A Calverton company has launched a Web site offering worldwide avian flu information from news sources and governments.
The site, www.avianflusearch.net, lets the public search for avian influenza information by topic, region and language.
A constantly updated list of the latest stories about avian flu scrolls up the right side of the Web site.
An archive on the site features more than 7,500 news stories, and the search option can reach more than 7,000 more articles on the Web.
The site was created by ORC Macro, a company which does research and creates public information programs for government health organizations.
Greg Mahnke, president of ORC Macro, said the site was created by the company?s physicians, scientists and information engineers for use by the public as well as health professionals, public officials and first responders.
“In emerging public health issues, you typically have either too much information or too little,” Mahnke said in a statement. “The Avian Flu Search portal organizes a vast amount of current and historical information on [avian influenza] so that it is useful, practical, efficient and, most of all, easily accessible from a variety of perspectives.”
Why the site?
Avian influenza has caused infections in birds in Asia and Europe as well as in some humans in Asia. Humans have contracted the virus through contact with infected birds and their secretions or excretions. Humans with avian influenza can experience flu symptoms as well as pneumonia, eye infections and life-threatening complications.
