Despite the commitment of billions of dollars to the fight
against pandemic influenza, the world may lose the battle
against avian flu, for lack of an effective strategy. Much of
the money—nearly $4 billion from U.S. taxpayers, alone—is being
spent inappropriately. For far less money, strategically
deployed in a global campaign, the world could be a safer place
for the coexistence of man and microbe. H5N1 avian flu has
reached Nigeria, Iran, Iraq, all the Black Sea nations and now
Austria, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary,
Switzerland, India, Egypt, France and Germany. There is a sense
of panic in the air, as Asians, Europeans and Africans alike
imagine a catastrophic human pandemic. It could happen, but
humanity ought not simply consider the event inevitable and
frantically stockpile Tamiflu and other drugs of dubious
efficacy. A definitive report in the Jan. 28 issue of the
medical journal The Lancet concludes, “We could find no credible
data on the effects of [Tamiflu] on avian influenza.” The I