[IP] Good bird flu story...]

[David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Good bird flu story...
Date:   Tue, 15 Nov 2005 13:50:45 -0500
From:   h_bray@xxxxxxxxx
To:     dave@xxxxxxxxxx
CC:     ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/349zwhbe.asp?pg=1


Fuss and Feathers
Pandemic panic over the avian flu.
by Michael Fumento
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
"THE INDICATION IS THAT we will see a return of the 1918 flu virus that is 
the most virulent form of flu," warns America's top health official. "In   
1918, half a million people died. The projections are that this virus will 
kill one million Americans . . . "                                         
                                                                           
                                                                           
A quotation ripped from today's papers about an impending "bird flu"       
pandemic? No, the year was 1976 and the prediction of a deadly "swine flu" 
overshot the mark by 999,999 deaths (although dozens did die from the      
vaccine campaign). That's something to remember amid the current alarms.   
Another is that we've been here before with the identical virus over which 
the feathers are now flying, avian influenza type H5N1, which first hit    
poultry flocks in 1997. "Race to Prevent World Epidemic of Lethal 'Bird    
Flu,'" and "Hong Kong 'Bird Flu' Could be the Next Big Outbreak," blared   
the headlines then. The world death toll from that "wave"? Six. And let's  
not forget the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) two    
years ago, which led to 750 stories in the New York Times and Washington   
Post--one per death worldwide, as it turned out. The 71 U.S. cases of      
SARS, which resulted in zero deaths, did not "Overwhelm U.S. Health        
System," as CNN had predicted.                                             
                                                                           
                                                                           
None of which is to say there won't be another flu pandemic. There were    
three in the last century, after all. But that gives us absolutely no idea 
when the next will come, nor whether it will be any relative               
                                                                           
What we can say with confidence is that there is never such a thing as     
helpful hysteria. And the line between informing the public and starting a 
panic is being crossed every day now by politicians, public health         
officials, and journalists.                                                
                                                                           
                                                                           


<snip>


Hiawatha Bray



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