Thai PM Summons Emergency Bird Flu Meeting

[CHIMO]

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called an emergency meeting on bird flu on Wednesday after experts said they had probably documented Thailand's first case of human-to-human transmission of the disease.

While there was no evidence to suggest the case was the dreaded one that could set off a human pandemic, health and agriculture officials also met to decide what to do next in their battle, so far unsuccessful, to eradicate the disease.

Top officials of the Agriculture and Health Ministries, who have sniped at each other constantly since a significantly delayed admission that Thailand had an epidemic of the H5N1 bird flu virus early this year, met first.

They were due to then proceed to the meeting chaired by Thaksin, a flamboyant former telecoms tycoon who calls himself a chief executive officer type of leader, as analysts watched for any impact on the economy, especially the huge tourist industry.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6360860

Maybe public healic is important because it affects the public, that means everyone.

[Carolab]

1. oh yeah

here we go. I've been waiting for months for this bird flu thing to take off. There have been clandestine government meetings on this to be sure. What better way to kill off an unwanted population? It is especially good at killing off the elderly, who can't handle the treatment, and in the process make massive profits for the drug companies. Oh, by the way, there are expected to be shortages of enough of the drugs to go around.

You can be sure that the U.N. will not tell them how to use massive doses of ascorbate (vitamin C) even though it is cheap and effective because word of this would get back to countries who can afford expensive ineffective drug treatments. That would be terrible for the profits of the drug industry.

Read this:
"Shares in pharmaceutical research company Biota Holdings have surged more than 50 per cent after CSIRO laboratory tests showed the company's flu drug Relenza is effective against bird flu."

<snip>

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1050069.htm

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. How much evidence is there for the effect of Vitamin C on flu?

The Linus Pauling Institute says it can shorten the length of colds, but says nothing about flu.

[dArKeR]

3. Human link feared in Thai bird flu death

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/09/29/2003204800

[depakid]

4. "probably" documented

According to the Sept. 28 WHO CSR, human to human transmission hasn't been proven- and even if it has, it appears that it requires sustained contact as opposed to the casual sort that typifies the more contagious influenza strains.

Not that it isn't something to watch, but just that this particular incident doesn't ring the pandemic bell.

[dArKeR]

5. Bird flu claims its 30th human victim in Asia

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/09/30/2003204963