Update March 10, 2006

The Bird Flu has now spread to several countries in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  It has infected mammals, including humans, cats, and now a marten.  Currently it is only transmitted to humans who eat or are exposed to infected birds and has not yet mutated to a form that is directly contagious from human to human.  According to the World Health Organization tigers and snow leopards in a zoo in Thailand died of H5N1 after being fed infected chicken carcasses in 2003 and 2004. 

The bird flu could appear in the United States in the next few months as wild birds migrate from infected nations, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.  These birds are anticipated to migrate through northern migration routes through Alaska and Canada.

The World Health orgranization also recommends taking the following preventive measures in areas where the Bird Flu has been reported:

Report unusual bird deaths
Report sick or dead cats
Keep cats away from birds or indoors
Avoid stray cats
Keep dogs on leads outdoors - don't allow them to feed on "water birds"
Use gloves to put dead birds in bags
Wash hands frequently
Clean litter trays and feeding dishes regularly

Update - December 28, 2005.  

The U.S. government has now requested that physicians not prescribe Tamiflu for fear of the flu becoming immune to Tamiflu and to prevent shortages.  Also, according to recent news reports, there have been some potential serious side-effects reported in Japan with Tamiflu which have not yet been fully investigated, including hallucinations.  For those of you have already obtained Tamiflu, it is best not to use Tamiflu for this year's flu - at least according to current recommendations, it should only be used for the bird flu.  More than one course of Tamiflu is likely to be needed treat the bird flu in a single person.  A packet of Tamiflu has enough treatment for 5 days of the flu, but it appears that 8-10 days of Tamiflu treatment may be needed to increase the survival rate of the flu, according to preliminary tests done on animals exposed to the Bird Flu by the CDC.

Updates

This year poses a greater dilemma than ever for parents trying to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children within the autism spectrum.  Many researchers and parents believe that mercury poisoning from vaccines is the primary culprit underlying the autism epidemic.  However, epidemiologists anticipate that this could be the year the Bird Flu spreads its wings and creates a world-wide epidemic.  This article discusses some of the pros and cons of getting immunized against the flu this year. 

Most doses of the standard flu vaccine still contain mercury in a preservative called thimerisol.  Children who receive mercury vaccines after they have been diagnosed within the autism spectrum often regress further after receiving additional doses of mercury.  The current flu vaccine does not protect against the Bird Flu.  If you are going to get a flu vaccine, ask for one that is mercury free.   Less of this type has been made because thimerisol has been made partly because the manufacturing process currently takes longer and  partly because mercury-free vaccines cost approximately twice as much to manufacture.  There are new vaccines that contain less mercury that are available, as described on U.S. Centers For Disease Control CDC web site.  

In my opinion, a pharmaceutical company's or medical practitioner's bottom line should not be the primary determinant of what quantity of safe vaccines are made available to the public or in allowing unsafe vaccines to continue to be made.  The willingness of big business, big medicine and big government to allow the general population to be continued to be subjected to additives they know are harmful is criminal.  The efforts of special interest groups to fund biased studies with skewed or falsified data which is then parroted by the mainstream media as "proving there is no link between immunizations and autism" is nothing more than a reflection of the insecurity of these major institutions.  They are not only liable for causing this epidemic through over-vaccination with unsafe vaccines for profit, but are further compounding their crimes by continuing to allow children and adults to be harmed.  During the 2004 election, President Bush made a campaign promise to remove the mercury from vaccines which he has broken.  If the government admits there is a link, they run the risk of being sued on behalf of the millions of children who are now autistic and families whose dreams have been shattered and lives have been blighted.  For the majority of parents with children in the autism spectrum, who watched their childrens' normal development go off-course after receiving an immunization, there is no doubt that immunizations played a significant part in triggering their child's autism.  

According to the CDC web site, "The majority of influenza vaccines distributed in the United States currently contain thimerosal as a preservative. However, some contain only trace amounts of thimerosal and are considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be preservative-free. Manufacturers of preservative-free flu vaccine use thimerosal early in the manufacturing process. The thimerosal gets diluted as the vaccine goes through the steps in processing. By the end of the manufacturing process there is not enough thimerosal left in the vaccine to act as a preservative and the vaccine is labeled ‘preservative-free'.

For the 2005-06 flu season, a limited amount of influenza vaccine that does not contain thimerosal as a preservative is available. Sanofi pasteur estimates that they will produce 6-8 million doses of thimerosal-free vaccine this year. Also, the nasal-spray influenza vaccine (sold commercially as FluMist®) does not contain any thimerosal and can be given to healthy people 5 to 49 years of age who are not pregnant."

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration web site, "Vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal can contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose."  Vaccines with 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose are considered to be "thimerisol free."  This web site also provides a table of vaccines and preservatives currently being used in them.

Although mercury seems to be the primary preservative of concern within the autism community, other ingredients in the immunizations, such as formaldehyde and aluminum may also be problematic.  It is also uncertain whether or not immunizing for multiple diseases at one time (such as the DPT and MMR vaccines) may overtax a young child's immune system and lead to immune system dysfunction.  Dr. Boyd Haley, head of the chemistry department for   Kentucky University, has shown in experiments with nerve cells that mercury in combination with other contaminants such as aluminum are synergistically more toxic to nerve cells than mercury alone.

At the same time, epidemiologists around the world are worried that this year or next may bring the pan-epidemic of the dreaded Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus, known as the Bird Flu. Last year, the Bird Flu killed over 50% of the handful of people infected in Southeast Asia.  As of today this year’s U.S. flu vaccine does not contain the Bird Flu.  "Avian flu will mutate and become transmissible by humans, and the world has no time to waste to stop it from becoming a pandemic," said, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, the head of the United Nations World Health Organization, said at a news conference in New York.

According to the Centers for Disease Control web site, "If these H5N1 viruses gain the ability for efficient and sustained transmission between humans, there is little preexisting natural immunity to H5N1 infection in the human population, and an influenza pandemic could result, with high rates of illness and death." For more information about H5N1 infections in humans, visit the World Health Organization (WHO) website. Millions of birds infected with the Bird Flu have died and/or been destroyed since last year, primarily in Asia.  

The U.S. has just contracted with a French pharmaceutical, Sanofi-Pasteur, for $100,000,000 to produce a bulk Bird Flu vaccine which will be manufactured in September and October to be used in the advent that the bird flu does become infectious amongst humans. Another concern is possibility that vaccines may actually cause the disease they are intended to treat in a small number of people each year. The Bird Flu vaccine has not been approved by federal regulators, nor is has it been proven effective as of this writing. But Bill Hall, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the danger is too great to wait until testing finishes. "It's an insurance policy," he said. There are questions as to the effectiveness of this vaccine.  

Months ago, the government of Great Britain  bought and is storing millions of doses of the anti-viral medication, oseltamivir, sold under the brand name of Tamiflu, to distribute to its population in the advent the Bird Flu reaches their shores.  Tamiflu is the only anti-viral known to be somewhat effective against the Bird Flu, reducing the symptoms by inhibiting replication of the virus, if taken within two days of infection.  As of today, the United States government has taken no comparable protective measures on behalf of its population.  St. Jude researchers have shown Tamiflu can protect against the H5N1 virus in high doses. In a study commissioned by US health agencies, they infected mice with bird flu. All those given a placebo died, and only five of 10 mice given the highest daily dose of Tamiflu for the usual five-day course survived. But eight of 10 mice given the same dose for eight days survived, suggesting a longer course of treatment could combat the H5N1 virus.