U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said on Monday said that it was "increasingly likely" that bird flu would be detected in the United States as early as this year.
Reuters, March 20, 2006
Bird Flu Poised for U.S. Arrival
Springtime is here and, with it, fevered chirping about bird flu.
Today, three Cabinet secretaries will present an update on national preparedness including bird testing, poultry industry protections, anti-smuggling measures, vaccine development and the status of state and local emergency planning.
"It is only a matter of time before we discover H5N1 birds in America," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said in a report last week.
Leavitt is in the midst of a multi-city tour, answering questions about the virus' spread globally and telling Americans how to respond should it reach U.S. shores. He is asking people not to panic.
Sacramento Bee, March 20, 2008
Public Tunes In to Pandemic Threat
A year ago, H5N1 avian flu was ripping through Asian poultry flocks and sparking frequent - and too often fatal - human infections in Vietnam. International health authorities worried that a largely oblivious world might be sleepwalking toward disaster.
Few are ignoring the persistent and virulent virus now.
Canadian Press, March 19, 2006
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Bird Flu Likely in US This Year
By: Pete Kendall, March 20, 2006 |
"An epidemic will erupt."
At the Crest of the Tidal Wave |
| The last article from the Canadian Press captures the important socionomic aspect of this threat. We talked about it here on September 23, but the difference now is that people are starting heed the warnings of public health officials. The last article notes that some experts have been somewhat taken aback by the public response to their exhortations. Some are now backpedaling from earlier, more dire assessments. Dr. Jody Lanard, a risk communications expert, explains, “There is a kind of seesaw of attention between the public and officials. When everyone is ignoring the problem, officials focus on raising the alarm. When people finally pay attention and start worrying, the officials instantly want to calm them down again. Everybody in the warning business worries that people will accuse them of crying wolf. They forget that in the actual Boy Who Cried Wolf story, the wolf finally showed up." As we’ve noted, the big bug of the first leg down was the SARS epidemic, which coincided with the stock market lows and their immediate aftermath in 2002-2003. If avian flu is not a coming distraction of the next leg down, it is certainly setting the mood. Socionomics doesn't tell us whether or not this is the wolf, but, as At The Crest has already demonstrated, it can certainly tell us when the environment is right for one. Just as importantly, fears surrounding its presence, tell us about the likely visitation of another savage beast, a very large bear. The willingness to "pay attention and start worrying," likely signals its arrival. With respect to this man eater, the public is on its own. |
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