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A perfect storm of dots: animal organ donation is now being advanced as a serious solution to organ shortages, but mixing species in the name of health is like scattering landmines in the name of peace.

Article Excerpt
On March 6, 2006, the Associated Press's Alexander G. Higgins reported from Geneva:

The lethal strain of bird flu poses a greater challenge to the world than any infectious disease, including AIDS ... the World Health Organization said Monday. Scientists also are increasingly worried that the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily passed between humans, triggering a global pandemic. It already is unprecedented as an animal illness in its rapid expansion ... [WHO's Dr Margaret] Chan told more than 30 experts in Geneva that the agency's top priority was to keep the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu from mutating ... [saying] 'Should this effort fail, we want to ensure that measures are in place to mitigate the high levels of morbidity, mortality and social and economic disruption that a pandemic can bring to this world ... In a globalized economy, with a high volume of international travel, vulnerability to new disease threats is universal ... It is the same for the rich and for the poor'.

Yet, 'The Next Generation of Diseases are in Hiding, Somewhere', screamed the New York Times, back in 2003. All the diseases mentioned in the accompanying article--SARS, monkeypox, new forms...

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