Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yaya]

Has anyone decided not to hit Vietnam, Thailand or some other SE Asian country because of the threat of bird flu? I've been watching some documentaries saying the threat is real and that the world is unprepared for it should an epidemic hit.

[Njord]

Yes, the threat is real. Yes, the world is unprepared for it. (But the threat is being taken seriously by the WHO and many countries.) No, you probably shouldn't worry too much about visiting Thailand unless you plan to spend your time there at a bird farm.

Why? There has been no sustained human to human transfer anywhere in the world. At this point, you can only get it from birds or from very close contact with humans that got it from birds. When it becomes a pandemic (this could be a month from now, could be five years) it will be a global event. We likly have some time yet as the virus must still undergo a number of mutations. It is even possible that one of these mutations will make it far less deadly. Your probability of survival will depend largely on your access to a modern medical support structure. So Thailand might not be the best place to be then, but this has nothing to do with how many cases of bird flu have been found in Thailand.

For much more information I suggest you check out the Flu Wiki: http://www.fluwikie.com/

[skookum]

I was just in Vietnam over Christmas and New Years and noticed that they weren't serving chicken in the restaurants in Hanoi. One place didn't even have eggs on two separate days (though they may have just run out). Other places were serving eggs however.

Dead chickens were commonly sold in the public markets though - seemed like it would be more of a contagion problem there than in the restaurants where they would be cooked by one or two people in a back room - it would be easy to step in chicken blood or be bumped up against a table of chickens. Right now, though, there's a lot more things to worry about than bird flu. When it mutates, that will be a different story. Hope the world will be ready, but preparation country-by-country seems spotty at best.

I also recommend the Flu Wiki if you are interested in the bird flu. If you are not, keep in mind that it may soon be interested in you......

[ajuma]

My friend and I were planning a trip to Vietnam until we heard about bird flu. Now...LOGICALLY, we know that the chances of contracting it are pretty slim, but EMOTIONALLY, we both said...."um...NO!" So...we're going to Sri Lanka instead! Better war than bird flu!