Bird Flu Warning

Over at the Guardian is a worrying report on a senior UK health expert and his warning that we are under-prepared for the impending threat of bird flu. From the article:

Measures to curb the spread of a pandemic include flu vaccination; antiviral drugs, such as Relenza and Tamiflu; restricting social contact by closing schools; hygienic precautions such as wearing protective masks, washing hands and not shaking hands; and travel restrictions in and out of the country.

Prof Anderson showed estimates that if all these control measures were put in place there would be fewer than 100,000 deaths in the UK in the event of a pandemic. If none of these precautions were taken nearly 300,000 people could die. A similar pattern is predicted in the US, with around 600,000 expected to die without any controls in place, but only half that number if they all were.

Fingers crossed people, that our politicians are looking out for our collective well being. If they make a mistake over things like this, it could mean the end for a lot of us.