Folks, You've probably seen my posts re bio-terrorism/ porous border/disease and know also that I am an RN.

As such, I get updates from several sites, this is one:

http://www.survivetheflu.com/

Just got this:


INDONESIA CLUSTERS

Bird Flu deaths raise human transmission fears
13/05/2006 - 9:29:32 AM


Indonesian and World Health Organisation officials today
were investigating eight suspected human bird flu cases,
four of them fatal, in a district on Sumatra island.

WHO spokeswoman Sari Setiogi in Indonesia said tests on
villagers' blood samples in northern Sumatra's Tanah Karo
district had yet to be completed.

A WHO team has "checked the village and at this stage we can
say they are still suspect at the moment," Setiogi said.

Nyoman Kandun, head of the Health Ministry's office of
communicable disease control, said the samples have been
passed on to a WHO lab in Hong Kong for confirmation.

He said the possibility of human-to-human infection "could
not be ruled out."

Kandun said all of the suspected victims were part of a
large family, with most living near each other in the same
village.

"We have found negative signs of bird flu in all the
livestock near where the families live, and now
investigators are trying to further check livestock such as
chicken, ducks and pigs there," he said.

Indonesia's death toll from the H5N1 bird flu strain stands
at 25 * the world's second-highest toll after Vietnam.

Several fatalities were members of the same family or lived
near each other.

Health officials closely study such groups of cases, know as
"clusters," to see whether the virus, which currently is
almost always transmitted from birds to humans, has mutated
into one that can easily pass between humans * a scenario
that many fear could turn into a global human pandemic.


========================================

Clusters of H5N1 infections are important because they may
indicate human to human transmission of H5N1 influenza.
Alternatively, they may simply indicate common exposure to
the virus from an environmental source, presumably avian. A
cluster here is defined as two or more individuals: 1. who
are in close physical contact, 2. who become very sick with
a respiratory disease, and 3. at least one of whom is a
confirmed H5N1 influenza case. This is a relatively liberal
definition of a cluster. It is left to the reader to
evaluate the significance of the information presented here.


We are following this closely, as is WHO and CDC.

If human to human transmission is determined to be the
underlying cause of the infections, expect WHO to raise the
Pandemic Alert Level from 3 to 4. When this happens, we
expect that there will be a scramble to stock up on supplies
such as food, water, medicine, face masks, and other
necessities. If you haven't started doing so, now would be
a good time to get started while there is still stock available.

************************************************** **

Folks, I'm not trying to scare you. Just be aware. I also belong to the CDC's Professional site, and get emergent emails for ANYTHING. Even got 'em for the mumps.

This is something I can do for us. If, at anytime, I get a warning email, I will immediately post here on this site.

And REMEMBER, the Avian Flu has not yet been shown to be human-to-human. They are testing it.

Just everyone take it seriously and prepare. Remember that every area of the country has it's own natural disasters...I'm finishing up m preparation for Hurricane season now...so, I'm just adding more food and water. Won't hurt and won't go to waste.