just curious.

Well put!... and my answer is you can only rely on yourself because in a castrophe the government is a inefficient bumbling gorilla that protects it's own before you and I.