why won't the powers that be admit that the bird flu has mutated and is contagoius between humans ?

Answer 1

Yes, it has mutated and IS contagious between humans. For the H5N1 bird flu virus strain to become a serious threat to human health it will need to mutate further. At the moment it does not infect humans easily, it very rarely jumps from human to human. However, if it infects a human who already has the normal human flu, it could then exchange genetic information with the human flu virus and acquire the ability to transmit from human-to-human easily - a new mutation. Then, we could be facing a serious flu pandemic that would spread around the world within a matter of weeks.

Answer 2

If that were true, and it is starting to look like it might be, they would try to keep it from us to prevent panic. I mean, they've been talking about it for over a year now; do you have any plans in case of a pandemic? Does anyone you know have plans? Most people probably don't, and if a pandemic really became a credible, immediate threat, lots of people would panic. Panicking people generally make bad decisions and do stupid things. Sounds kind of simplistic, but it could be true.

Or maybe the rich people who run the world want to make sure they get all the vaccines themselves and live in bunkers till the rest of us are dead. If that were the case, we would be pretty pissed and would try to take the bunkers & vaccines away from them if we found out about it. Sounds kind of paranoid, but believable.

Both credible scenarios; which you believe depends on your view of the benevolence of the powers that be. I personally don't see them as being very benevolent; just call me paranoid.

Answer 3

Avian influenza A viruses may be transmitted from animals to humans in two main ways:

Directly from birds or from avian virus-contaminated environments to people.
Through an intermediate host, such as a pig.
Influenza A viruses have eight separate gene segments. The segmented genome allows influenza A viruses from different species to mix and create a new influenza A virus if viruses from two different species infect the same person or animal. For example, if a pig were infected with a human influenza A virus and an avian influenza A virus at the same time, the new replicating viruses could mix existing genetic information (reassortment) and produce a new virus that had most of the genes from the human virus, but a hemagglutinin and/or neuraminidase from the avian virus. The resulting new virus might then be able to infect humans and spread from person to person, but it would have surface proteins (hemagglutinin and/or neuraminidase) not previously seen in influenza viruses that infect humans.

This type of major change in the influenza A viruses is known as antigenic shift. Antigenic shift results when a new influenza A subtype to which most people have little or no immune protection infects humans. If this new virus causes illness in people and can be transmitted easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic can occur.

It is possible that the process of genetic reassortment could occur in a human who is co-infected with avian influenza A virus and a human strain of influenza A virus. The genetic information in these viruses could reassort to create a new virus with a hemagglutinin from the avian virus and other genes from the human virus. Theoretically, influenza A viruses with a hemagglutinin against which humans have little or no immunity that have reassorted with a human influenza virus are more likely to result in sustained human-to-human transmission and pandemic influenza. Therefore, careful evaluation of influenza viruses recovered from humans who are infected with avian influenza is very important to identify reassortment if it occurs.

Although it is unusual for people to get influenza virus infections directly from animals, sporadic human infections and outbreaks caused by certain avian influenza A viruses and pig influenza viruses have been reported. (For more information see Avian Influenza Infections in Humans .) These sporadic human infections and outbreaks, however, rarely result in sustained transmission among humans.

Answer 4

It's all about bureaucratic politics. They will never issue a statement (true or not) if they haven't spent tons of cash to study it six ways from sunday. Give it a few years say 4 or so, and they will go on record with it.

Answer 5

Because, we, as the public know how much we have been lied to. Wake up and smell the coffee.

Answer 6

Because the AMA needs a new disease to work on.

Answer 7

either they dont know, its not true, they just dont want people to worry, or they're all idiots

Answer 8

well its hard to say anything when you coughing up feathers .

Answer 9

Because it has not.