rebecca's pocket

» This is a fascinating article about the arrival of the Avian Flu virus in France, the search to determine how it is spreading (the path more closely follows train lines than birds' migratory patterns), and the struggle to prevent it from spreading further. A cat in Germany has been found with the virus. In France even ultralight planes are banned fron flying over suspected disease vectors for fear they will startle infected birds which will disperse over a wider range. Once again, Guns, Germs, and Steel has informed my understanding of these events as a long-standing feature of human evolution. Many of our diseases (mumps, measles, smallpox, AIDs) originated in animals. We may be witnessing the latest one as it emerges. If Avian Flu does jump to humans, I believe it will be the first one we have tracked from the animal stage.