Anybody having second thoughts about going to BKK?

------------------

I am.

I left BKK Tues morning and the bird flu is the big topic of discusion. It did not worry me although I did stay away from the live poultry sections of the market when I went shopping.

I have no worries about going, but will the perception of danger perhaps drive down fares?

Is it as bad as SARS?

If it mutates or crosses with another form of influenza, as health officials fear, then yes it can be as bad.

as this iS not UAL related..to travelbuzz it goes

thanks

squeakr
MOD UAL

There have been on few other threads on this topic. I am off to BKK on Tuesday and am not overly concerned.

I can only tell you that I begin having severe second thoughts. Last Saturday I had dinner sitting next to a Virologist working for the Swiss Government on influenza viruses. She told me that the potential danger of the avian flu is much more significant than that SARS presents as the virus is more aggressive. The huge danger is that the avian virus encounters someone carrying the current seasonal Fujian influenza virus. As it is in real life the children often carry all the bad habits of their parents. Therefore, the WHO fears that a combined Fujian-influenza/Avian virus will be as easily spreadable as the normal flu, but as mortal as the Avian flu virus. Since the human immune system is not prepared against a virus that originally only presented a threat to birds the consequence would be a much higher mortality than for example that of SARS patients.
Yesterday, the WHO announced THE possible first case of infection amongst humans in Vietnam and warned that the time-frame to prevent a world-wide pandemia was narrowing.

Personally, I have decided that I will avoid Bangkok for the next weeks and have relocated some meetings to Singapore. I am not paniking, but I think that I would feel uncomfortable going to Bangkok at the moment. In this current situation I certainly have much more confidence in the SIN gov than the Thais who tried to cover up the whole issue in the first place.
I guess, travel decisions should really depend upon the importance and necessity of really going to Thailand at the moment.