Bird Flu Could Kill 150 Million. U.S. Unprepared.

Posted on September 29, 2005

The BBC reports taht Dr. David Nabarro, a UN health official, has warned that bird flu outbreak could kill 5 to 150 million people worldwide.

Dr Nabarro stressed he would be working hard to control bird flu through contact with farming communities and markets where birds are sold and looking at the migration of wild birds.
He said the number of deaths from any future influenza pandemic would depend on where it started, how quickly it was discovered and the kind of response they got from governments.
"The range of deaths could be anything between 5m and 150m," said Dr Nabarro.
"I believe that the work we're doing over the next few months will make the difference between, for example, whether the next pandemic leads us in the direction of 150 or in the direction of five. "So our effectiveness will be directly measured in lives saved and the consequences for the world."

The warnings are everywhere about the risk of bird flu and many experts believe we are not prepared for what could happen. Senator Bill Frist has also warned that the U.S. is unprepared for a bird flu outbreak. This sounds like something that should be urgently looked into given how unprepared the U.S. was for Hurricane Katrina.

HEALTH