Bird Flu is Going to "Fizzle Out and be Forgotten"
Amidst warnings that the over-hyped bird flu could kill tens of millions of people are a growing number of skeptics who believe the diseases is going to fizzle out and be forgotten in the near future, only to be replaced by another potential threat -- which is just as I have been saying.
What are the signs that the bird flu hoax will soon be over? First, the United Nations' chief pandemic flu coordinator said the virus has largely been contained in the Asian countries where it first hit (but public health officials were quick to say that we're not in the clear yet). Next, more and more experts are doubting that the current lethal form of the virus will ever jump to humans. Then there's the U.S. government's $7.1-billion flu pandemic plan, which means plenty of money going to drug companies and government agencies.
Finally, claims that a bird flu pandemic could kill tens of millions are greatly exaggerated: the three pandemics of the last century claimed vastly fewer lives, such as the one in 1968 that killed 34,000 people (fewer than are killed by the seasonal flu each year).
Still not convinced that the bird flu hoax is creating unnecessary fear and panic? Think about the other recent "major epidemics" -- namely anthrax, West Nile virus, smallpox and SARS -- that were going to cause massive bloodshed, then never really came to be.
Chron.com May 23, 2006