Andrew,
A very thoughtful and sensible post.
Though stories do seem to be being peddled in some media which seem designed
to produce panic about bird flu in migratory bird populations as though it
is something new (with the known history and epidemiology of bird flu never
clearly distinguished - as far as it is known - vis-a-vis human flu). And
such panic has probably already led to, and certainly in future could well
lead to, calls for killing of migratory birds.
No doubt it is true that the effectiveness of existing vaccines (e.g.
Relenza and Tamiflu - the latter being stockpiled by Indonesia according to
newspaper reports) could change (and there certainly are newspaper reports
saying that viruses are becoming more resistant - not surprisingly). But
perhaps at present such vaccines are our best hope? Though let's hope that
research for other vaccines is ongoing.
Here is an interesting (albeit not recent) article:
http://medicine.wustl.edu/~virology/Laver.htm
More knowledge can only be beneficial.
Regards,
JAP
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