THE bird flu sweeping Asia has achieved near-uncontrollable dimensions, and the reason is clear: several countries have been covering up infections for months. Did we learn nothing from SARS about the folly of concealing disease? Well, health ministries might have. But bird flu affects poultry, at least to start with, and agriculture ministries protect farming and trade, and think short-term. They are less likely to admit a problem until forced to. It has happened before: think BSE.
Far too much is at stake for such cover-ups to continue, so what can we do? One solution is to start controlling viruses…
