The ethics of avian flu response
Josh Braun (a "a card-carrying bioethicist") at Sciencegate, the official editorial blog of Seed Magazine, has posed a number of interesting questions regarding 10 topics in pandemic flu response and preparedness. Topics include many that I've considered, but don't have any definitive answers to, such as:
Lots of food for thought over there. I hope our leaders are having similar "what if/what's the right thing to do" brainstorming sessions.
Is the mainstream media scare-mongering? Or is it providing a public service? If there is an eventual backlash in public support for pandemic preparedness that results in hundreds or millions of bird flu deaths, who is to blame?and
...do developed nations have the right to stockpile antiviral medications for treating their populations at large in the event of avian flu, when the drugs are best indicated for the control of new avian flu outbreaks - outbreaks that are far more likely to occur in developing nations?
Lots of food for thought over there. I hope our leaders are having similar "what if/what's the right thing to do" brainstorming sessions.
