Liverpool FC Forum

[Judge]

you need tunes mate

[anfieldadorer]

beware of flamingos!

[wrighty (not mark!)]

hahaha! wat a d!ckhead that fella sayin wat is the flamingo for in the lfc badge! its not  flamingo!

[Judge]

beware of flamingos!

aye, them fuckers have got it in for me, ever since i threw a stone at them at flamingo land     

[anfieldadorer]

to be honest i wouldn't be afraid of a bird flu

 

[drummerphil]

why did the chicken cross the road

to fetch a lempsip from the chemist

[drummerphil]

lemsip even

[RUSHIE#9]

I'll only start to worry when i hear a bird sneeze a cough up a wad of phlegm!

[Judge]

I'll only start to worry when i hear a bird sneeze a cough up a wad of phlegm!

ensure your girlfriend puts her hand over her mouth then

[Judge]

BEIJING (Reuters) - Bird flu experts meeting in Beijing warned on Tuesday that there was no time to lose in battling a disease that has killed almost 80 people since 2003 and has now arrived at the gates of Europe and the Middle East.

The World Bank hopes the meeting will raise at least $1.2 billion to help improve health and veterinary services in developing countries grappling with outbreaks, and to strengthen surveillance in areas not yet affected by the H5N1 flu virus.
"H5N1 is primarily an animal disease. However, given its expanding geographical scope and that H5N1 is endemic in some countries, our assessment is that the risk of pandemic is great," Margaret Chan, the World Health Organisation's top pandemic expert, told the conference.

"Timing is unpredictable and the severity is uncertain."

The virus has already killed at least 79 people since 2003, according to the WHO, and scientists fear it is only a matter of time before the H5N1 strain mutates into a pandemic form that passes easily between people.

Human victims had been confined to East Asia until recently, when four died in eastern Turkey, bringing the virus to the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

"It is going more and more towards the western part of the world," Food and Agriculture Organisation Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech told Reuters.

"If the mobilisation of the funds is not coming immediately, in a couple of months we'll need more money."

While difficult for people to catch, nearly 150 people are known to have been infected by H5N1 in six countries, killing more than half its victims and underscoring fears about the havoc the virus could wreak if it does mutate into a pandemic form.

The World Bank estimates that between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion will be needed to prepare for and respond to outbreaks.

That amount does not include human vaccines, which World Bank Vice President Jim Adams said the WHO deals with separately.

Representatives from 89 countries -- aid donors and recipients -- are attending the conference, along with delegates from more than 20 international organisations.



The WHO's Chan said on Tuesday that Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG had made a second donation of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, seen as the first line of defence against human cases of bird flu.

The donation of 2 million courses is meant for poor countries that have human outbreaks. A donation made last year of 3 million courses is being held as a rapid-response stockpile for use if a pandemic begins to emerge.

The World Bank, which has estimated that a bird flu pandemic lasting a year could cost the global economy up to $800 billion, itself approved a $500 million line of credit last week towards the $1.2 billion target. The European Union has pledged $100 million in aid.

But the senior U.N. coordinator for avian and human influenza, David Nabarro, told Reuters he wanted $1.5 billion in addition to money U.N. agencies and country donors have already spent fighting the virus in Asia.

Australia's Health Department, for example, says the government has already committed A$141 million ($106 million) to help countries in Asia prepare for an avian influenza pandemic or other infectious diseases. It was not clear if Canberra would be offering any more cash at the Beijing meeting.

An Asian Development Bank official attending the meeting said the ADB has no plans to announce additional support.

It is already preparing a grant-aid facility of $38 million expected to be approved by its board next month and has said in the medium-term its commitment could reach $470 million.

The WHO's China representative said bird flu was testing the local health and surveillance systems of poor countries, and he hoped the money raised in Beijing could help plug those holes.

China, which last year reported more than 30 flu outbreaks in poultry, said funds were urgently needed.

"There is a significant shortfall of funds in many affected countries ... which will seriously hamper their prevention and control efforts," Qiao Zonghuai, Chinese vice foreign minister, told the conference.

"In the fight against avian influenza, no country can stay safe by looking the other way," he said.

[Woollyback]

why would i worry about bird flu, i'm a bloke? 

[Judge]

why would i worry about bird flu, i'm a bloke? 

very droll woolly  , funny though 

real bird flu is where cash vanishes from your wallet, and i bet that has happened before     

[hawkmoon269]

why would i worry about bird flu, i'm a bloke? 

very droll woolly  , funny though 

real bird flu is where cash vanishes from your wallet, and i bet that has happened before     

I wondered what I was suffering from!

[Woollyback]

why would i worry about bird flu, i'm a bloke? 

very droll woolly  , funny though 

real bird flu is where cash vanishes from your wallet, and i bet that has happened before     

I wondered what I was suffering from!

a mugging, perhaps?

[anfieldadorer]

why would i worry about bird flu, i'm a bloke? 

cause it may also affects bloke birds