Actually, one is about Greece, but it's from a Spanish paper. The avian flu has made it to its first EU country, Greece: Las autoridades griegas informan del primer caso de gripe aviar en la Unión Europea: Un laboratorio griego analiza ahora si se trata de la cepa H5N1, la más peligrosa y mortífera El País (Spain) 17.10.05.
The H5N1 strain, the one that was found in a turkey in Greece, is the most threatening one for humans, the one that can most easily mutate to a strain that can infect humans. [Correction 10/18/05: It has not yet been confirmed that the strain found in Greece was H5N1.] So far, most of the few cases of avian flu in humans have been with people who had contact with infected birds: WHO: Expect More Bird Flu in Other Nations by Emma Ross San Francisco Chronicle/AP 10/17/05.
So far, 117 people in Asia, mostly poultry farmers, have caught the disease and 60 have died. Nearly all infections have been traced to direct contact with infected birds.
In Vietnam, which has been hardest hit by the virus, the United Nations' point man on bird flu, Dr. David Nabarro, said Monday that wealthy countries jittery about the threat of a human pandemic should dig into their wallets to help poor Asian countries prepare for the worst.
A human pandemic could cause "billions, even trillions" of dollars in damage, he contended.
The other news story from Spain is more cheerful. Princess Letizia entered the hospital with contractions. So there will soon be a new heir to the Spanish crown: La princesa de Asturias, ingresada tres horas con contracciones en una clínica: Doña Letizia está en el último mes del embarazo y tiene previsto dar a luz en la citada clínica El País (Spain) 18.10.05.
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