Talking Turkey

The news over the last 24 hours that more than 50 people have been hospitalized in eastern Turkey with suspected avian flu was bad, the confirmation by the WHO that several deaths this week from the same area were due to H5N1 is worse. These large numbers of suspected cases may be the first indication that the virus is mutating into a form that is more easily passed between humans.

And how ironic would it be if a country named Turkey became the spot where the long-dreaded global "bird flu" pandemic began?