Early Warning

Back in November virologist Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands publicly announced at a virus conference in Malta that his team had modified the H1N1, or bird flu virus, to be far more deadly. The bird flu presently doesn't spread like a 'normal' flu, via airborn droplets from sneezes and coughs. Instead, the bird flu requires very close contanct, so is less contagious.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063326/Scientists-mutate-bird-flu-make-MORE-contagious--critics-claim-bioweapon-kept-secret.html

Most people missed this, though there was a blip in the media. Now, Dr. Fouchier wants to publish the research and techniques, making this super-flu available to anyone who would like to recreate it.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/12/20/scientists-spark-fears-by-creating-highly-contagious-airborne-strain-bird-flu/

What will eventually happen? Well, the secret is out, the horses are gone, the bag is empty, and everyone knows the bird flu can be modified into a world-smashing bioweapon. Knowing what's possible is half the problem solved - sooner or later, and I'd bet on real sooner, we'll be facing a terror inspired pandemic.

Not to worry. First, it's the flu; people die from flu every day, a sad fact but reassuring in that the world doesn't collapse. Second, it's the bird flu; until now those infected were often already sick or vulnerable or elderly, which is sad but also gives us hope that being normal and healthy will protect us. Third, it's just the flu; we already know what to do to avoid the flu.

The very best news is that, unlike other flu epidemics, we have plenty of warning. If any braincells are still firing Washington, DC, we have already acquired samples and are developing a vaccine.

Please let there be braincells left in Washington. . .