One of the sad realities of a long lived forum is the changing roster of active posters. A doctor in Singapore explained away many fears of modern pandemic outbreaks some time back. I will have to find his illuminating posts.

These events always produce a spike in forum activity and new members.While we moderators ask everyone to keep the threads manageable, do NOT fear posting on the subject.

As an aside, testing found positive evidence for AVIAN influenza
today in L.A. county. The story was all but forgotten in the media's ambulance chasing.

My mother just soaked my apartment in Lysol disinfectant after watching the news. I had to sit outside with my cat for 30 minutes watching Bats hunting insects. I think we both caught colds.