Bird flu 'two steps' away from pandemic

The Sunday Times, Feb 12th 2006

I am utterly horror-stricken to know that the bird flu virus is only two mutations away from a form that can spread easily among humans, sparking a pandemic which could lead to the death of millions!!! I am frightened to know that in the near future i would one day wake up to a world where that dreadful form of bird flu virus has already mutated. Each day i would live in fear of catching that virus and would have to constantly watch what i eat and do, to ensure i am not in anyway making myself vulnerable to the virus. I dread that there will be a day where all the birds had to be culled and there would be none left in the entire world, also the thought of never ever being able to eat chicken again scares me as it has always been a common dish in my diet. I have never felt so scared and panicky before in my life since the SARS incident. Looking back more than 10 years ago, i can hardly remember there ever being a serious case of a likely pandemic then. However, 10 years later down the road, things seem to have worsen. In the previous years there have been many serious outbreaks of new illnesses like SARS, Hand, Foot and Mouth disease and now this current bird flu. So many new kinds of viruses that were unheard of just 10 years ago are now common to most of us now. It is really scary to know how fast these virus mutate and evolve into such deadly threats to us humans. It makes me wonder whether we humans are still safe living in this world, where there are many forms of viruses and diseases that threaten our survival.