(Iowa City)– A northwest Iowa native on the forefront of influenza surveillance says while knowledge of virus transmission has increased since previous pandemics, many challenges remain.
Doctor Nancy Cox, who grew up on a farm near Spencer, is the Chief of the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She says no vaccine to protect against the bird flu is available yet. Atleast three vaccines are under development, but there is no timeline on how soon a vaccine might be available.
Cox says bird flu is not the same as pandemic flu–it’s a pandemic threat.
She says three previous pandemics, or global epidemics of flu in 1918, 1957 and 1968 stuck without warning.
Cox was in Iowa City on Friday for a series at the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health.
(From the Associated Press.).
