Missouri man tests positive for bird flu: yeah, sure, uh-huh

He had no known contacts with animals at risk for bird flu.

Oh wow. That could mean human to human transmission.

Lock your doors. Seal the windows. Hide in the cellar.

The man was hospitalized, possibly for some other condition. Routinely screened for flu. Came up positive, but not for seasonal flu. Further tests were run. Bingo. Bird flu.

Now let’s put all the bullshit aside and get down to some facts.

He was tested with the PCR.

That means a piece of genetic material from the bird flu virus was selected as the target the test would hunt for.

Except, since the virus has never been seen or isolated, or found…

It’s impossible to select a piece of its genetic sequence and hunt for it.

“Hey, let’s pick some RNA and CLAIM it’s from the virus, and tune up the PCR to look for it.”

THIS is the science. THIS is the jive. THIS is the idiot’s delight. THIS is the scare tactic at work.

Take this con one step further. The piece of RNA you want the PCR to hunt for…should it be a common chunk ordinarily present in millions of people’s bodies—thereby insuring a whole lot of people will test positive for bird flu?

Or should it be an odd piece rarely found in people, because you’re not ready yet to go apeshit and declare bird flu a widespread human pandemic?