[IP] WHO: Bird Flu Threatens "Incalculable Misery"]
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Subject: WHO: Bird Flu Threatens "Incalculable Misery"
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 12:56:10 -0500
From: Randall <rvh40@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Dave <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
http://htdaw.blogsource.com/post.mhtml?post_id=29473
WHO Meeting: Bird Flu Threatens "Incalculable Human Misery"
A dark outlook got even darker on Monday, when delegates to a meeting at
World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva heard grim forecasts of
the potential costs of an avian flu pandemic. The H5N1 strain has killed
half of the 120 people it has infected; if it acquires the ability to
pass directly from person to person it could kill millions and cause as
much as $800 billion in economic damage across the world, experts
warned.
"It is only a matter of time before an avian influenza, most likely the
H5N1 strain, acquires the ability to be transmitted human-to-human,"
warned WHO director-general Lee Jong-wook. "The signs are that it is
coming."
The H5N1 strain has already passed from Asia to Eastern Europe, and
signs indicate that migratory waterfowl will soon carry it to Africa,
which lacks the resources to contain it effectively. A Kenyan delegate
estimated that her country would need $20 million in outside help to
mount the measures proposed by Western governments.
Bruce Gellin, director of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee,
warned that the economic toll could be enormous and suggested that even
private businesses should develop a pandemic preparedness plan in case
key personnel are lost to illness or absenteeism. "The threat of a
pandemic is the most important public health issue today," he said.
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