Just because the less deadly Swine flu for the moment upstaged the H5N1 Bird flu, it does not mean it has gone away. It is still out there mutating, and when it is ready, it will make the rounds exactly the same way as the Swine flu.
Other than some minor genetic differences, the Swine flu and the Bird flu are exactly the same and will be dealt with in exactly the same way. Whatever containment strategies that were about as porous as a screen door, will also be used on the Bird flu. In fact everything we saw happen with the Swine flu, will also happen with the Bird flu. The only difference is many more will die, and that will slow the spread.
Here are some points to consider:
There is no vaccine, and there will not be until they know what the virus will finally mutate to. As with the swine flu it will be a good 5 months at best to have a vaccine in sufficient quantity. The reason is it must be grown and not manufactured in the sense of mixing things off the shelf together. So anybody saying otherwise is either lying through their teeth to stop panic, or simply they are fools who have not a clue as to what they are talking about. In that case it becomes very easy to tell them to go and stuff it.
We will have at least learned something about how to defend ourselves, so we will know what to expect. If we caught the Swine flu and survived, chances are we will not be so lucky with the Bird flu with only 1 in 5 surviving.
As we have now seen first hand what to expect, we can now make better preparations for that day when the Bird flu comes knocking.
