h5n1 news from FierceHealthcare

> Doctors are doing well in Hawaii. New research by the federal government has found that doctors there make more, on average, than workers in any other job category. Article

> Blue Cross of California has launched a media campaign critical of proposed state healthcare reforms, which would require insurers to sell policies to all comers regardless of their medical condition. …

> New Hampshire hospitals shifted $345 million onto privately insured patients in 2005, according to a new report. Article

> Cigna HealthCare for Seniors has agreed to reimburse doctors for Web-based "e-visits" and online health services. Article

> Autism diagnoses are on the rise. Now a …

The World Health Organization said that a cluster of bird flu deaths in the village of Kabu Sebalang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is a potentially seminal event. The Associated Press quotes WHO spokesman Peter Cordingsly, who alarmingly calls the six deaths "the mother of all clusters." Cordingsly state, "This is the first time that we've been completely stumped about possible single-source infection."

International health experts suspect that H5N1, the virus that …

The World Health Organization is investigating reports of a cluster of suspicious bird flu deaths in Indonesia last week. After attending a family gathering on the northern island of Sumatra, eight family members fell ill. Six of those present at the gathering died. Tests confirmed the presence H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu. WHO spokeswoman Sari Setiogi says the cluster is the largest seen in Indonesia.

- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

The Harvard School of Public Health released the results of a poll by Bob Blendon and his team that asked Americans about their views on avian flu. The results are not particularly surprising. The majority (57 percent) say they are worried about the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. An equally large number (68 percent) say they would stay at home with their children if a pandemic did break out. That, the polls authors concede, would likely be bad news for the economy. The …

With H5N1 now officially in Europe and governments scrambling to develop effective response plans, expect to hear a lot more about the avian flu in weeks to come. A good indication that things are getting serious: Wall Street is starting to ante up. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said it has created a $200 million fund to invest in companies that develop technologies designed to fight pandemics. The fund will target late stage companies that are …

Fears grow in Europe as health officials in Turkey announced that the country's H5N1 outbreak appears to have spread, leading some health experts to argue that the virus mutated into a form capable of more efficient transmission. As many as 70 people were hospitalized around the country yesterday with symptoms of the disease. World Health Organization officials continue to insist that there is no evidence that the disease has acquired the dreaded capability for human-to-human transmission …

The media focused on the details of the Bush administration's plan to fight a potential H5N1 pandemic yesterday. Reaction was largely mixed, with Democrats calling the plan inadequate and most Republicans in Washington calling it a good start. The official government estimate that an influenza epidemic could infect three quarters of the US population and kill as many as 1.9 million Americans led the headlines.

Some observers worry that the hospital system could be completely …

The Department of Health and Human Services released details of the federal plan to respond to a possible H5N1 epidemic, following yesterday's announcement by President Bush that his administration plans to spend $7.1 billion preparing to fight the disease. In the event of an outbreak, authorities are likely to impose travel restrictions. State and local officials are reportedly "concerned" that they will be responsible for rationing vaccines and flu medicines and also for ensuring that …

The White House is expected to release the latest version of its plan to combat a possible H5N1 pandemic on Tuesday. President Bush will announce details of the government strategy at a press conference at the National Institutes of Health. The new strategy is said to emphasize early detection and a decentralized response plan in which local and state governments will be expected to play a key role. The administration is also expected to warn that a pandemic could last much longer than …