Bird Flu

For all those who are skeptical that the bird flu will reach our shores (or who are skeptical that it might become a massive outbreak), you should read the article in the BBC News, Egyptian woman 'dies of bird flu'. The H5N1 virus had been mostly concentrated in Eastern Asia; however, now, it has spread west to Egypt. This week, a woman was the first victim in Egypt to die of the H5N1 virus. There had been a report a few months ago that it had already hit New Jersey (but we don’t know if it was ever confirmed.)

What we do know is that according to the Wall Street Journal article, Bird-Flu Efforts Are Criticized, there is another strain of the bird flu--- the H5N1 Fujian-like— “being found in almost all poultry outbreaks and some human cases in China and now becoming prevalent in Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia and Thailand.” Not to alarm anyone but this sounds to be what the experts had cautioned--- a mutated version of the original H5N1.

Luckily for now, the virus isn’t airborne. However, it might only be a matter of time until it is--- and for that we need to be prepared. Preparation is key --- for your immediate family and yourself. Once our site relaunches in a few weeks, there will be great information/tools on CareTALK.com regarding the pandemic flu--- what does it mean to you as the caregiver, working from home, traveling, etc. Currently, pandemicflu.gov is a great site to read up-to-the-minute news regarding the bird flu.