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Chinney
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
 
2005-11-11, 23:58

There is really no justification for panic. As some have pointed out, this thing may never acquire the mutations necessary to make it easily transmissible to humans. Yes, it is possible that it could be 1 month from now that this could happen, but it also could be 10 years, or 100 years, or never. Don't pace the floor of your room waiting. I also read somewhere that accompanying possible mutations that could make this virus more transmissible to humans might be other mutations that make it less lethal. We really don't know the "when" or the "what".

Of course, the odds say that some year, maybe sooner than later, a flu virus - very likely some other flu virus, since you can't just bet on this one - is going to cause a global epidemic. The last one we had was 1968, and loads of people died. And of course, the one in 1918-19 was much worse again. The good news is that we have a much greater understanding now than we did then of the nature of these viruses, how to track them, how to control the spread through very basic preventative methods, how to make vaccines, and we even have the beginnings of some effective anti-viral drugs, albeit still quite imperfect. When the next killer virus hits, we will be hit very hard - many will die - but our societies will manage.

When there's an eel in the lake that's as long as a snake that's a moray.
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