importance of information flow.

i had written about the importance of information flow here espically in the context of bird flu.
i thought the excerpts from this news report may be of interest.

"The last thing that any nation can afford to do, not only in its own interests but in the interests of the fellow members of the world community, is to hide or cover up in any way." In London, the leading medical journal The Lancet called on governments to communicate honestly and openly with the public. Governments "must admit to uncertainty, act transparently, issue guidance on disease protection and make sure information is disseminated to the public as quickly as possible" to avoid panic even before a pandemic emerges, it said in an editorial.

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U.N. official Robert Hepworth said in a Reuters interview in Nairobi that the world body wanted to pull together data from a range of sources on the routes and flight times of migratory birds, which carry the flu virus and infect domestic flocks.

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