A RECENT editorial and news piece in this magazine offered stark warnings about avian flu virus: “Sooner or later H5N1 or one of its cousins will find a way to spread easily between humans. If most of us are vaccinated, it will not get far. It is time for some urgent lateral thinking” (2 October 2004, p 5). I showed the pieces to Melanie Johnson, the minister for communicable diseases.
She said that the government has considered the present needs for an H5N1 vaccine in collaboration with the Health Protection Agency, the National Institute for Biological Standards and others.…
