Avian Flu 1996

The POD is the outbreak of bird flu among Chinese poultry in 1996-it turns into a pandemic.

The Initial Outbreak
1st Feb 1996-Infected poultry infect a farmer in GuangZhou, and another 4 people the birds contact. The strain is, notably, highly virulent but not too contagious.

7th Feb 1996-Another 3 people are infected and 2 patients go to the doctor. 1 is hospitalised. The birds infect another cluster of birds, which spread the disease to Vietnam. The birds, however, mutate the virus into a hyoerinfective strain. 3 are infected in Hanoi.

11th Feb 1996-The index patient and 2 others die of the disease. In Vietnam 65 cases have surfaced. The disease spreads in poultry to Laos. 2 are infected there. In China the disease has infected a total of 18, with 3 deaths.

14th Feb 1996-The first Vienamese victim of 538 ones dies. In China authorities censor information. Vietnam is shocked by the sudden death of a "flu" victim. Afraid of another Spanish Flu plague, WHO authorities are informed.

17th Feb 1996-An infected person in Vietnam travels to Jakarta. In China, only 21 are infected so far and only 6 have died. In Laos, 1 is infected.

21st Feb 1996-WHO tests confirm the appearance of this new virus. The WHO frantically searches the world for traces of the disease. China finally confesses to a now-controlled outbreak, but the WHO isn't concerned about this variant. In Vietnam, 1,231 have been infected and 423