MAJOR US MEDIA COMPANY UNROLLS MASSIVE BIRD FLU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

FIRST TIME MAJOR MEDIA HAS AIRED THEORIES THAT BIRD FLU VIRUS SPEAD RESULTED FROM INTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING PRACTISES, RATHER THAN THE MIGRATION OF WILD BIRDS

The MSNBC media portal has today launched a major awareness and information campaign through its vast stretch of media outlets.

The full range of articles, interactive maps and video presentations aims to provide a balance between hosing down any rising panic, while at the same time spelling out clearly just how intense the risk of an avian influenza outbreak in birds and poultry actually is, and what would be the effects and societal damage from a full scale human bird flu pandemic.

The coverage is unique in its scope, but it is also the first time a major American news organisation has aired the rapidly solidifying theory that bird flu originated, and spread, through the volumic poultry farming industry, rather than "on the wing" of migrating birds.

From the main MSNBC site lead story : "The virulent H5N1 strain erupted in Asia and has now spread to Europe and Africa, killing or causing the slaughter of more than 200 million animals — and killing 110 people who had close contact with sick birds — since 2003. Health authorities worry that eventually this virus could become easily spread person-to-person, sparking a global epidemic.

"For birds, H5N1 already is an epidemic in much of the world, and authorities fear it could finally reach birds in North America sometime this year.

"H5N1 is most lethal to poultry, and outbreaks originated from chickens in China, not from wild birds...

"The question is what role wild birds now play as the virus hops across continents. There’s growing suspicion that international smuggling of contaminated live poultry or poultry products, such as fertilizer, may be playing a bigger role."

Here's a selection of stories from the MSNBC coverage :

'SHOULD YOU FRET ABOUT BIRD FLU? THE EXPERTS WEIGH IN' - Interesting Q & A with 'acknowledged' bird flu experts. Readers were invited to sen in their questions, and a panel of three experts answer the Qs.

'SKEPTICS WARN BIRD FLU FEARS OVERBLOW' - Solid arguments about why the threat of a bird flu pandemic should not take precedence over such high death tolls concerns like heart disease and obesity, which are killing tens of thousands of Americans every year.

"Doomsday predictions about bird flu seem to be spreading faster than the virus itself. But a small group of skeptics say the bird flu hype is overblown and ultimately harmful to the public’s health.

"There’s no guarantee bird flu will become a pandemic, and if it does there’s no guarantee it will kill millions of people. The real trouble, these skeptics say, is that bird flu hysteria is sapping money and attention away from more important health threats.

“'I have a bunch of patients coming in here who are more worried about bird flu than they are about heart disease,' said Dr. Marc Siegel..."

LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS BRACE FOR BIRD FLU - This story looks at how medical clinics of small to medium US cities would cope today if a bird flu pandemic broke out.

And the short answer is : Not good at all.

One staffer at a medical centre says it is more important to change medical liability laws than it is to stockpile antivirals, so that volunteer nurses could be brought in at short notice, but not be put off doing so for fear of being sued.

It's a chilling portrait of just how under-resourced the American health care system actually is. The concept of coping with an influx of millions of new patients, sick with bird flu, who would need medical attention, and even quarantine, is beyond the scope of the centres discussed in this story. They can barely cope with the everyday influx of new patients.

There's some interesting interactive maps charting the spread of the avian influenza virus and the migratory routes of wild birds in and out of the United States that are worth checking out.

Go here to access the main page of the MSNBC Bird Flu Special.