Avian Influenza Pandemic: Not If, But When
Dire predictions of a "Bird Flu" pandemic have been reported in multiple public media sources. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) labeled avian influenza as "the most important threat that we are facing now" (Fox, 2005) and a United Nations (U.N.) top health official stated "the range of deaths could be anything between 5 and 150 million" (Lederer, 2005). President Bush has held White House strategy meetings with health officials and vaccine and antiviral drug developers trying to increase development and production of drugs for possible use in a pandemic (Bulman, 2005). The Bush administration released the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza report in early November, 2005 outlining regional, state, and federal responsibilities for containment and treatment during a pandemic (Neergaad, 2005; The White House, 2005). The Senate voted in late September 2005 to provide the CDC $4 billion dollars to stockpile antiviral medication in preparation for a possible influenza pandemic (Sidoti, 2005), and in November the Bush administration asked for an additional $7.1 billion for vaccine development, additional antiviral medication, and development of emergency plans (Fox & Bohan, 2005). The President reported that advisors were evaluating the use of the military to enforce a mass quarantine if a serious pandemic occurs, something that has not been done in this country in over 125 years, though public health officials were quick to reassure the public that this would likely not be necessary (Neergaard, 2005).

So, what is "Bird Flu" or avian influenza, and why are public health officials so concerned?