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Originally Posted by tw
... put that threat into perspective. Previous versions of the disease that did pass into to humans were the types H1, H2, and H3. They caused humans to get sick in 1918, 1957, and 1968. ... So where will the disease be a greater problem.
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So many people did not die in 1957 and 1968 because we hyped the end of the world? No. So why do we hype Armageddon today? Maybe because English majors posing as reporters cannot put science into perspective? Or maybe because religious extremists look forward to a second coming of Christ?
H5N1 is an interesting story of something that the medical profession must watch and make preparations for. How serious is it? We have previous data - 1957 and 1968. It is not the disease that we should worry about. Again return to lessons from history. After being told the levees would be breached and with a hurricane bearing down on New Orleans; what did this president do? He went to California for a campaign fund raiser. With the USS Bataan sitting off New Orleans waiting to rescue Americans, then how long did it take this leader to make a decision? Five days the Bataan waited for a presidential decision. Five days for a president to decide people needed rescue. Therein lies any threat from H5N1. Don't let the hype fool you. History says danger *lies* from where 85% of all problems are created - and where PDBs warning of 11 September don't even get read.
With responsible leadership and a medical community that has already studied and prepared for H5N1, then risk should not be significant. But planning requires assistance from responsible leadership. What do we call a ship without a rudder? Well, hell - this one does not even have a sane captain. Who cares about a missing rudder? The threat is a captain who invents enemies where they don’t exist and who cannot even acknowledge reality - that levees will be breached. This is a leader who will respond to an H5N1 threat? Only if god tells him to. After all, does the president even know the difference between a virus and bateria? History says probably no. And since we are all heathens, therein *lies* the real threat from H5N1.
Not for one minute am I facetious. There is only one reason to worry about H5N1. From history, the disease should be trivial. But then we have this leadership with history that says, “Worry not about the disease”. Worry about why failure happens - and those who would vote for such people. These are the same people who say only god can decide whether you have children and when you can die. Worry about the real reason why H5N1 could be a problem.