Expert: Recent Chinese Avian Flu Cases No Cause for Alarm

The recent death of a 27-year-old Chinese women from avian flu is a reminder of the suffering this disease has inflicted on almost 200 people across Asia and Africa who died from it, but it and two similar Chinese cases does not mean that humanity has moved any closer to a worldwide pandemic, according to one expert

He says the likelihood of such a mass outbreak, despite these recent tragic deaths, is no greater than a two years ago when the disease dominated national and international headlines.

The recent outbreaks are what Robert Norton would describe as spatially diverse, meaning that the three outbreaks were not concentrated in a single region but occurred throughout the country at roughly the same time.

Moreover, Norton, an Auburn University veterinary bacteriologist who works with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to educate Alabamians about avian flu and other biosecurity issues, says these isolated cases appear to be entirely that

Posted by Jim Langcuster at January 21, 2009 03:54 PM | TrackBack