British Medical Journal Admits the Truth about Bird Flu

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Sat, 25 Mar 2006 08:25:52 -0500

[sSRI-Research] British Medical Journal Admits the Truth

about Bird Flu

 

 

 

British Medical Journal Admits the Truth about Bird Flu

 

" The lack of sustained human-to-human transmission suggests that this

AH5N1 avian virus does not currently have the capacity to cause a

human pandemic "

 

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/extract/331/7523/975

 

Bird flu and pandemic flu

What's the message for GPs and hospital doctors?

 

The extensive media coverage of avian influenza (bird flu) over recent

weeks has caused confusion and increasing concern that bird flu will

imminently cause a human pandemic. This has been fuelled by the report

of a parrot infected by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in the

United Kingdom this week. Is such a pandemic a flight of fantasy or a

dead cert?

 

The influenza pandemic contingency plan presented by the chief medical

officer1 is clear and comprehensive, but at nearly 450 pages, 11

downloadable documents, and many web links, it may not be ready

reading for busy health professionals.

 

Everyone is familiar with seasonal human flu, which typically affects

10-15% of the UK population each winter and leads to around 12 000

excess deaths. Although minor antigenic drift in the human influenza

virus A occurs continuously, a major shift in its surface protein

antigens H or N . . . [Full text of this article]