Bird flu death toll triples in 2006, the threat is still real
June 30th, 2006
International experts warn that the flu pandemic threat remains serious and efforts for developing and producing supplies and medicine need to be augmented, as the fatalities caused by bird flu have tripled this year.
60 people have fallen victim to the virus since the start of this year, while only 20 casualties were recorded in the same period of 2005. Professor Ian Jones of Reading University says there has never been a better moment to implement screening and preventive measures. So far more than one half of the people infected with the virus have died.
More than 200 experts in different fields are attending these days the International Conference on Avian Influenza in Humans, being held in Paris, where the latest strategies of dealing with the bird flu and the very likely pandemic will be discussed.
American expert Michael Osterholm believes the rise in bird flu cases reflects a constant pressure from the virus in both domestic and wild birds, and also warns that despite past flu pandemics this threat should not be taken lightly: “We’re trying to explain it as if we’ve already done the bench work and can tell you what’s going to happen. That’s just not the case.'’