At a meeting in Jakarta of Indonesian health and agriculture ministries, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the National Commission on Bird Flu, one Indonesian official announces the obvious while another tells us that what is obvious is yet to be shown. Jeez.
"Limited human-to-human transmission may have occurred in small clusters in the country. It has not only happened in several regions in Indonesia but also in Azerbaijan and other places in the world," Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said Friday after a meeting with agencies involved in curbing the spread of the disease.[snip]
Experts were puzzled by a seven-member cluster in a small North Sumatra village in May, which led to speculation human-to-human transmission occurred among family members.
A member of the National Commission on Bird Flu, Emil Agustiono,would not confirm Aburizal's statement. "We need to do more research to prove it," he said.
A leading Health Ministry official on bird flu, Hariadi Wibisono, also said the greater danger at present was from H5N1-positive poultry, not intrahuman spread.
"Above all, the public should not be panic but be wary of the threat from infected fowl," he told the Post. (Kerala Next)
If the largest bird flu cluster yet wasn't limited human to human spread, it looked sufficiently like it that any reasonable person would say it was the most likely explanation -- way ahead of whatever might be in second place.
If the Ministry of Health official walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck, it doesn't mean the seven family members in the Sumatran cluster got it from a duck. It means the official is a quack.
- Log in to post comments
"We need to do more research to prove it." - Emil Agustiono
I'd just like to take a moment here to directly address any future historians that might be reading this blog:
If this flu turned out to be pretty bad and really did acquire its taste for humans in Indonesia, could you please see to it that the above quote is displayed over Mr. Agustiono's grave?
Thanks. And congratulations on surviving!
Um, I thought there was no sure-fire way of PROVING H2H in any cluster. Only logical assumption based on symptom onset dates and lack of apparent infected poultry sources. If there was a way to prove H2H is occurring or has occurred, wouldn't the method/technique already be in use???
cougar (family change operation?): I suppose it depends what you man by "prove." You can't prove anything outside of logic or mathematics. "Proof" is not possible in experimental or observational science. However you can make some fairly reliable inferences within the confines of a discipline or theory. I think the inference this is H2H is pretty reasonable and, as I said, way ahead of any other inference one could make.
Noted psychiatrist Dr. David Hamburg has been appointed by Secretary General Kofi Annan to chair the newly formed United Nations Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention. The committee will provide guidance and support to the work of the Secretary General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan E. Méndez, and contribute to the broader efforts of the U.N. to avert massive crimes against humanity. Dr. Hamburg is a DeWitt Wallace Distinguished Scholar at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and president emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation.
Others appointed to the committee include Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa; Roméo Dallaire of Canada, former Force commander of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Rwanda; Sadako Ogata of Japan, former High Commissioner for Refugees; and other distinguished advisers in human rights, peacekeeping and diplomacy.
"Dr. Hamburg's extensive background in psychiatry, medicine and public health informs his unique approach toward eliminating genocide by preventing genocide,"
...more at http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/521234/?sc=dwhp
revere, then I'm wondering what Mr. Agustiono meant when he said they needed to do more research to prove H2H in the Sumatra cluster. What "proof" is he looking for? Or could his comment be just another ploy to calm fears and sidestep panic? PS: decided to change names to coincide with your move; "cougar" is actually the first of two spirit names given to me recently. Cougar is more of a nickname for family and friends while "crystalfire" is my formal, public name. As EM is such a close and friendly (LOL) community, I use cougar to sign my comments.
cougar: LOL. You are starting to sound like Snowy! (Except that Snowy should really sign himself "hound" as he has taken it as his mission in life to hound me!)
Revere, Snowy has 'issues' with allopathic medicine. He also doesn't understand English very well. This resulted in friction between he and I at CurEvents.
You are an even 'bigger' representation of allopathic 'authority'....
Revere, despite my big surprise of some unconsciousness, my 'issues' with Big Pharma are the same as you.
Lisa is again using distortions and lies.
Your positions towards Big Pharma (Good or bad) had convinced me to post all of your posts, for 18 months, even if Lisa did all kind of tactics feasable via Vbulletin to push all your comments out of CE, and this, despite the fact that when she came there your posts, as you know, where copy and paste since 4 months. Since her post was there I had to bring back Truth and Honesty. As you know your courage and honesty to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar is a source of inspiration for all who Honestly Care and Dare to Share Truth via comments.
Snowy, Lisa: I would prefer you each leave issues from another site elsewhere. I don't want this to be a place where battles from another site are fought.