Bird Flu Hype

COMMENT: Yea! We're making headway and they're losing ground. A big disappointment that all the "hype" to generate fear about the flu is wasted dollars. Give the general public a "high-five" for waking up and ignoring the brainwashing of the drug companies.

October 4, 2006: Americans doubt need for flu vaccine: survey. Fewer than half of Americans plan to get the flu vaccine this year, mostly because they do not worry about flu, according to a survey published on Wednesday. And Americans do not know they can take drugs when they have the flu that will help them recover more quickly, the survey found.

Flu experts called the findings disappointing, because they have been scrambling to make sure enough vaccine is available for the flu season,

which is just starting in North America. "We are going to have more vaccine available this year than ever before --more than 100 million doses -- and we hope this is not going to be an embarrassment of riches," Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University in Nashville and vice president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases told a news conference. The survey of 1,000 adults found that fewer than half -- just 48 percent -- plan to get immunized this year. Of those who did not plan to get the vaccine, 43 percent said they did not think influenza was serious enough to warrant vaccination and 38 felt they were not at risk.

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COMMENT: Another Tamiflu competitor is trying to elbow its way into the money trough. Peramivir, a neuraminadase inhibitor, failed trials in 2005 for oral use of the drug. But the September, 2005 issue of Medical technology Stock Letter, it was shown that "a single intramuscular (IM) injection of peramivir was comparable to, or better than, five days of oral treatment with Tamiflu in preventing death from the avian flu virus." The current study, which used the drug in an IV format, called the drud "safe." It would be interesting to read the entire study to see what side effects were present that were not considered "serious."

September 29, 2006: High doses of new bird flu drug safe in U.S. study. "We demonstrated that you can go to very high levels of peramivir in humans," Dr. Charles Bugg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioCryst, said in a telephone interview. "We did escalating doses — starting at a low dose and showing it's safe and going until we have a dose way, way above what we think it takes to inhibit the virus. We can go to very high levels," Bugg added. They gave more than 60 healthy volunteers intravenous peramivir each day for up to 10 days in doses ranging from about 30 mg to 600 mg. All doses were well tolerated with no serious adverse effects, researchers independent of the company told a meeting in San Francisco of the American Society for Microbiology.

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COMMENT: This a very interesting article...but once again, the MDs have it all wrong. Advocating stronger antibiotics is the wrong way to go. Advocating massive cleaning to remove bacteria will not help. But massive cleaning of environmental toxins and detoxification of humans (ie their internal terraine) WILL make a differenc in the long run. See chapter 17 of my book, FOWL!, for full information.

September 17, 2006: Pioneering research during the 1918 influenza epidemic clearly identified a virus component as the initiating cause of illness. Yet there are ample indications that bacteria were responsible for "the gravity of the secondary pulmonary complications," and the "common causes of death." The idea of a mixed infection is contained in the oft quoted letter written by a military physician in 1919.

“Camp Devens is near Boston, and has about 50,000 men, or did have before this epidemic broke loose…. This epidemic started about four weeks ago, and has developed so rapidly that the camp is demoralized and all ordinary work is held up till it has passed….. These men start with what appears to be an ordinary attack of LaGrippe or Influenza, and when brought to the Hosp. they very rapidly develop the most viscous type of Pneumonia that has ever been seen. Two hours after admission they have the Mahogany spots over the cheek bones, and a few hours later you can begin to see the Cyanosis extending from their ears and spreading all over the face, until it is hard to distinguish the coloured men from the white. It is only a matter of a few hours then until death comes, and it is simply a struggle for air until they suffocate. It is horrible. One can stand it to see one, two or twenty men die, but to see these poor devils dropping like flies sort of gets on your nerves. We have been averaging about 100 deaths per day, and still keeping it up. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a new mixed infection here, but what I don’t know.” .....What should be done? Foremost is an all out attack on the emergence of toxin producing and/or multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria.

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COMMENT: This has been a KNOWN FACT that has been stated by the WHO since early in 2005.

Dick Thompson, spokes person for the WHO commented "The CFR [case-fatality rate] had to be overstated. The cases we are sure of were those which were sick enough to go to a hospital and these extreme cases have very poor outcomes. Surely others were infected and either not getting sick or not getting sick enough to seek treatment at a hospital. Factoring those into the CFR has been impossible. We simply don't know the denominator."

September 17, 2006: Reports of missed mild bird flu cases raise questions about scope of spread

Recent reports from South Korea and Indonesia of after-the-fact discovery of a handful of mild human cases of H5N1 avian flu have again raised questions about whether the disease's extraordinarily high death rate is being inflated because mild cases are being missed.

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COMMENT: It's starting again.....in February, 2006 at the National Bird Flu Summit in Washington DC, Dr. Nabarro made the same strong statements. Since it is impossible to predict a random event, it seems ast though this type of predictive statement means that "they know something we don't know."

September 17, 2006: World Bank, UN warn of possible bird flu pandemic The World Bank and the United Nations officials warned the possible occurrence of pandemic of avian influenza here on Sunday. "There will be a world animal and human influenza pandemic one day, but we don't know when," said David Nabarro, Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, at a press conference held here. According to World Bank estimate, a severe flu pandemic among humans could cost the global economy up to about 3.1 to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which is between 1.25 trillion and 2 trillion U.S. dollars of a world GDP.

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COMMENT. Move over Tamiflu, the new nose gel is on the way.....gesh!

Sepbember 13, 2006: A London-based skin-care start-up has developed a hand gel that it claims can kill the H5N1 bird flu virus in half a minute.

The gel, which could be in the market by the end of the year, has been developed by DermaSalve Sciences for the prevention of the disease among health workers, consumers and agricultural workers. It kills the virus within 30 seconds, claims the company

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COMMENT: It looks like the assumption is that everyone will WANT this vaccine.....what if you are on the "priority list" and you don't want the junk injected into your body?

September 9. 2006: State Formula Determines Who Gets Shots During Bird Flu Pandemic California health officials have settled on a formula for resolving a wrenching question that would arise if a bird flu pandemic strikes the state: who gets doses of scarce vaccine. The state did not draw up a hierarchy of Californians who would most need inoculation, though it hints at groups most vulnerable. "Very young persons, elderly adults, and persons with underlying disease are at high risk of complications during interpandemic influenza outbreaks," it states. Instead of setting out a list of likely candidates, the state developed a scoring system that the report says "produces a rank-ordered list of target groups prioritized for influenza vaccination." The formula is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate variables in a pandemic.

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COMMENT: "Suitable vaccines" from Italy and China have been used in poultry across the continent. In an attempt to eradicate a virus, what will be the condition of the birds? Will they be fit to eat?

September 7, 2006: Vietnam to vaccinate white-winged ducks against bird flu. Vietnam will decide whether to vaccinate white-winged ducks against bird flu virus or not by the end of this week after successful trial use of Italian vaccination, local media reported Wednesday. Over 80 percent of white-winged ducks being vaccinated against bird flu virus strain H5N9 in the trial vaccination have developed immunity ability....The result is of importance since Vietnam, which has already vaccinated chickens and ducks nationwide, currently has yet to find suitable products to vaccinate its white-winged duck population of nearly 10 million. If deciding to vaccinate white-winged ducks nationwide, Vietnam will import vaccines of Italian firm Merial, the newspaper said.

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COMMENT: Will they EVER "get" that vaccinations are not going to stop the problem? The birds will get sicker, the food supply will become more contaminated...and the toxic environment will persist, recycling the problem. When will the media WAKE UP to the fact that this is an environmental problem? Everyone should buy a copy of my book, FOWL! Bird Flu: It's Not What You Think and donate a copy to their favorite journalist and editor!

September 5, 2006: Indonesia to vaccinate 300 million poultry The Indonesian government will press ahead with plans to vaccinate some 300 million poultry from the bird flu virus despite fears by some health officials that vaccines are not effective, a local report said Tuesday.

The plan will be done in stages with 60 million doses being prepared for vaccinations beginning this month and running through December, The Jakarta Post reported.

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COMMENT: Everyone is dancing around the cause: a toxic environment. The virus is less important than the health of the ducks...why would a flock die all at once?

September 4, 2006: New bird flu outbreak suspected in Vietnam after 100 ducks die suddenly. More than 100 ducks have died suddenly in southern Vietnam in a suspected new bird flu outbreak, an official said Monday. Another 400 ducks were culled and samples were sent to the Ho Chi Minh City Regional Veterinary Center for testing to determine whether the H5N1 strain of bird flu was responsible for the deaths discovered on Friday, said Tran Van Quang, deputy director of the animal health bureau in Dong Nai province. "When more than 100 ducks died suddenly, we treated it as a bird flu outbreak," Quang said.

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COMMENT: The evidence keeps mounting---this is NOT an aggressive virus and is NOT going to become a pandemic.

September 1, 2006: H5N1 Flu Does Not Pass Easily to Humans, Study Finds Hundreds of Cambodian villagers tended sick birds around their homes, but showed no evidence of infection with the H5N1 virus when tested by an international team of researchers, according to a study published in the October edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “This study provides evidence of the low transmissibility of the H5N1 virus from infected poultry to humans, even in circumstances in which human-poultry interactions are regular and intense,” says the study conducted by researchers at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, Australia National University, CDC and others.

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COMMENT: Even though bird flu news hasn't been "front and center" for the last few months, it is hovering in the background. Here is a recent report that, once again, states the inevitability of a pandemic....interestingly, it corresponds with the planned arrival of the "pandemic vaccine."

August 31: http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/aug/083106birdflu.html Bird flu expected to hit U.S. in 2 years. The world's most deadly flu epidemic is expected by the best guesses currently available to hit the U.S. within two years. This was the warning given to the Grants-Milan Rotary Club on Tuesday by a University of New Mexico specialist helping organize pilot projects in two of the state's 33 counties, Cibola and Grant. Meetings in the area will take place from September to November, Margo White said. The sessions are aimed at "turning a paper plan into a community effort... You don't know how many talents you have to share from the group itself, (talents) which will be needed. We won't have the system as usual; we won't have life as usual."

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COMMENT: This technology will be really good news for sorting out who has allergies, who has "garden variety influenza" and who has a more aggressive form of influenza virus. It could keep people from being quarantined for an extended period of time if they are not infected.

August 30, 2006: FluChip can spot bird flu in under 12 hours Scientists in the United States have developed a new technology that reduces the time it takes to achieve a detailed diagnosis of avian flu, from one week or more down to less than 12 hours. A joint team from the University of Colorado and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a microchip-based test that will enable more laboratories across the United States to carry out basic tests to determine the type and subtype of an influenza virus within several hours. Because the FluChip technology is able to be used in lower level biosafety facilities.

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COMMENT: This is not an unreasonable proposition. It is similar to an injection of tetanus immune globulin (TIG)--a dose of immunoglobulins.

August 30, 2006: Why blood of bird flu survivors is a lifesaver Blood products taken from people who have recovered from bird flu could be useful for treating other patients in the event of a pandemic, research has suggested. An analysis of how such transfusions were used in hospitals during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 has indicated that they reduced the risk of death and eased symptoms, raising the prospect that a similar approach could be used against H5N1 influenza.

Blood is removed from a patient who has recovered and the liquid plasma part is mixed with alcohol and separated into its components by fractionation. One of the resulting fractions is rich in immunoglobulins and these can then be given to other patients exposed to the disease. Research in mice, however, suggests that immunoglobulins would be an effective way of alleviating symptoms

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COMMENT: This would make a great cartoon! Hard to believe that people are concerned about this.......

August 27, 2006: Wildlife officials will be checking gamebirds this fall for signs of avian flu. More than a million gamebirds are expected to be killed in Kansas over the next five months, with wildlife officials expected to take samples from some to test for avian flu. Odds are extremely long that hunters could catch a deadly strain of the disease that has killed about 140 people in Asia and Africa. "I would say the odds are much higher something will happen driving to your hunting spot than getting bird flu," said Helen Hands, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks biologist. "There's no need to really worry about it unless you're looking for an excuse to not go hunting." Hunters needn't worry about hunting dogs contracting the disease, even if they retrieve an infected bird. The deadly strain of avian flu has never been found in canines.

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August 23, 2006: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BIRD FLU

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COMMENT: This comment leaves me speechless....symptoms of bird flu are no different than symptoms of "regular flu" or typcial pneumonia. It would not be uncommon to have any people test negative for H5N1 but have flu-like symptoms. Why were the "experts" surprised?

August 18, 2006: Tests provide only proof of bird flu infection HANOI - Laboratory tests still provide the only guaranteed confirmation of bird-flu infection, scientists and physicians agreed yesterday. The experts were responding to questions from Viet Nam News about patients who died from symptoms of the H5N1 virus but whose samples tested negative. Patients with pneumonia suffer a serious illness; some are more ill than others and their deaths can come from a variety of causes, said National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology director Nguyen Tran Hien. "It's normal." The relationship between the deaths and the tests was not a cause for alarm.

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COMMENT: It may be a good for people living in Wisconsin that these businesses are putting time and money into their local economy instead of global planning.

August 13, 2006. Threat of bird flu ruffles few businesses' feathers. Despite dire predictions that an influenza pandemic is possible, the majority of business leaders in Northeastern Wisconsin don't believe this area is vulnerable and aren't prepared for such an outbreak. In a recent survey conducted for the Nicolet Bank Business Pulse, 52 percent of business executives say that such an outbreak striking Northeastern Wisconsin is "not likely" in the near future. Only 1 percent believe a flu pandemic is "very likely." When Business Pulse asked CEOs what they were doing to prepare for an outbreak, the answer was little or nothing. Fewer than than 10 percent describe their business as "moderately or very well prepared" for influenza pandemic.

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COMMENT: Pharma doesn't want to hear this....that herbs can heal and the people can recover!

August 12, 2006: Bird Flu patient cured with herbs. Beijing: Chinese traditional medicine experts succeeded in curing a bird flu patient after 50 days of therapy. Jiang, 31 years old, was given a ginseng and medical herb soup in early stages of therapy to get rid of 'poisonous heat' in his body, said the director of the hospital where Jiang was treated. The second stage of the therapy involved using Chinese herb 'herudu' to stimulate the patient's blood circulation, he said. A Chinese mushroom was also used to stimulate the functioning of his lungs. Jiang's state started improving towards the end of June and later check-ups showed that he no longer carried the virus H5N1.

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COMMENT: Brings to mind school drills where children hid underneath their desk during a "nuclear drill."

August 11, 2006: Schools told to prepare for flu IRVINE – Local health and school officials doubt a bird-flu pandemic will hit Orange County anytime soon, if at all. About 75 administrators and principals from dozens of area school districts and community colleges attended the workshop aimed at raising awareness of the illness."It's highly unlikely a pandemic will happen here in Orange County," said William Habermehl, the county superintendent of schools. "Just in case it does, we want to make sure Orange County's schools are very prepared for the bird flu." Attendees received a "Pandemic Planning for Schools" tool kit and DVD with information on how to monitor attendance records to check for unusual spikes in flu-related absences.

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COMMENT: The use of religion to promote the plans of the government is becoming pervasive. In May, 2006, the US government started its own plan to use churches in the event of Martial Law---which could be instituted in the event of a pandemic.

See: Secret FEMA Plan To Use Pastors as Pacifiers in Preparation For Martial Law A Pastor has come forward to blow the whistle on a nationwide FEMA program which is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to "obey the government" in preparation for a declaration of martial law, property and firearm seizures, and forced relocation.

August 10, 2006 TODAYonline Cambodia enlists Buddhist monks to help fight bird flu. Cambodia has enlisted the help of Buddhist monks and teachers in its drive to prevent a fresh outbreak of bird flu, the UN children's agency and government officials said. "Buddhist monks play an important role in helping to prevent bird flu by educating people about its danger," said Yim Voeunthan, secretary of state at the ministry of agriculture. "Cambodian people respect monks the most and they will follow the monks' advice," he said, adding that monks have strong spiritual influence on people in rural areas.

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July 28, 2006: Wild birds spread type of bird flu to hunter - Bird Flu - MSNBC.com

Blood from 39 hunters was tested for antibodies that would reveal prior infection to any of about a dozen types of bird-based influenza. Several hunters had antibodies to H1, H2 and H3 forms of bird flu, which have adapted to humans and are now routinely seen in people. But one hunter also tested positive for H11N9, which is not seen in humans.

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COMMENT: No bird is safe anywhere in the world....would they eliminate the food in the Seychelles too?

June 17, 2006: Seychelles : FAO aids bird flu readiness, brought to you by African News Dimension Food and Agriculture Organization has donated equipment added to local measures in place to guard against a possible Bird Flu outbreak in Seychelles. The donation, consisting mainly of protective clothing and disinfecting equipment, was handed over to staff from the Department of Natural resources, who would be on the front line of efforts to control a local outbreak. The donation from the FAO comes as part of a 14 country-wide East African project to make preparations against the spread of Bird Flu, a project which Seychelles was not initially part of.

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COMMENT: The villagers are probably right! The birds that don't die are developing immunity to the virus, just like the migratory birds. This is the best way to stop an infection: TRUE HERD IMMUNITY. As discovered in the 1930s, when 60% of a population has experienced the infection, the rest become immune. THIS IS NOT HOW VACCINATION WORKS!

June 16, 2006: The Jakarta Post - Public skeptical about govt's bird flu drive

Disbelieving promises of compensation, many people from North Sumatra to Jakarta to South Sulawesi are refusing to support the government's bird flu containment program. Thousands of chickens are dying daily in Gowa regency, South Sulawesi, with random testing suggesting most are succumbing to bird flu. While villagers incinerate the bodies of the dead birds, they leave the living birds untouched, allowing the disease to spread further. "I don't want to kill the rest of my chickens because the government has not promised me any compensation," one resident said.

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COMMENT: The article doesn't say how the chip is used; is a drop of blood placed on it or is it inserted into a human or animal than then the information is transmitted?

June 13, 2006: MTB Europe - Avian flu virus detector on a chip Unlike other diagnostic and sensor technologies that take between 20 minutes and 20 hours to work, a SmartSense detector is a real-time sensor. It uses a microchip to capture the electronic "signature" produced when the avian flu (H5N1) surface contacts the sensor. Like a lock and key, this SmartSense detector is triggered only by the H5N1 target. The detector then automatically transmits the identifying information to users.

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June 9, 2006: Irish Examiner> Breaking News> Sport The United Nation's bird flu chief said yesterday that the three-year estimate of funds needed to stem the deadly virus in Africa could be as high as $1bn (â‚¬782m). David Nabarro (from the UN) noted that funds pledged at a donor's conference in Beijing in January “ when the disease was primarily in Asia and entering eastern Europe - totalled around $1.9bn.

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COMMENT: It will be interesting to see how many of the farmers become employed by CP, the Thai multinational chicken mogul......

June 3, 2006: People's Daily Online -- Donors pledge over US$60 mln for anti-bird flu in Vietnam Over the longer term, Vietnam plans to restructure its poultry industry by improving bio-security and food safety along the market chain from producer to consumer, while protecting the livelihoods of poor farmers and preserving the environment.

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COMMENT:

1. They really don't know; many scientists say the migratory birds have nothing to do with it; they are REACHING for an answer...and migratory birds are a convenient scapegoat.

2. Scientists have been warning that the bird flu virus will get stronger and just ship; now they say it may die off.

3. The Missing Link is the effect of the environment. They should read my book, FOWL!

June 2, 2006: The Hindu : National : "Wild migratory birds have role in spread of bird flu" The participants at the conference did not agree on the key issue of the role of wild birds in the spread of HPAI to more than 50 countries in three continents, and whether wild birds should now be considered a permanent reservoir of the virus. If they are such a reservoir, there is a strong likelihood they will carry the virus with them in subsequent migrations. Alternatively H5N1 may subside naturally as infected animals die off, or it may mutate to a less aggressive form. "This was one of the main gaps identified in our present scientific knowledge. We must intensify our investigations,'' said FAO's chief veterinary officer Joseph Domenech.

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COMMENT: Crucell is the cell line using retina cells from aborted fetal tissues....It would be interesting to see the consent form people signed to be in this study!! Also, notice that this is NOT H5N1 but H9N2....not even close to the bird flu virus. The CDC says the virus has to be an "exact match" to be effective.

June 2, 2006: Crucell to start clinical tests of bird flu vaccine - Forbes.com Crucell NV said it is to start clinical tests of a bird flu vaccine today. 560 people will be inoculated using three vaccines based on the H9N2 virus. Crucell hopes to have results of the tests at the end of 2006.

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COMMENT: Hope the US Congress doesn't see this bill any time soon!! If they do, we might be adding "property and land grab" to the agenda behind the bird flu!

May 29, 2006: New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz: Bird-flu bill lets medical officers seize land, cars The bill proposes significantly extending the powers of medical officers. They would be able to [seize] any land or buildings “ publicly or privately owned “ for a wide range of reasons, including the treatment of patients or storing or disposal of bodies. Vehicles could also be taken if they were needed to transport patients, doctors or medical equipment, or to carry food, tents or other temporary facilities. Medical officers would also have the authority to close any premises in their district, except private homes, courts and prisons, and to insist on certain infection-control measures. Police would have the power to "do anything reasonably necessary, including the use of force", to help medical officers exercise their powers.

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May 24, 2006: Chron.com | Skeptics say bird flu threat overblown "It's a great story, a disease that can wipe out mankind as we know it," says Dr. Gary Butcher, a University of Florida veterinarian specializing in avian diseases. "Fortunately, the facts are contrary to what's being reported. This disease is going to fizzle out, be forgotten in the near future and be replaced by another 'potential worldwide threat.' "

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May 24, 2006: United Press International - NewsTrack - Some scientists rebut bird flu estimates "It's a great story, a disease that can wipe out mankind as we know it," Dr. Gary Butcher, a University of Florida veterinarian specializing in avian diseases, told the newspaper. "Fortunately, the facts are contrary to what's being reported. This disease is going to fizzle out, be forgotten in the near future and be replaced by another 'potential worldwide threat.'"

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COMMENT: The signs of "bird flu" are upper respiratory infection, cough, fever.....How could the separate the "signs of bird flu" from any other type of lung infection, including pneumonia? And if they have died in the presence of H5N1, did that mean the virus caused their demise? Or was it due to the lack of a robust immune system?

May 23, 2006: Iran News - "2 dead with signs of bird flu symptoms in Iran" (IranMania) - Two people have died in Iran showing possible symptoms of the bird flu virus, a health official in the northwestern province of Kermanshah said, quoted by the news agency ISNA.

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COMMENT: Replacing a high-level official is always unnerving. Could be better...but could be much worse. General Lee was called the "king of vaccination." Watch for his replacement and his back ground.

May 23, 2006: VOA News - Bird Flu Pandemic High on World Health Assembly Agenda

The World Health Assembly took a long time to get down to business following the untimely death of World Health Organization's Director-General Lee Jong-wook.

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COMMENT: I can't imagine why it is so critical...wonder if there are many poultry farms in Michigan to protect?

May 19, 2006: WWMT - Digital Channel 3 (NEWS 3) - There have been no reported cases of bird flu in the U.S., but state leaders have stepped up surveillance. They want to know within hours if the deadly bird flu lands in Michigan.... "We can identify the bird flu, avian influenza virus, H5N1 in about three hours or less. That is vitally important because every minute counts," said center director Dr. Willie Reed.

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COMMENT: Talk about mind control and mental conditioning. We need to STOP perpetuating the fear.

May 18, 2006 - Students 'ill' in avian flu drill - The practice was a way to exercise emergency preparedness, maximize efficiency and practice with new equipment at Huntington Beach Hospital. - The Orange County Register - "Thirty-five Westminster High School students coughed, clutched their stomachs and wheezed, feigning bird flu-like symptoms. The students were playing the part of high school band members returning from an overseas competition in Southeast Asia."

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COMMENT: These folks are truly "mad" scientists, but every definition of the word! What will they think of next? SCAREY!

May 17, 2006: CTV.ca | Officials mull using poultry vaccine on people The World Health Organization and others are studying whether it would be possible to tap into the global agricultural vaccine production capacity to help bridge the enormous gap between the amount of human flu vaccine the world can produce and how much would be needed in a severe pandemic. While the idea of giving people vaccine produced for poultry may seem, well, for the birds, the proposal - advanced by eager agricultural vaccine-makers - hasn't been dismissed out of hand.

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COMMENT: Bird flu is caused by back yard chickens; no wait! It must be spread by migratory birds.....no wait!! It's spread by pigs. They don't have a clue...so why all the hoopla?

May 17, 2006: Xinhua - English JAKARTA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Pigs are blamed for having spread the bird flu virus that recently killed five people in Indonesia's North Sumatra province, according to a senior government official Thursday

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COMMENT: Remember, sick birds don't fly far, and dead birds don't fly at all!

May 11, 2006: Migrating Birds Didn't Carry Flu - New York Times (requires registration)

In thousands of samples collected in Africa this winter, the bird flu virus, A(H5N1), was not detected in a single wild bird, health officials and scientists said. In Europe, only a few cases have been detected in wild birds since April 1, at the height of the migration north. The number of cases in Europe has fallen off so steeply compared with February, when dozens of new cases were found daily, that specialists contend that the northward spring migration played no role.

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COMMENT: So the death rate from "garden variety" influenza is now at 45, 000?? They exaggerated the death rate at 30,000. Guess they can do anything they want with numbers.

May 10, 2006 - Bird Flu Drama - Can It Happen? - The TV movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America " raised questions about the U.S. ability to handle a pandemic. C. Ed Hsu , an expert in public health emergency preparedness for disease and bioterrorism and assistant professor of public and community health looks at some of the issues the movie raised. Hsu has prepared a number of studies on public health preparedness and response and bioterrorism and surveillance databases on minority health, including Asian Americans. - www.physorg.com - "Hsu: We are not really well prepared. America is not ready even for annual seasonal flu that kills 45,000 every year."

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COMMENT: Wonder how many chickens were culled because they were "thought" to be infected?

May 7, 2006: Daily Times - Site Edition ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that all 109 samples collected from people living in and around 18 poultry farms in the NWFP, Punjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) had tested negative for the virus. The samples were collected from four poultry farms of Punjab, two NWFP farms and 12 ICT farms, APP reported. The ministry also confirmed that all the suspected people who were hospitalised in the isolation wards had been tested negative by the National Institute of Health and were discharged from the hospitals.

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COMMENT: They can't have it both ways!! Guess this is a way to shore up the poultry industry....right before the bird flu movie!! Lobbyists for Tyson, et al, have been pounding the pavement!

May 6, 2006: TV ads: Don't sweat bird flu | IndyStar.com An announcer lists four steps for food safety: Clean hands and cooking surfaces. Separate raw and cooked foods. Cook poultry to at least 165 degrees. Chill leftovers promptly.The Agriculture Department on Thursday began sending out a series of commercials, interview excerpts, video footage and photos to television and radio stations with the goal of easing people's minds and clearing up misconceptions about bird flu.

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May 6, 2006: Bird flu thriller only a movie - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ABC's made-for-TV movie, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" will be broadcast at 8 p.m Tuesday, sending some public health experts and chicken producers into crisis mode as they try to help the public distinguish between science and entertainment.

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COMMENT: Last year they were projected that the flu would get worse in the summer as the birds returned to SE Asia......more "guessing." Reinforces that all this hype is about trying to predict a Random Event. We're not "due" for an outbreak. How silly!

May 6, 2006 - Warm-up slows avian flu spread - Newsday - Five outbreaks of the lethal H5N1 avian flu strain in poultry were reported to the World Organization for Animal Health in the week ended April 27, compared with an average of more than 40 a week in March. "Maybe one of the more positive possibilities is that the summer is coming and the heat of Africa may be in our advantage," Webster told reporters in Singapore, where he addressed an avian flu forum this week sponsored by the Lancet medical journal. "Maybe we will have a summer before it starts spreading more."

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COMMENT: If they weren't taking themselves so seriously, this would be funny!

May 3, 2006: FOXNews.com - Top Bird Flu Scientist: Virus Won't Hit U.S. in 2006 - International News | News of the World | Middle East New.. .....infected birds being smuggled into the U.S. pose a bigger threat right now than fears that migratory birds en route to America might mix with infected birds from Europe or Asia

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April 30, 2006: The Observer | Business | Glaxo to mass-produce human bird flu vaccine

Jean-Pierre Garnier, GSK's chief executive, will meet President George Bush in the next fortnight to brief him about progress in developing a vaccine that would offer protection against the deadly strain of bird flu virus H5N1. Western governments have placed advance orders for the vaccine, which could be produced in factories in Europe and the United States by the end of the year. France and Britain alone have ordered 60 million doses.

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COMMENT: PRE-emptive strike by KFC, largest purchaser of factory farmed chickens in the world!!

April 26, 2006: At Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland Sanders' face remains a staple on company signs and food containers. Now the goateed image of the restaurant chain's founder appears on a sticker meant to head off any concerns about eating chicken if bird flu spreads to the United States. The small stickers are being put on the lid of every bucket of chicken that KFC sells in the U.S. The seal is a pre-emptive campaign assuring customers that the chicken is "rigorously inspected, thoroughly cooked, quality assured."

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COMMENT: Killing chickens and eliminating food sources.....and still not enough human cases to warrant this.

April 26. 2006: Daily Times - Site Edition 57 suspected human cases test negative for bird flu. ISLAMABAD: Although nine poultry farms have been confirmed for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus strain near Islamabad and over 46,000 birds have been culled to check the spread of disease, the tests of the 57 suspected human bird flu cases have all come back negative, the Health Ministry said on Monday

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COMMENT: People cannot get sick from eating eggs and chicken with the virus if the foods are cooked. There are 6 million in Kenya dying of starvation from the worst draught in 20 years ( ABC News: Worst Drought in 20 Years Hits East Africa ) and food is being destroyed that "might" be infected? The sad state of the world we live in.....

April 24, 2006: The Tide Online Bird flu: Task force destroys 123 crates of eggs in Bayelsa, Niger. The Bayelsa State Taskforce on Bird Flu says it has destroyed more than 123 crates of eggs suspected to be infected by the Avian Influenza in a bid to check the spread of the disease. He stated that the taskforce has started an aggressive inspection of poultry farms, birds and poultry products such as eggs so as not to allow the deadly disease infect the state.

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COMMENT: Is this a sign of times to come?

April 23, 2006: Plane Quarantined in Denmark Due to Bird Flu Scare A Singapore Airlines aircraft was quarantined after the Captain warned the airport that a passenger was showing Bird Flu symptoms. 20 crew members and 275 passengers including the 31 year old Swedish woman showing the symptoms were directed to an isolated area in Kastrup airport. After a medical team examined the woman, she was found to be suffering from an upset stomach. This was the second scare in Denmark this week regarding the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

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COMMENT: With a population of more than 1.3 BILLION, why would 12 deaths make the news? The most common cause of death in China is respiratory illnesses; read the complete story in FOWL! Bird Flu: It's Not What You Think.

April 23, 2006: Bangkok Post Breaking News China's 12th human death from bird flu

Beijing (dpa) - A 21-year-old man in the central province of Hubei died from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on Wednesday, the 12th human death from bird flu officially recorded in China, state media said on Wednesday.

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COMMENT: People cannot get sick from eating eggs and chicken with the virus if the foods are cooked. There are 6 million in Kenya dying of starvation from the worst draught in 20 years ( ABC News: Worst Drought in 20 Years Hits East Africa ) and food is being destroyed that "might" be infected? The sad state of the world we live in.....

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April 23, 2006: Bangkok Post Breaking News China's 12th human death from bird flu

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April 23, 2006: Skeptics warn bird flu fears are overblown - Bird Flu - MSNBC.com Skeptics warn bird flu fears are overblown. Chicken Little alert? Hysteria could sap money from worse health threats, There's no guarantee bird flu will become a pandemic, and if it does there's no guarantee it will kill millions of people. The real trouble, these skeptics say, is that bird flu hysteria is sapping money and attention away from more important health threats.

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COMMENT: The missing link? Environmental chemicals....see FOWL! Bird flu: It's Not What You Think for more details!

April 23, 2006: allAfrica.com: Cameroon: Bird Flu Scare: Birdlife Coordinator Defends Migratory Birds "The exaggeration of the responsibility of wild birds in the spreading of the bird flu is unjustified. Wild birds are victims [of the flu] and are, therefore, not guilty," he defended.

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COMMENT: They are not testing for the correct thing. A positive antibody is indicative of EXPOSURE, not immunity. The blood samples of the patients who died should have been tested for dioxin.

April 22, 2006: The Hindu News Update Service In one of the largest studies of its kind, scientists in Cambodia took blood samples from 351 people in a small village, where one of the country's six bird flu deaths traced to the H5N1 virus was confirmed. They found no antibodies for H5N1 in any of the specimens, indicating nobody became infected but recovered after falling only mildly ill or displaying no symptoms whatsoever.

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COMMENT: The "arrival" of the bird flu virus is eminent.

April 16, 2006: North Jersey Media Group providing local news, sports & classifieds for Northern New Jersey! WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected to approve a national influenza pandemic response plan that identifies more than 300 specific tasks for federal agencies.The Treasury Department is poised to sign agreements with other nations to produce currency if its facilities cannot operate. The Pentagon, anticipating difficulties acquiring supplies from the Far East, is considering stockpiling millions of latex gloves. And the Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a drive-through medical exam to quickly assess patients who suspect they have been infected...."Any community that fails to prepare -- with the expectation that the federal government can come to the rescue -- will be tragically wrong," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a speech last Monday.

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April 12, 2006: Expert says bird flu no imminent threat "It is entirely conceivable that this virus is inherently programmed that it will never be able to go efficiently from human to human," Fauci said. "Hopefully the epidemic (in birds) will burn itself out, which epidemics do, before the virus evolves the capability of being more efficient in going from human to human."
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COMMENT: This is pure hype! From the UK....

April 9, 2006: Telegraph | News | Bird flu 'could kill 100,000 children' The Government's most senior medical adviser has warned that 100,000 schoolchildren could die if a bird flu pandemic strikes Britain. Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, said in a letter leaked to The Sunday Times that school closures could help keep the death toll down, but 50,000 children could still be expected to die.

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COMMENT: I can only imagine the types of drugs planned for this when it gets to humans!

April 7, 2006: Chronic, programmed polypeptide delivery from an implanted, multireservoir microchip device - Nature Biotechnology Implanted drug delivery systems are being increasingly used to realize the therapeutic potential of peptides and proteins. Here we describe the controlled pulsatile release of the polypeptide leuprolide from microchip implants over 6 months in dogs. Each microchip contains an array of discrete reservoirs from which dose delivery can be controlled by telemetry.

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COMMENT: Good grief!! will they make up their minds? The CDC has maintained for YEARS that if a virus is not a "match" the vaccine is "ineffective." This means that changing the viruses in the annual flu shot is NOT NECESSARY as the "drifts" should be "close enough" to be have an "effect," by their definition. Hopefully, this type of mixed rhetoric will be useful to stop the flu vaccine program all together. --Dr. Sherri

San Jose Mercury News/Associated Press Even bird flu becomes a pandemic, an assertive vaccination campaign at the beginning of an outbreak would still be the most effective response, a study concludes. A vaccine that is a poor match as well as treatment with an antiviral could help slow the spread of the disease, researchers said after studying computer models of flu spread.

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April 4...Daily Times - Site Edition Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m from bird flu drug. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has made more than $5 million from selling shares in the biotechnology firtm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by governments to treat a possible human pandemic of bird flu, reports British newspaper the Independent.

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COMMENT: What do they know that we don't know?

April 2, 2006: Scotsman.com News - Health - Bird flu: the secret Cabinet document

Story in full: The death toll from a bird flu pandemic in Britain could be more than 700,000, according to a confidential government report seen by The Scotsman.

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April 2, 2006: 'Mass burials' plan for bird flu Mass burials could be held if bird flu reaches Britain and causes a 'worst case' epidemic among the population, it has been reported.

The assessment warns that 'there are likely to be substantially more deaths than can be managed within current time scales', and that there could be delays of up to 17 weeks in disposing of bodies.

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COMMENT: Building the case for adding the M-59 toxic adjuvant....

March 29, 2006: Bird flu vaccine only works at highest dose: study - Boston.com

The vaccine, made by a unit of Sanofi-Aventis and based on an H5N1 virus that killed a Vietnamese man in 2004, only produced a satisfactory immune response in volunteers at two doses of 90 micrograms each. That is 12 times what is needed for the annual seasonal flu shot.

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COMMENT: This is the best advice that I've seen to date about preparing for a flu pandemic!

March 29, 2006: Bird Flu Woes: Flying This Way? "You have more important things to worry about than bird flu," he says. "If you are in a high-risk group for flu complications, it's better to worry about getting your normal flu shot this year. If you're worried about your health, you'll do better to watch what you eat and to lose some weight than to worry about a flu pandemic. Bird flu is out there. As a nation we should be prepared. But whether it will happen this year or in 10 years: Who knows?

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March 29, 2006: IOL: Congo bird flu outbreak would be 'catastrophic' An outbreak of bird flu in Congo would be 'catastrophic,' but more attention is needed for other diseases which are killing thousands every day in the war-ravaged country, a senior UN humanitarian official said today.

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March 28, 2006: On the Front: A Pandemic Is Worrisome but 'Unlikely' - New York Times "I think you have to say we really don't know the odds of pandemic, and people are not comfortable with that," Dr. Farrar said. "It could fizzle out and kill 98 people one more than the number dead today. Or it could be something like 200 million," closer to an estimate once made by Dr. David Nabarro, chief avian flu coordinator for the United Nations. "It's terrifying if it happens, but it is very, very unlikely, I think and it is difficult to balance those facts."

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COMMENT: I disagree. As one of the top flu experts in the world, Webster's role is to track influenza in the test tube, not to make sweeping speculations that are not based on science and do far more harm than good. By his estimatation, we should be destroying every bird in the world right now before we all perish in a pool of pathogens,

March 17, 2006: The cost of bird flu hysteria - The Boston Globe RENOWNED bird flu expert Robert Webster told ABC News this week that there were ''about even odds at this time for the virus to learn how to transmit human to human," and ''society just can't accept the idea that 50 percent of the population could die. . . . I'm sorry if I'm making people a little frightened, but I feel it's my role."

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March 15, 2006: Top Russian Communist Blames U.S. of Using Bird Flu as Biological Weapon - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM Top Russian Communist Blames U.S. of Using Bird Flu as Biological Weapon. It's strange that not a single duck has yet died in America - they are all dying in Russia and European countries. This makes one seriously wonder why, Gennady Zyuganov was quoted by UPI as saying. Asked whether he believes the bird flu outbreak could be a deliberate attack by the United States, Zyuganov said not only suggest this, "I know very well how this can be arranged. There is nothing strange here."

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COMMENT: "The sky is falling...the sky is falling...."

March 15,2006: ABC News: Renowned Bird Flu Expert Warns: Be Prepared "Society just can't accept the idea that 50 percent of the population could die. And I think we have to face that possibility," Webster said. "I'm sorry if I'm making people a little frightened, but I feel it's my role."

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COMMENT: Our tax dollars at work.....

March 15,2006: Bloomberg.com: U.S. Bird Flu Plans Require $30.5M More for 2007, U.S. FDA Says. The FDA also would use the money to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity and lengthen the shelf life of treatments for the influenza virus now circulating in birds, von Eschenbach told a U.S. Senate subcommittee at a hearing in Washington today. Von Eschenbach briefed the panel on the agency's requests, included in President George W. Bush's $2.77 trillion budget proposal for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

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COMMENT: This is a must read....this Bird Flu Hype gets more bizzare every day!

March 8, 2006: United Press International - NewsTrack - Hong Kongers get sticky advice on bird flu Hong Kong officials, who last week encouraged people to kill wild birds to fight bird flu, have now proposed using sticky gel to repel pesky pigeons and crows.

When local resident Austen Ng complained to department officials about wild pigeons at her housing estate, they "suggested that residents could use this glue on the walls," she said. The residents found the advice confusing, however. "They asked, 'If the birds have avian flu, why would we want to stick them to our buildings?'" Ng said. The spokesman had to explain that the gel was "a kind of bird repellent" and would not keep birds from flying away. Last week the department had said it had no objections to citizens killing wild birds provided they did not use a slingshot. It later said the advice was a "misunderstanding."

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March 6, 2006: Planet Ark An Austrian cat which has twice tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus did not show the virus in a third probe on Tuesday, Austria's health ministry said, adding to uncertainty about the infection in cats. "Apparently cats are more resistant than chicken," the spokeswoman said. "That you find the virus in the mouth apparently doesn't mean that it reaches the other end too."

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March 4,2006: Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - News In English A CHIICKEN LEG LESS BAD THAN A CIGARETTE - La Spezia, March 4 - "Bird flu exists. It's hard to stop the virus from spreading. We must avoid infection of farms and sensitive spots. We haven't had problems at farms as yet, but this doesn't mean that it will never happen. We have however a very strong bio-security network that can give certainty and safety to citizens. So this psychosis is not justified. My health is very delicate. I have not smoked for three weeks and have been on a chicken diet for ten days because I want to show that a chicken drumstick does less harm than a cigarette." Thus said Health Minister, Francesco Storace, today in La Spezia, on the sidelines of an A.N. election meeting. (AGI)

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March 4, 2006 - Bird flu in India: profits override public health concerns - World Socialist Web Site via Asian Tribune - "India's poultry giants are making concerted efforts to minimise the risks. Reports of bird flu sent Indian poultry sales plunging by 80-90 percent and halted exports to neighbouring countries, the Middle East and Japan."

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COMMENT: No surprise, not migratory birds after all...

March 2, 2006: AlertNet - Nigeria suspects illegal imports brought bird flu "There is a very strong basis to believe that avian flu may have been introduced into Nigeria through illegally imported day-old chicks," he said in a statement. The government knows of no humans in Nigeria infected with the virus.

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COMMENT: The locals distrust the government more than they fear the flu...and with good reason.

March 2, 2006: CNN.com - Distrust hurts Nigeria bird flu fight - Feb 28, 2006 Nigeria (AP) -- Farm hands watched apprehensively, as veterinary officials first drew blood samples from dying chickens and then came back to kill the birds.

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COMMENT: This is almost funny! I could make a great cartoon.

March 1, 2006: Fifa says bird flu spread may damage World Cup Gerrmany has been gripped by bird flu panic, with pets ordered to be kept indoors, after the discovery of a dead cat contaminated with the disease. The head of world football also raised the possibility that the World Cup could be cancelled.

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COMMENT: This may be why the UN and WHO saying, repeated, "bird flu WILL happen....it is in the plan."

The Police State Road Map, March 2005 edition. Chapter 14

Bertrand Russell, one of the twentieth century's most eminent philosophers, said the same in his book, The Impact of Science on Society:

"At present the population of the world is increasing ... War so far has had no great effect on this increase ... I do not pretend that birth control is the only way in which population can be kept from increasing. There are others ... If a Black Death could be spread

throughout the world once in every generation, survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full....."

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COMMENT: The government did the same thing in Thailand, to support Agribusiness and the poultry industry.

February 26, 2006: Chennai Online News Service - View News About 500 kg of chicken and 5,000 eggs were cooked for the feast, being served with chicken 65 to chicken tikka, egg bonda to egg biryani, in which more than 2,500 people participated. The mela was purely "a confidence-building measure", to counter reports about safety of eating chicken in the wake of avian flu threat. ___________________________________

February 24, 2006 - Americans worry about the bird flu - AP via Deseret News - "It's the first public, in-depth survey to ask Americans what they know about bird flu and how they might respond if the virus evolves to spread among people, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results show that U.S. bird flu outbreaks could have severe economic effects. About 46 percent of respondents who eat chicken said they would stop eating it if bird flu hits the U.S. poultry industry. If human outbreaks occurred, 75 percent said they would reduce or avoid travel, 71 percent said they would skip public events and 68 percent said they would stay home and keep their children at home while the outbreak lasted."

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February 24, 2006 - South Korea Says 4 People Infected with Avian Flu Never Became Ill - South Korean officials have announced that four poultry workers were infected with avian flu more than two years ago, but have never become ill. These are the first known cases in South Korea of the virus spreading to humans. - Voice of America

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COMMENT: What's in store...

February 23, 2006 - Why we need a robust vaccine market - Bird Flu: Be Wary, Not Panicked - Centre Daily - "Yearly flu shots for most Americans would help create the infrastructure we need to prepare for pandemics, with the added advantage of providing immediate health benefits."

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COMMENT: Now, THIS is stating the truth!!

February 22, 2006: Bangkok Post Breaking news The greatest risk to Europe is still not to people but to its poultry industries, which could suffer great financial losses if H5N1 becomes endemic.

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COMMENT: They are riding on big assumptions:

1) the vaccine will protect the chickens;

2) the vaccine has a correct strain and

3) without the vaccine, the chickens will get sick. What will the vaccines do to the health of the chickens?

February 21, 2006 - Farmers to press for all free-range birds to be vaccinated - The London Times. A VACCINATION strategy to protect 15 million chickens in Britain from the deadly avian flu virus is being prepared by a new farm alliance.

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COMMENT: Killing birds is going to eliminate the independent farmers throughout India, China and Southeast Asia; they will become indentured servants called 'employees' or 'independent contractors,'beholding to global agribusiness.

In addition, putting new chicks into sick environments will not solve the problem. My soon-to-be released book, "FOWL!! Bird flu...it's not what you think" explains it all!

February 20, 2006: Mass slaughter of fowl in India after bird flu outbreak reported - Print Version - International Herald Tribune The culling has begun in India. "We are taking the help of farm workers also to destroy the poultry." Some 500,000 birds will be slaughtered within a 3-

kilometer (1.5-mile) radius to check the spread of the virus in the area, more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of Bombay. "We are looking at a very difficult future. All of us will have to start again from scratch, and I don"t know how many of us will survive," said Ghulam

Vhora, a member of a Navapur poultry farmers" association.

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COMMENT: You can't find what you are not looking for. Now that "experts" are looking at every dead bird for H5N1, they are finding it. Which begs the question: HAS THE VIRUS BEEN THERE ALL ALONG?

Why are so many migratory birds dying? The secret lies in the condition of the environment....see my book, FOWL! Bird Flu...It's Not What You Think .....order it now!!

February 20, 2006: Health Experts Surprised at Rapid Spread of Bird Flu - New York Times "After several years in one place, why is it now moving so rapidly?" asked Dr. Samuel Jutzi, director of the Animal Production and Health Division at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. "There is a lot about this that we just don't know."

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COMMENT: AGRIBUSINESS and PHARMA, working together, strike again...

FEBRUARY 19, 2006: Bird flu scare crashes chicken prices by 60% A day after bird flu cases were reported from Nandurbar and Dhule districts, sale of chicken and poultry products in the city witnessed a sharp drop of 60-70 per cent. Small time poultry farm owners are the worst-affected. Traders and sellers spoke of a conspiracy and claimed that it was done by the multinational companies to create a scare to sell their flu vaccines. ˜They have invested a lot of money into their medicines and sell it for over Rs 1,000. This is a way of selling their product," a shopkeeper said.

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COMMENT: The government's advice on Bird flu....good grief!

February 18, 2006: Health News Article | Reuters.com When burying a body in the backyard, don't put it too close to the septic

system. That was one piece of advice offered on Wednesday to a business conference on preparing for a potentially lethal bird flu epidemic.

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COMMENT: It would be funny if it weren't so gross! Carrying away dead birds and testing them for viruses....would make a good cartoon.

February 18, 2006 : German Military Joins Fight Against Bird Flu | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 18.02.2006 Meanwhile, the entire island of Rügen has been declared an "observation zone." Every reported bird carcass must be collected and sent off to laboratories for testing. The job of collecting the dead birds is enormous: Every year several hundred migratory birds die on the shores of the island when they return west after winter. However, the contagious nature of the disease prohibits a simple collection of the carcasses, Kassner told reporters.

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Comment: This is a HUGE amount of power; There is a very thin line standing between mandatory, government-enforced vaccination and our rights to refuse.

February 16, 2006: Bird-Flu Vaccine Makers to Get Protection WASHINGTON -- The government won't wait for bird flu to hit U.S. shores before granting liability protections to vaccine manufacturers and others that make products needed to battle a pandemic. In December,

Congress gave Health and Human Services Secretary, Mike Leavitt, the authority to declare when products are necessary "countermeasures" for a public health emergency. The manufacturers and distributors of