30 Jan 2004, World Health Organization
In a Reuters News Agency online report regarding avian influenza in China it was stated:

    But where and when the H5N1 avian flu virus appeared is still a mystery, at least to the public.

    Geneva-based WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said samples taken "several months ago" in a
    country he would not name proved to be the H5N1 virus.

    "The country where it occurred didn't have the capacity to determine whether it was H5N1," he said.

30 Jan 2004, Author's comments.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which runs the Global Influenza Agenda, and rightfully chides countries which withold critical timely information about new illness outbreaks, is saying less than it could. For example, if, say, several months turns out to be twelve months, then we'd be looking back to January 2003 for the first acknowledged appearance of the new H5N1 avian flu.

The Reuters news article just mentioned goes on to report a baffling case of bird flu (strain unspecified) that is said to have killed a Hong Kong man and infected his family after a visit to China a year ago. (A year ago would have been January of 2003.) Passing on information from an article in the British weekly New Scientist, ProMed Digest V2004 # 47 reports "An 8-year old Hong Kong girl fell ill and died in southeast China's Fujian province in February 2003 Her father died 12 days later after returning to Hong Kong, and post-mortem specimens showed he had come down with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, which has claimed 10 lives in Vietnam and Thailand." [The Reuters News Agency and the New Scientist articles may be referring to the same events.]

At the top of this webpage, in the 7 Sep 2003 flu forecast for the northern hemisphere 2003-2004 flu season, the author, who is pushing the idea of new influenza strains arriving from the upper atmosphere of Venus, stated, "Venus is scheduled to make its next inferior conjunction on June 8, 2004 so, barring any unforeseen Earth-comet tail encounter, there should be no new exobiological visitors (viral or bacterial) dropping in on the Earth during the northern hemisphere's normal flu season." If the several months back H5N1 problem had been identified to the public prior to two or three days ago, then the author could well have spared his readers the mental exercise regarding the Leonids meteor showers.]

Readers are encouraged to see the 6 Nov 2002 Special Flu Advisory for the 2002-2003 northern hemisphere's flu season in Part 2 of last season's influenza news. In that advisory it was stated, "This combination of [Venus related space weather] events might lead to new kinds of influenza and influenza-related disease outbreaks around the globe during the month of December 2002 (possibly as early as 15 November)."

SARS broke out in China on 16 November 2002 (16 days after the Venus inferior conjunction with Earth), however it wasn't until February 2003 that the world began hearing about it. The author suggests that the new avian H5N1 strain may have made its initial appearance more or less at the same time as did SARS (and may have shared the same origin). ProMED Digest V2004 #47, dated Jan 29, 2004, states, "The latest avian influenza virus strain [exhibited sequence differences from the strain] that killed 6 people in Hong Kong in 1997 and 1998."

31 Jan 2004, Eastern Asia - Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infection in Humans - WHO Update 12
[Excerpts] In response to outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infections in poultry, several countries are currently conducting the mass slaughter of millions of chickens. Such action is the major line of defence for preventing further human cases of H5N1 infection and possibly averting the emergence of a new influenza virus with pandemic potential.
Laboratory characterization of several viruses from humans and different species of birds has helped to compare, retrospectively, H5N1 viruses taken from infected birds and humans in January 2004 with viruses obtained from birds several months ago. Results indicate that the virus now causing severe disease in poultry and some humans has been circulating in parts of Asia for longer than initially presumed. Present available evidence from these studies is not sufficient to support any speculations about the geographical origins of the current outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. [Emphasis added. RSF]
Source: ProMED Digest - Saturday, January 31, 2004 - Vol. 2004: No. 50

1 Feb 2003 - Author's wrap-up comments on the Leonids meteor shower idea (29 Jan, above).
It is now known that Nov 2003 was NOT the initial outbreak timeframe for the eastern Asia avian flu H5N1 problems. If we try to revive the Leonids meteors scenario, using Nov 2002 as a pathogen return date, (an unnecessary exercise, because Venus was having a direct shot at us at the time) and backtrack 33 years ago, as above, we get Nov 1969. The closest inferior conjunction of Venus with Earth (time wise) to Nov 1969 was seven months earlier, in Apr 1969. In baseball parlance, that appears to be a "strike out" for the Leonids meteor shower scenario.

In the author's opinion, the Venus flyby on 31 Oct 2002 remains a candidate origin for the new H5N1 virus. If Venus was indeed the origin then the new strain then there should have been a global drop in, similar to what happened with the human Influenza A(H1N2) back in 2001. See the author's non-prediction prediction about that new strain event, and the outcome, circumstantial or otherwise, in reference (3) [Added 1 Feb 2004.]

3 Feb 2004 - Nipah/Hendra-like Virus Outbreaks, Western Bangladesh, 2001 and 2003
[Historical Summary.]
Two outbreaks of encephalitis, both caused by Nipah/Hendra-like viruses, occurred in separate areas in western Bangladesh in 2001 and 2003. Both outbreaks occurred over brief periods and had high case-fatality ratios. In contrast to previous experience with Hendra and Nipah viruses in which no human-to-human transmission had occurred in Australia [1994], Malaysia and Singapore [1998-1999], epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreak in Bangladesh suggested the possibility of person-to-person transmission. Exposure to animals may have contributed to disease transmission to humans during the outbreaks, but neverthless, the ultimate source of the virus is its zoonotic resorvior.

The outbreaks occurred between 26 Apr and 26 May 2001 and between 11 and 28 Jan 2003.
Source: ProMED Digest - Monday, February 02, 2004 - Vol. 2004: No. 55

[Regarding the ultimate source, readers are reminded that Venus made inferior conjunctions with Earth shortly before each of these outbreaks. The conjunction on 30 Mar 2001 preceded the first outbreak by 27 days. (Other out-of-the-ordinary illnesses were popping up globally at the same time as the Bangladesh problem.) See: Global Developments: Spring-Summer 2001. The conjunction on 31 Oct 2002 was 72 days prior to second outbreak. (Again, other strange illness outbreaks, including SARS, were occurring around the globe at the same time as the Bangaladesh problem.) See: USA Influenza Activity 2002-2003, Part 2]

(2) Influenza From Space? - Sir Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe, and critics.[Added 26 Jan 2004.]

(3) A Search for Evidence of Interplanetary and Atmospheric Microbial Delivery Systems - Robert Fritzius

(4) Xiyan Xu, Catherine B. Smith, Bruce A. Mungall, Stephen E. Lindstrom, Henrietta E. Hall, Kanta Subbarao, Nancy J. Cox, and Alexander Klimov. "Intercontinental Circulation of Human Influenza A(H1N2) Viruses during the 2001-2002 Influenza Season," Concise Communication, Influenza Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta Georgia, Page 490.
[A temporary online copy of this article is no longer available.]

Recommended Web Pages.

[PDF] An Influence of the Heliogeophysical Conditions on Influenza Diseases in Azerbaijan During 1976-2000 - E.S. Babayev, R. Kh. Salman-Zadeh, F.E. Sadykhova, Sh. T. Shykahaliyeva. Abstract: The possible influence of solar and geomagnetic activities on influenza diseases is studied for the 1976-2000 interval. . . . Influenza epidemics usually begin 2-3 years before or 2-3 years after sunspot cycle maxima. We suppose that solar activity affects influenza epidemics mainly through geomagnetic activity. A forecast method for prophylactic measures is developed. [Added 2 December 2003. Edited]

That Goatnosed Feeling - Discussion on the origin of the word influenza.