My karate school is thinking of going to Japan for a karate tournament in November 07. I'd like to go, but I've heard all these scary reports about bird flu. Is it really something to be concerned about or am I worrying too much? We'd be going to Aichi and a few other places.

worrying way too much.....bird flu is usually contracted by touching birds only

Bird flu at this time, is the least of your worries, unless you are planning to roost with chickens. Now if it ever starts spreading person to person, then that is another story.

It is nothing to be concerned about. You are worrying for no reason.

There were two outbreaks three years ago on farms in southern Japan (Yamaguchi and Oita). The outbreaks were confined to the farms where they were found. No humans got infected.

Actually I would keep an eye on the situation in Japan. Here is a link to an article about the latest outbreak

http://digbig.com/4rerx

Hopefully they will have it under control by then but with a virus.....you never know.

Full disclosure:
We will be in Japan in April and haven't even given bird flu a second thought......should we?

Aloha!

Thanks, ht, I didn't realize that it was a more recent concern. Still, I wouldn't be concerned about bird flu at a karate tournament in Nagoya.

PollyR,

I've got to admit, when i first saw the articles about the bird flu my first thought was to see if accommodation prices were dropping rather than to cancel our trip.

Your post made me think "Does this make me a terrible person"?

Aloha!

It makes you a bargain hunter.



http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/avia..._asia_2005.htm
"CDC has not recommended that the general public avoid travel to any of the countries affected by H5N1 viruses."

ht, about the terrible person status: the revelation you made above is not definitive but it may add to the evidence in support of that status.

Hope this helps!

Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies. November is a long way off so who knows what will be going on by then, but it seems to be a non-issue. Thanks!