NC isolates patients who may have swine flu The Associated PressRALEIGH, N.C. There are a handful of suspected swine flu cases in North Carolina, and investigators were gathering specimens in Raleigh to determine whether the outbreak had spread to the South, state health officials said Monday. Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the state health director, said officials are involuntarily isolating patients who … Read More
Swine Flu Outbreak
Reminds me of this… my favorite opening title sequence evah:
An Open Letter To Rep. Susan Collins (R-Me)
Dear Rep. Collins: Your website boasts that you led the fight to cut "$780 million" for pandemic-flu preparedness from Obama's stimulus package. It kind of makes you look like a jerk now. You're probably still wondering what pandemic-flu preparedness has to do with an economic recovery stimulus bill. Sadly, I think you're about to find out. But it was explained to … Read More
Google Maps Mashup Tracks Swine Flu
Direct link here View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map Pink markers are suspectPurple markers are confirmedDeaths lack a dot in markerYellow markers are negative By the way, Wikipedia is, as always, one of the best places to go to track breaking information.
Bad Bird Flu News
Not good news: Tests on a father diagnosed with bird flu in China show he probably caught the disease from his dying son. Scientists are concerned that if the virus evolves to pass easily from human to human millions could be at risk. A genetic analysis of the Chinese case published in The Lancet found no evidence to suggest the … Read More
The Coming Pandemic
I haven’t written in a while about the Avian Flu — mostly because it looked like it was under check. You know, a bunch of Asians french-kissing chickens. The virus wasn’t something likely to spread from human to human. Except… Oh, crap: A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, … Read More
Bird Flu Update
"Whatever happened to the bird flu?" my mother asked me when I was up for Christmas. "Wasn’t that supposed to be the next big thing to kill us all?" I pondered the question and bluffed an answer, laced with cynicism: "Oh, it’s still around. In fact, it’s worse. You don’t hear about it on the news because it’s not as … Read More
Bird Flu Update
Look, I’ve blogged about this subject before, so obviously I’m concerned. But I don’t think we need to instill panic: In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United … Read More
Bird Flu Hits The Americas
I told you, it’s coming. Now, so far, "the Americas" means the Bahamas, and so far, the flu hasn’t leapt to anything other than birds. But it’s not going away.
Cat In Germany Has Bird Flu
This menace is getting closer and closer every week it seems: BERLIN – The deadly strain of bird flu has been found in a cat in northern Germany, the first time the virus has been identified in the country in an animal other than a bird, a national lab said Tuesday. The cat was found on the northern island of … Read More
Bird Flu Getting Closer
The avian flu has moved from third world countries to second world countries. Specifically, it’s arrived in Germany. Only two swans affected so far, but it’s only a matter of time. I have to run to the ATM machine and stock up on canned goods.
Our Mayor Freaked Out Over Bird Flu
From today’s Winston-Salem Journal: Mayor Allen Joines said that mayors from cities nationwide who attended a conference in Washington are getting sobering information about the threat of a bird-flu pandemic in the United States. "It’s not a question of if it’s going to come, it’s a question of when it will hit," he said. And when it does, it could … Read More
A Public Service Message From The Editors of No, You Can’t Have A Pony
Do not kiss your dying chickens. This has been a public service message from the Editors of No, You Can’t Have a Pony.
Better Early Than Late
I was watching a Tivo recording of Bill Maher’s HBO show from last Friday. I forget now what the topic was, but one of the panelists noted that Bush has such low expectations now (even from his supporters) that when he does something even half-way right, everybody tends to applaud and praise him. You know, as if he is a … Read More
Maybe It’s Just Pinin’ For The Fjords
Parrot In England Dies Of Bird Flu