2008 Woodie Awards
Another day, another pandemic
Nadine Anheier
Issue date: 2/27/06 Section: Forum
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I should have died at least three times by now. Mad cow disease, West Nile, and SARS should all have claimed my life.
Forgive me for being skeptical. It's just that I have been through so many pandemics … wait, no I haven't.
Amazingly, with all the hype, I've never once before been subject to one of the oft-publicized possible pandemics that have gripped the world and media attention.
Our newest contender? You know its name: bird flu.
I've had more than one person e-mail me news articles and statistics about the bird flu, and when I have investigated the facts behind such claims, I always come up with one thing: the world of the bird flu is very confusing. Daily reports discuss new human infections, counts of those deceased, and, more recently, quarantined villages.
The inherent problem with such reports of pandemics is the room for conspiracy-theorizing. The reports can be confusing, and the interpretations of them can be just as varied. Quarantine can equal "we're all dead," and an outbreak among chickens can be "it's just a matter of time."
In case you're getting a little nervous about the possibility of getting a strain from your chicken cordon bleu, let's take a look at some facts.
First, there are three strains of flu: seasonal flu, which we all know about (and, coincidentally, kills 36,000 people each year); bird flu, a flu virus that occurs naturally among birds; and pandemic flu - any flu that would be, naturally, a pandemic. No pandemic flu is in circulation now.
According to Joe Neel, NPR's Health Editor, "The H5N1 bird flu strain is causing concern about the possibility of a pandemic."
Moreover, in 1997, a lethal strain of the bird flu (HSN1) appeared among humans in Hong Kong - 18 were hospitalized and six died. The strain reappeared in 2003 in Hong Kong.
To present, there have been 169 confirmed cases of the flu and 91 people have died. "Almost all human cases have been traced to close contact with infected poultry," according to Neel.
Forgive me for being skeptical. It's just that I have been through so many pandemics … wait, no I haven't.
Amazingly, with all the hype, I've never once before been subject to one of the oft-publicized possible pandemics that have gripped the world and media attention.
Our newest contender? You know its name: bird flu.
I've had more than one person e-mail me news articles and statistics about the bird flu, and when I have investigated the facts behind such claims, I always come up with one thing: the world of the bird flu is very confusing. Daily reports discuss new human infections, counts of those deceased, and, more recently, quarantined villages.
The inherent problem with such reports of pandemics is the room for conspiracy-theorizing. The reports can be confusing, and the interpretations of them can be just as varied. Quarantine can equal "we're all dead," and an outbreak among chickens can be "it's just a matter of time."
In case you're getting a little nervous about the possibility of getting a strain from your chicken cordon bleu, let's take a look at some facts.
First, there are three strains of flu: seasonal flu, which we all know about (and, coincidentally, kills 36,000 people each year); bird flu, a flu virus that occurs naturally among birds; and pandemic flu - any flu that would be, naturally, a pandemic. No pandemic flu is in circulation now.
According to Joe Neel, NPR's Health Editor, "The H5N1 bird flu strain is causing concern about the possibility of a pandemic."
Moreover, in 1997, a lethal strain of the bird flu (HSN1) appeared among humans in Hong Kong - 18 were hospitalized and six died. The strain reappeared in 2003 in Hong Kong.
To present, there have been 169 confirmed cases of the flu and 91 people have died. "Almost all human cases have been traced to close contact with infected poultry," according to Neel.
