Winged Danger

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An I-Team 8 Investigation Winged Danger - Part 1

May 11, 2006 09:05 PM EDT

An I-Team 8 investigation reveals that tens of thousands of people in

Indiana could die if bird flu strikes with the same deadly force as a

previous worldwide pandemic. In this special report, we balance the

hype and the preparation for this potentially killer flu.

Worldwide disease outbreaks called pandemics happen about three times

a century. The deadliest one in the last 100 years was in 1918.

Influenza killed 40 million people around the world, 10,000 here in

Indiana.

And just like the newest threat, the 1918 flu was a bird flu.

" We are dealing with avian flu. We are dealing with a novel virus,

but we haven't made that final jump to a pandemic yet, " said

s with the Indiana Department of Health.

A pandemic could only happen if a new strain of the virus could

easily pass from person to person. For now, bird flu is only in

domesticated poultry and some water fowl overseas. It has killed 100

people in Southeast Asia, only because those people came in direct

contact with infected birds. Those people couldn't pass it on to

anyone else.

Bird flu is already in Asia. How will it come to North America?

The first infected migratory birds will likely come from Russia,

flying across the Bering Sea to Alaska, then south down what is known

as the Pacific Flyway. Bird flu could then spread eastward from the

Pacific Northwest as early as this fall.

How could humans begin to spread it? A new strain could mutate inside

a person who had both the common flu and the bird flu at the same

time.

" And these two viruses mix up genes and we get a new virus with more

genetic material which would allow it to infect humans and be

transmitted easily, " explained Dr. Jim Howell with the Indiana

Department of Health.

That's when the flu could jump from birds and begin to spread rapidly

through the human population.

" The likelihood of rapid, overwhelmingly fast transmission of a

disease in a 747, cruise ship, travel anywhere at the drop of a hat

world boggles my mind, and perhaps yours, " said Governor Mitch

s.

That is why Indiana and the federal government are teaming up to get

ready.

" Anything you say before a pandemic happens sounds alarmist. Anything

you have done after it starts is inadequate, " Health and Human

Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said.

The federal government believes a pandemic flu in the United States

could infect 90 million people with two million deaths.

Simple math shows with Indiana's population at just over two percent

of the U.S., we could expect 1.9 million people to be infected and

42,000 deaths. That's nearly equal to every man, woman, and child in

Columbus, Indiana.

How would this flu spread?

" Just like it does now. Most likely you will have shook the hand of

someone and you put your hand to your mouth, your ears, your eyes,

your nose and then it just replicates and you become infected, "

s explained.

But there is one potentially deadly difference. We wouldn't have a

built up immunity to bird flu like we do for the seasonal flu.

" We've got to find ways of inspiring people to prepare, but not

panic, " said Leavitt.

Preparing for bird flu is the newest target for Homeland Security.

" I think nature has got a much bigger scope than our terrorist foes

and has much better opportunity to provide harm for us and that's

what we're really trying to take on here is to develop a plan that

anticipates a worst case event for human health, " said Dietz

with Indiana Homeland Security.

http://www.wishtv.com/global/story.asp?s=4891831