Is it just me?

[hawkeye]

Is it just me...or does it seem that the reporting of BF cases has increased? It seems to be picking of momentum again.

-hawkeye

[Susie]

Re: Is it just me?

Yes, it is getting busier - in the space of an hour on Saturday evening I posted new reports on outbreaks in 2 African countries, 1 in Europe ( Romania) and a human death in Indonesia.

What seems noticeable is that the outbreaks are coming in several continents simultaneously, and also there are more human reports. I think it's speeding up.

Susie

[hawkeye]

Re: Is it just me?

Susie-
I think you're right

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Is it just me?

I think that we (humanity) get inured to the bird flu message. If the virus remained at a status quo, it would mostly dissapear off the radar screens, much like West Nile has in the US. We still read about West Nile but it no longer makes the headlines. It still kills people but it no longer seems the threat it used to be in the US. People rationalize they will not be affected by the disease. The cluster in Indonesia has ramped up the story so we hear more information than we did two weeks ago. Does this mean the virus went to sleep between Turkey and Indonesia? The answer is no. Does it mean the media fell asleep? Make that a resounding yes. We seem to have moved from a world that viewed news as political, health issues, and natural disasters as the most important headlines to the latest pop star who gets pregnant. It is hard to comepete with sensationalism. Especially as the virus is still seen as only affecting a few poor people in distant parts of the world. Nonetheless, we are getting a slow steady stream of articles now that we didn't see last summer or even winter.

[hawkeye]

Re: Is it just me?

Shannon- Wasn't it just a week or so ago that media oulets were reporting that the virus could have "snuff'd" itself out? You're right about BF not sleeping

[DB]

Re: Is it just me?

The information faucet is never kept at a constant rate and we have seen weeks where the faucet appeared to drip only to be replaced by weeks of a light stream. The faucet has not been turned on full blast yet.

Will the faucet be turned up a little more in the coming weeks or will it go back down to its leak state?

Does it really matter what the information faucet provides?

The virus is always moving always changing and the news can only play catchup.

One interesting trend is that there is, on average, a two week delay in reporting. While there are exceptions this seems to be the general rule.

[Goju]

Re: Is it just me?

I walked away from the computer for 3 hours and came back to find
Iran - Human cases and deaths
Quarentines with fences and barbed wire
More cases in Indonesia?

Wow - this is gonna be a bad week. i can feel it.

Goju - the master of disaster (sorry DB)