Re: This seems to make sense

>- bird flu did not suddenly appear just recently. in particular the H5N1 strain has been known to cause human infections since 1997,

Actually, it has been around much longer than that. It was just brought to the publics attention at that point.

>- not possible to produce a vaccine against the current threat, which is H5N1.

I believe that this is a mis-statement. Corrected: It is useless to produce a vaccine against the current form as it most likely would not be effective against a mutated form if it occurred.

>- Vaccines are dangerous.

I agree with this part and say that vaccines should not be taken lightly. There is always a risk with injecting a foreign substance into your body. It can cause serious reactions for a number of reasons. However, I am not entirely against vaccination though, as I know that the Salk Polio vaccination probably saved my life or at least saved me from the risk of serious health problems. I grew up with some people who did not get vaccinated and suffered badly as a result. Others never grew up. My wifes sister died of polio that she got just a couple of years before the vaccine was made available.

There are still polio cases in the US every year (average of 20 or so) but everyone of these is someone who did not get vaccinated (usually because of religion).

>- bird flu *might* just be one of them.

While I feel that the bird flu is not likely to spread, I agree with you and would say better safe than sorry.

Having studied and worked in microbiology, I know what a virus is and how they work and I know that they can and do mutate.

As a last thought, there are some on these forums who oppose open thought and should not be exposed to intelligence as "It can cause serious reactions for a number of reasons." :^)