BIRD FLU VACCINE

Here in California, our medical community is pretty good about warning us about immunizations against different kinds of flu and diseases. I'll be getting my flu vaccine later this month at Kaiser

Experts at WHO and elsewhere believe that the world is now closer to another influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century's three pandemics occurred. WHO uses a series of six phases of pandemic alert as a system for informing the world of the seriousness of the threat and of the need to launch progressively more intense preparedness activities.The designation of phases, including decisions on when to move from one phase to another, is made by the Director-General of WHO.

Each phase of alert coincides with a series of recommended activities to be undertaken by WHO, the international community, governments, and industry. Changes from one phase to another are triggered by several factors, which include the epidemiological behaviour of the disease and the characteristics of circulating viruses.

The world is presently in phase 3: a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans.

General Information
Based on concerns about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus and its potential to cause illness in humans, CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have taken steps to prevent importation of birds and unprocessed bird products from countries with the virus in domestic poultry. The import restrictions do not apply to U.S.-origin pet birds which will be allowed to return upon entering a USDA quarantine facility for 30 days. The import restrictions also do not apply to processed bird products that have been rendered noninfectious. Countries affected by the CDC and USDA import

Too bad the hamburgers stopped with one kid