I have been learning a lot about pandemics in the last few weeks. Who knew that the risk level for pandemics now stands at five out of six? The Wall Street Journal, which I read on my Kindle, has two articles in today’s paper, looking at worst case (The Age of Pandemics) and the most likely case (Why Swine Flu Isn’t So Scary) scenarios.
As usual, I thought it would be fun to read up on the situation on the Kindle. So here are articles on pandemics in general, the H1N1 outbreak that is affecting us right now, and the interesting case of “zoonoses,” which are diseases that start in animals and then jump to humans. The WSJ “Age of Pandemics” article points out that zoonoses “account for 60% of all infectious diseases, and 75% of all emerging infections.
Who knew? (Well, to be fair, I guess the WHO knew.)
You can download these Wikipedia articles on the “Science and Health” downloads page here.