The graphs above show the running totals of the FluWatch.com [Site was discontinued in about 2005.] active zipcodes in the United States for the summers of 2002, 2003, and 2004. The Venus inferior conjunction/transit in 2004 was on 8 June. If there is to be a related outbreak of influenza, the prime time to look for it should be 30 to 60 days following the conjunction. That time period (8 July to 7 August) is shown on the 2004 graph in a lighter shade of grey. One or more influenza-like illnesses might make appearances as early as 15 days after the conjunction. That would correspond to June 23rd. See USA Influenza Activity 2003-2004 for a map which shows the locations of the currently active FluWatch zipcodes. There was no apparent out of the ordinary FluWatch activity following the Venus transit. There was a mid-month surge in May 2004, but in the absense of further evidence it would be hard to relate it to the transit. In July 2004, an outbreak of influenza A (H3N2) was detected at 3 Bhutanese refugee camps in southeastern Nepal. Hemagglutination inhibition showed that ≈ 40% of the viruses from this outbreak were antigenically distinct from the A/Wyoming/3/03 vaccine strain. See: Influenza A (H3N2) Outbreak, Nepal. This outbreak would not have shown up in the USA Fluwatch activity. [Added 12 Oct 2014.] [08 Jul 2004] In the last two weeks, avian influenza appears to have re-emerged in poultry in several countries in Asia. These outbreaks could either be new outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) virus or a continuation of the outbreaks first reported earlier in the year. These events, in addition to two new research reports -- about the virus becoming increasingly pathogenic and becoming more widespread in birds in the region -- fuel the World Health Organization's concern about the threat the virus poses to human health. See: WHO Global Alert and Response (GAR) Avian influenza - Current evaluation of risks to humans from H5N1 following recent reports. [Added 12 Oct 2014.] Shade Tree Physics Robert Fritzius fritzius@bellsouth.net Home | Up one level | Previous | Next Top