Hawaii best prepared for increasingly unlikely flu outbreak
Hawaii is among areas in North America best prepared for any flu pandemic but some top level health officials are now saying the likelihood of that happening may be more remote than ever.
But even if bird flu does come to the US via a migratory bird, the virus is unlikely to make the inroads it has in less developed countries, according to Anthony Fauci, a top administrator at the National Institutes of Health.
“The surveillance is going to be so intense that it is unlikely to make the inroads in poultry or in people that it has in less developed countries,” he told the Associated Press in an interview.
Bird flu has killed 109 people in nine countries, mostly in Asia, according to the World Health Organization. It’s also killed or forced the slaughter of more than 200 million chickens, ducks, turkeys and other domestic fowl in Asia, Europe and Africa.
Mr Fauci pointed out that US poultry farmers generally keep their birds isolated from contact with wild birds, unlike in other countries.
Meanwhile, Hawaii has apparently gone beyond any other state to prepare for any outbreak.
That state is particularly susceptible to any outbreak because it is isolated and receives 20,000 fly-in visitors each day.
The state’s airport plan calls for a nurse to take a swab from a potentially infected passenger on any plane, or at the gate or inside the airport itself. If travelers show any signs of a pandemic virus, authorities plan to quarantine the entire aircraft.
Report by David Wilkening
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025