[indigo girl]

The Spread of Bird Flu to Urban Bangladesh

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2008/0...-to-urban.html

Originally Posted by afludiary.blogspot.com

Given its rapid geographic spread across the rural areas of Bangladesh, it was just a matter of time before bird flu reached the urban areas of Dhaka and Chittagong. The two cities have a combined population of just under 11 million people.

25% of Indonesian Cases Have Unknown Mode of Transmission

This is a hugh concern to scientists there and elsewhere.

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2008/0...affled-by.html

[sharona97]

The parish nursing committee at my church has started to make available lists of supplies and informational data available to the parish members, and it is taking off pretty well.

I can only hope others will follow.

[Laidback Al]

Radio Sandy Springs Interview

Podcast radio interview with Sharon Sanders, president of FluTrackers.com, at this link from Feb 4, 2007:
http://www.radiosandysprings.com/infectiousdiseases.php

In the one hour interview Sharon discusses the contributions of the FluTrackers forum in tracking avian influenza and our current understanding of the parameters of a potential pandemic.

[indigo girl]

Crow Deaths in Multiple Locations of Bangladesh

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53277

Originally Posted by www.flutrackers.com

Although the crows have been confirmed in multiple areas of Bangladesh, including regions bordering West Bengal, India has yet to confirm H5N1 in any of the dead wild and migratory birds found in association with confirmed H5N1 in poultry.

The widespread H5N1 in poultry and wild birds, including major urban areas, remain causes for concern.

[indigo girl]

Originally Posted by sharona97

The parish nursing committee at my church has started to make available lists of supplies and informational data available to the parish members, and it is taking off pretty well.

I can only hope others will follow.

I hope so too. Many churches are preparing their congregations in
my area.

[indigo girl]

Australia Gives the US an Unwelcome Present

What is missing from this year's flu shot in the US?

http://www.scottmcpherson.net/journa...e-present.html

[Laidback Al]

Power Outages
In a severe pandemic, we can expect power outages and fuel shortages. John Ruwitch describes three days he spent in Chenzhou, a city that was without power for nearly two weeks.

WITNESS: Reporting in the dark in icy New Year China
by John Ruwitch
CHENZHOU, China (Reuters) - I stepped nervously from the over-crowded sleeper onto the frigid platform with no hotel, no contacts and no plan other than to find out what it was like to be in a city of 4 million in the midst of a 12-day blackout....

I headed to a hotel that a motorcycle driver said had power and was offered a cup of hot water at an empty dentist's office with a diesel generator chugging away on the sidewalk outside. ...
The dentist's tap had water because it was on the first floor, he explained. Those higher up weren't so lucky because there hasn't been enough pressure in the city pipes. Most of them had to haul water upstairs by the bucket....

I spent an afternoon with a prominent Chenzhou resident looking for fuel. Two stations we passed had dozens of cars queuing. A third was closed. Through connections, he finally secured a 25 kg (25 liters or 6.6 gallons) jug full. "I had to fight for it!" said the middle-aged man....

http://www.reuters.com/article/reute...080207?sp=true

[Laidback Al]

Unanticipated Consequences - India

Now, shuttlecocks catch bird flu

In what can only be called bizarre, India’s preparatory camp for badminton’s Thomas and Uber Cup qualifiers, due to begin in Goa on Wednesday, was cancelled because of a lack of shuttlecocks and procedural delays. The shuttlecocks aren’t available because the Union Agriculture Ministry has banned the import of feathers due to bird flu.
Vikram Dhar, country manager of Yonex Sunrise India (which makes the shuttlecocks), said they were helpless, as the ministry had banned the entry of bird feathers from China. …

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...catch+bird+flu


In May of 2006, a shuttlecock maker in East Java contracted H5N1 presumably through handling poultry feathers on the job.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...8&postcount=31

[Laidback Al]

Ban on the Sale of Chickens and Eggs in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, is Failing

The Times of India referred to the ban as "no more than a joke"

A full 48 hours after the state announced a blanket ban on the sale of chicken and eggs all over Bengal to stop the spread of bird flu, omelettes and chicken rolls are making brisk business across the length and breadth of the city. Forget remote rural areas, the government has failed to enforce the ban in its own backyard. . . .

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/K...ow/2765652.cms

[Laidback Al]

Suspected Human Avian Influenza Case in Thailand

China View is reporting that a 32 year old man from Phichit Province in Thailand, who is showing flu symptoms, may have contracted bird flu after finding some dead chickens and taking them home to feed his dogs. Phichit Province has confirmed cases of H5N1 in poultry.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_7582065.htm