Bird flu could be used as a weapon

[Guest guest]

" Lori Price " <lrprice

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 23:55:05 -0700 (PDT)

Bird flu could be used as a weapon 12 Oct 2005

 

 

 

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government

12 October 2005

http://www.legitgov.org/

 

 

All links to articles as summarized below are available here:

http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news

 

Bird flu could be used as a weapon 12 Oct 2005 Counter-terrorism

authorities have drawn up plans to defend Australia against terrorists

spreading avian influenza. The National Counter Terrorism Committee

has included the use of bird flu strain H5N1 as a weapon in possible

terrorism attack scenarios, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock's office

confirmed. Australia joins the US and Canada in treating bird flu as a

possible " agri-terrorism " weapon against the West. [The *US* was/is

experimenting with the bird flu virus, digging up corpses from the

1918 flu virus and manipulating the virus.]

http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16892681%255E661,00.ht\

ml

 

Bird flu terror fear

Mark Dunn, Kate Jones and Shaun Phillips

12oct05

 

Deadly disease could be used as a weapon

COUNTER-terrorism authorities have drawn up plans to defend Australia

against terrorists spreading avian influenza.

 

The National Counter Terrorism Committee has included the use of bird

flu strain H5N1 as a weapon in possible terrorism attack scenarios,

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock's office confirmed.

 

" It certainly is factored into the counter-terrorism plan, " Mr

Ruddock's spokeswoman said.

 

Australia joins the US and Canada in treating bird flu as a possible

" agri-terrorism " weapon against the West.

 

The H5N1 strain -- the most virulent type of bird flu -- has so far

claimed more than 60 lives in Asia.

 

If the strain mutates into a human-to-human virus, the World Health

Organisation has warned millions could die.

 

A quarantine official said flights from countries that had detected

H5N1 were closely monitored.

 

Thermal scanners for detecting passengers with a fever are on stand-by

at Australian airports in the event of a pandemic.

 

As bird flu fears spread around the world, the Herald Sun can reveal

Melbourne Commonwealth Games organisers have taken out insurance worth

hundreds of millions of dollars in case the Games are cancelled.

 

Under the national pandemic response plan, mass gatherings can be

cancelled.

 

Health Minister Tony Abbott's office confirmed Victorian authorities

were aware of the potential impact of bird flu.

 

" It would have to be at a stage in the pandemic where big public

assemblies would be very dangerous in terms of spread of infection, "

spokeswoman Kay McNiece said.

 

Scientists fear the disease has spread from Asia to poultry in Europe

and South America. In developments yesterday:

 

TURKEY reported bird flu at a farm where 1800 birds died last week.

 

HUNDREDS of chickens in Colombia were quarantined after health

authorities found the first suspected cases of bird flu.

 

BULGARIAN authorities tested three dead birds for the virus.

 

SURVEILLANCE in Papua New Guinea has been increased as the wild bird

migratory season towards Australia begins.

 

Sources said the threat of terrorists using bird flu should not be

overstated, but counter-terror agencies around the world have factored

it into their scenarios.

 

Al-Qaida is known to have considered agricultural and biological

terrorism, including a plot to infect tons of cocaine with a poison

and then sell the drug in the US.

 

Six of al-Qaida's September 11 hijackers had some form of agricultural

training and had learned to fly crop-duster aircraft.

 

Canada's intelligence service, the J2 Directorate, has also warned of

the potential for terrorists to use bird flu.

 

While scientific opinion differs on how easy it may be to use it as a

weapon, J2 analysts found the development of a man-made strain capable

of triggering a human flu pandemic was possible.