Influenza epidemics are mentioned in the news almost daily, and often so is the word "deadly." Experts say it's only a matter of time before a virus mutates so that it can spread effortlessly from person to person. Fifty million people died of the Spanish flu in 1918; in this age of global travel, the next pandemic could be far worse.

The recommendations in Bird Flu: What We Need to Know may help us to reduce the risk. For example:

• wash your hands frequently and well
• install a shoe dip on your doorstep
• use UV light to disinfect rooms and surfaces

A.A. Avlicino is a medical researcher and science writer living in rural Alberta, Canada. He specializes in health topics, particularly those involving viral diseases and epidemics. His published Dialylitic Retroviral Treatment paper was presented at the 1994 AIDS Conference, Yokohama, Japan. He conducted an HIV epidemiological study in conjunction with the AIDS Action Group, Tampa Bay, Florida, and developed an ultraviolet-light emitter for viral/bacterial disinfection in hospitals.

As editor and associate publisher he was responsible for a total of 25 magazines and scientific/medical journal titles, including Kyklosian, a holistic science journal, and Whale &Dolphin, a biology journal, and he wrote hundreds of articles for these periodicals. He has been a member of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science and has presented his varied research findings at international conferences at universities in Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan.

A.A. Avlicino's profile page