"As Bird Flu Persists, Global Leaders Prepare for the Worst," by Keith Bradsher and Lawrence K. Altman, New York Times, 9 July, p. A6.
Vietnam and Thailand, two southeast Asia Gap states, are the key sources of the possible global pandemic known as the avian flu. This "bird flu" has killed 23 of the 34 people who contracted it so far this year in those two countries. So far, the disease has not mutated to the point of spreading from human to human, just from bird to human and among birds themselves. But the WHO is taking no chances, developing stockpiles of medicines and "racing to develop a vaccine."
Neighboring China gets caught up in this situation as well, reminding us of its Seam State status. As we saw with SARS, something gets into China and it can easily start spreading all over the Core thanks to the business connectivity generated by the booming economy there.
So basic definitions re: health can be: Gap—source of pandemics, Core—fears them like crazy but with the resources to contain, Seam—the states the Core worries about most because they're transmitters.
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