CDC now says Bird Flu not that big of a threat.

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Bird flu threat not so grave, CDC chief says

M. ALEXANDER OTTO; The News Tribune

Published: April 15th, 2006 01:00 AM

Federal health officials at a meeting Friday in Tacoma downplayed the risk

bird flu poses to humans, contrasting earlier warnings from the federal

government.

“There is no evidence it will be the next pandemic,†Dr. Gerberding,

head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said of

avian flu. There is “no evidence it is evolving in a direction that is

becoming

more transmissible to people.â€

Gerberding spoke at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center at a

pandemic flu conference that drew 1,200 people from across the state, mostly

health

department officials and others involved in emergency planning.

Other officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the

U.S. Department of Agriculture and elsewhere joined her. Gov. Gregoire

and several upper-level state officials also spoke.

Gerberding’s comments on bird flu contrast earlier statements from the

federal government that tended to emphasize worse-case scenarios.

In a November letter to the public, for instance, President Bush encouraged

preparing “ourselves, our nation, and our world to fight this potentially

devastating outbreak of infectious disease.â€

The concern is that the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus will mutate into a

form passed easily between people.

visit to encourage state planning

Audience questions Friday about buying surgical masks and stockpiling food

showed the concern Bush’s comments and others have raised.

But Gerberding noted that, though the disease has killed “gazillions of

birds,†it has killed about 100 people out of about 200 sickened worldwide.

The

victims were in intense, daily contact with sick flocks, often sharing the

same living space. Two people have become infected from person-to-person

contact.

She did not say what had changed the thinking of health care officials about

bird flu, but said that, at this point, there is “no reason to think it ever

will†pass easily between people.

Given those facts, bird flu, like SARS, swine flu and other once widely

publicized health threats, might never become a significant human illness.

The visit by Gerberding and the other federal officials was part of a

50-state tour to encourage state and local planning for pandemics, terrorism

and

other health emergencies.

Such preparedness would be especially important, since local officials would

be the first to learn of problems, and a full federal response couldn’t be

expected for a few days.

It was announced at the meeting that Washington state has been granted $2

million

• federal money to help with planning.

Several officials said state and local planning in Washington already is

among the best in the nation.

“We have an effective state strategy,†Gregoire said, noting the need for

constant fine-tuning and updating. “Today we talk about pandemic flu. In 10

years it will be something else†– the important thing is to be ready for

whatever comes.

easy precautions to take

Even if bird flu never causes significant problems for people, Gerberding

said, the focus on it encourages emergency planning “that will save lives

whether there is a pandemic or not.â€

She and other federal officials said H5N1 bird flu likely will reach the

United States, because bird flu and its many strains occur naturally in

migratory birds.

When that happens, “it does not signal the start of a pandemic†or a threat

to the food supply, said , an undersecretary at the U.S.

Department of Agriculture.

Cooking meat to 160 degrees will destroy the virus, he said – in addition to

destroying salmonella, “which sickens more people than H5N1 ever will even

if there is a pandemic.â€

Gerberding cautioned that when H5N1 is detected in the United States, “there

will be temptation for the press to make this into something it is not. We

will need responsible journalism†to prevent irrational panic.

M. Otto: 253-597-8616

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