The Deadly Side Effects of Avian Flu

International donors at a conference in Beijing last month pledged $1.9 billion for global efforts to control bird flu. The latest news on the spread of the disease suggests this would be money well spent. Over the past two weeks, H5N1 avian flu has breached the heart of Europe, cropping up in Germany, Italy, Austria and France, among other countries. On Saturday, India confirmed its first outbreak of H5N1 in poultry, and began culling 500,000 birds in the western state of Maharashtra. Yet in a world where millions die every year because of diseases that could be prevented with a bit...