Did you read the article on the Spanish flu pandemic? That’s a lot of people killed by a genetically similar virus.

You are correct that this is not a pandemic yet, but there are real reasons to be concerned. If the media play that it is getting spurs the right people to begin working on a vaccine and other countermeasures, then it will have been well worth the time.

Look at how many people get the flu every year - very few people die from it, because it is fundamentally not a lethal virus to most people. If this thing manages to mutate so that it is as easily transmissible as the regular flu, look out. Its mortality rate is several orders of magnitude worse.

Finally, I don’t think this story is eclipsing other stories that you deem “important.” The amount of coverage devoted to Karl Rove and other nonsense is actually quite substantial.

This is the equivelent of Killer Skin Disease and Monkey Pox. My god…what is the big deal about? I can find more than 60 people in the world who have died from West Nile, Staph Infection, how many other deadly diseases can we name here?

SIXTY PEOPLE.

I feel really bad for them and their families, but we live in a country where people inherently have better preventative care…i.e. no dirt floors, no chickens living in the space downstairs, etc.

This bird flu thing is a scare tactic and it’s both sad and ridiculous.

The real story isn’t 60 people in the world dying from bird flu…it’s thousands still suffering because of Hurricane Katrina. It’s thousands suffering because either they or their loved ones are being shipped off to war. It’s thousands who help pay the taxes of the rich while the latter get breaks based on “business need.”