A RECENT editorial and news piece in this magazine offered stark warnings about avian flu virus: “Sooner or later H5N1 or one of its cousins will find a way to spread easily between humans. If most of us are vaccinated, it will not get far. It is time for some urgent lateral thinking” (2 October 2004, p 5). I showed the pieces to Melanie Johnson, the minister for communicable diseases.
She said that the government has considered the present needs for an H5N1 vaccine in collaboration with the ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ Protection Agency, the National Institute for Biological Standards and others.…
