Reply #109: Coming to grips with bird flu........new article by Ned Colt of NBC [View All]

[RedEarth]

BANGKOK, Thailand - Late last month a regional director of the World Health Organization warned that the WHO believes "that there is now the greatest possible danger of a pandemic," caused by the spread of Avian Influenza, also known as bird flu.


Millions of birds have died or been culled in Southeast Asia in the past year, as bird flu has become endemic to the region. It's now found not only in birds, but in pigs, cats, and even humans. At least 45 people have died in the past year of bird flu in Thailand and Vietnam.

NBC News’ Ned Colt recently sat down with Dr. Scott F. Dowell, Director of the CDC's "International Emerging Infections Program" to discuss the outbreak. The Bangkok-based program is a collaboration between the CDC, and the Thai Ministry of Health. The following are excerpts from that interview.

Ned Colt: Where do we stand regionally in terms of bird flu and its impact on humans at this point?
Dr. Scott F. Dowell: It continues to be a significant concern, we're still seeing outbreaks of the H5 virus among poultry in Thailand, and we're reading about outbreaks in neighboring countries, so the problem in the poultry population seems to be endemic.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7127004/