Bird Flu: Who is at Greatest Risk of Dying?
Avian influenza or "bird flu" has now caused more than 60 deaths worldwide, with the most recent epidemic in Indonesia, where four people have died. On a global basis, 60 deaths are not very many. So why are health experts becoming alarmed about the H5N1 ("bird flu") virus? People are concerned because the virus has demonstrated the ability to kill a high percentage of the humans it infects. In addition, it has spread from birds to many other species, which is very uncharacteristic of viruses. The spread of infection in birds increases the opportunities for direct infection of humans. If more humans become infected over time, the likelihood also increases that humans, if concurrently infected with human and avian-influenza strains, could serve as the "mixing vessel" for the emergence of a novel subtype--with sufficient human genes to be easily transmitted from person to person.
Once the virus acquires the capability to "go human," an influenza pandemic (that is, a worldwide epidemic) would likely ensue in a matter of weeks. To date, the vast majority of infections of bird flu in humans have been acquired by close contact with domestic poultry. However, there is one documented case of human-to-human transmission in Thailand. It remains a curious fact that most people who have worked with poultry infected with the bird-flu virus, culling infected birds for example, have not become infected--a fact that no one seems able to adequately explain.
The antigenic changes (that is, changes in the exterior proteins--Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase) in bird and human influenza viruses go on year after year. Annual influenza outbreaks typically do not cause severe illness and death, because people have built up natural immunity to the viruses over a period of years. Rapid spread of H5N1 viruses between humans, on the other hand, will led to explosive global expansion in which everyone is at risk for infection, illness, and death because of a complete lack of natural immunity to the virus.
Because avian influenza or "bird flu" is much more deadly than the regular annual flu in humans, coupled with the high infectiousness of influenza viruses in general, a bird-flu pandemic is potentially very deadly, causing many tens--or even hundreds--of millions of deaths across the globe. In September 2005, Dr. David Nabarro of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, "A new pandemic would claim between 5 million and 150 million people."
Once a flu pandemic starts, everyone will be at risk of getting pandemic flu, because no one has natural immunity to the virus. However, certain groups may be at greater risk of dying than others. There are strong indications that the coming bird-flu pandemic may be similar to the influenza pandemic of 1918 and, if so, healthy adults would be most at risk of dying, along with pregnant women and the elderly.
Why are healthy adults at greatest risk? It appears that the H5N1 bird-flu virus causes a massive immunological response against the virus in those with the strongest immune systems. Unfortunately, this causes the release of human enzymes called "cytokines," which destroy lung cells along with viral particles. This, in turn, causes a deadly outpouring of fluids into the lung, which interferes with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This reaction is frequently fatal. There are few effective treatments--one of the only treatments available is to place the patient on a ventilator, a mechanical respirator. Even with this treatment, patients often die from complications.
How Bird Flu Kills
The bird flu virus is supposed to be really affecting the birds only. However, because of the nature of flu viruses that can be able to mutate and transfer from one species to the other. The bird flu virus that has been killing birds has now been affecting humans as well.
The good news is that bird flu virus has only killed few humans as of the moment. That's why health officials are working overtime to prevent bird flu from becoming an outbreak. How the virus works on humans is still a complete wonder. There are still more and more studies undertaken to fully understand this virus.
What is known however is that there are 15 types of avian flu virus that affects birds. That's why birds also have running noses as well, only theirs is a running beak (corny). The current outbreak of bird flu is caused by the H5N1 strain. This strain is very contagious and can cause rapid fatalities. This strain, unlike the others, can be transmitted to humans, which makes it deadlier.
Remember the SARS scare we experienced years back? Compared to Bird Flu, SARS is just an ordinary cold. Their symptoms are similar but the virus that causes them is completely different. SARS is also less contagious because the person infected can just be isolated.
There could be low pathogenic virus or high pathogenic virus that can affect birds. The low pathogenic virus can affect birds in minor ways only. Ruffled feathers and reduced egg production are some. Highly pathogenic virus cause severe diseases such as respiratory diseases. In domestic birds, when the symptoms appear, they die the same day.
Other symptoms of the bird flu on birds are: loss of appetite, nervousness like chicken little, coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, and depression. Yes, birds do get depressed and they might end up being suicidal, drinking your Prozac.
Just as in the birds, the highly pathogenic forms are the ones that greatly affect the humans as well. These highly pathogenic forms are what cause deaths in humans as well.
The incubation period of the bird flu on humans is still not yet known clearly. The ill effects might develop one to five days from exposure to the virus.
Sometimes, the only indication that a person has been infected is an eye infection or conjunctivitis. However, having conjunctivitis, you might only think that it's ordinary sore eyes.
Then other symptoms that are common to flu are also developed. That's why it really is hard to know that the person has been affected by the virus. Other symptoms include, cough, fever, and sore throat.
It will then develop to life threatening complications that include viral pneumonia, and respiratory failure and distress.
That's why health officials and scientist are scrambling for ways to just make ways to prevent outbreaks. Because they would not want a person to have misconceptions that he or she only has ordinary flu, but is the already life-threatening bird flu.
Bird Flu Virus Is Now Known To Have Evolved In Two Forms
What was only a supposition, now it is proven, that the bird flu virus has evolved in two strains that are distinct genetically speaking. This is not good news as it might cause even more deaths among humans and the researchers will have to work double for finding an effective vaccine against these two forms of bird flu virus.
Between the year 2003 and 2005, US scientists have been collecting and analyzing more than 300 samples of H5N1 virus taken from infected birds and humans. They discovered that in 2003 and 2004 the human and bird population was affected by the same type of virus that was active in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. But in 2005 a new strain of H5N1 virus appeared and infected people from Indonesia. This virus is in a continuous genetic development and as time goes by our treatment option become more and more restrained.
Since 2003 the virus affected 180 people and killed 100 from all over the world. Doctors are afraid that a pandemic could start if the virus is not kept under control and hope that this virus will remain a bird virus and will not change into a human one. If the virus gains the ability of transmitting itself from human to human then the whole world population is in danger.
Fortunately, according to the scientists those two forms of the virus do not have the possibility of spreading easily from on person to another.
Until now the US scientists have been trying to find a vaccine that will kill both viruses. The vaccine will be 100% definitive once the exact form of a pandemic virus is known. The scientists believe that one vaccine could offer partial protection against the other type of virus strain if it works against the first one.
Scientists need to move fast because the viruses have the ability of changing their status and of developing very fast, gaining even the possibility of transmitting themselves from one person to another.
The thing is that no one had expected for the virus to travel around the world so easily and to mutate so fast creating another strain. But scientists are confident that by keeping the virus under control in birds they can find a suitable vaccine in a year or two. As long as the governments work together and help each other there is no need for panic as there is still hope for a cure.
If You Know How to Use Essential Oils You Don’t Need to Be Afraid of Pandemics Like Swine Flu
The media has spent a lot of time over the last few years talking about the bird flu, now it has turned into the swine flu.
Bird Flu: How Are Americans Going to Catch It?
Bird flu, which is the lay term for the H5N1 variety of avian influenza, started in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then it has spread to China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Laos, Russia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Romania, England, Croatia, Macedonia, Kuwait, and most recently to Turkey.
The H5N1 virus has infected many species including ducks, chickens, turkeys, tree sparrows, peregrine falcons, great black-headed gulls, brown-headed gulls, gray herons, Canada geese, bar-headed geese, little egrets, pigs, clouded leopards, white tigers, mice, domestic cats, crows, magpies, peacocks, blue pheasants, rare eagles, turtledoves, swans, terns, and others.
Human infections have occurred in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and now Turkey. Almost all human infections have occurred by humans ingesting blood or insufficiently cooked meat from birds infected with the virus, or being in close contact with sick birds--children playing with sick or dead birds for example.
One recent case involved a person acquiring bird flu by coming into contact with a glove from a person culling (removing and killing) infected birds. There have been several instances where transmission of the H5N1 virus is thought to have occurred directly from human-to-human--parents taking care of their children who had the virus.
Transmission of the H5N1 (bird-flu) virus to humans to this point has, therefore--in the vast majority of cases--involved ingestion of, or being in close contact with, infected birds. As the virus continues to spread, via migratory birds from country-to-country, it could come to North American and the United States via this mechanism as well. If that were the case, then American's could well be exposed to the virus through ingestion of, or close contact with, infected birds. This mode of transmission could also take place once the pandemic begins.
However, once the pandemic actually begins, by definition human-to-human transmission will be the primary mode of transmission. In other words, once the pandemic starts, those who become infected will most likely have gotten their infection from someone else--another human. And, given what we know about seasonal influenza and its transmission, it is most likely that children will be the biggest source of infection. Therefore, while we might have to worry about acquiring the virus from both wild and domestic birds, the much more important source of human infections will be each other.
Once the global pandemic starts, it will come to the United States through travelers from other countries where the pandemic has already begun--unless the pandemic actually starts in the United States--which is possible but unlikely.
Bird Flu Supplement 2 – Symptoms of Bird Flu
The Bird Flu, or Avian Influenza, is a strain of the flu virus first found in birds and poultry. This virus raised concerns when it was found to be highly deadly when passed on to humans, and several infected poultry workers who died from the disease showed it to have an incredibly high mortality rate. For more information on the history of the Bird Flu, see our other articles. This supplement will attempt to briefly describe the symptoms of a bird flu infection.
The exact amount of incubation time the virus needs in humans before symptoms begin to show is still unclear, however we know it is fairly fast, with illness developing from anywhere between one to six days from exposure to the virus.
The initial symptoms are similar to the common influenza virus, and may include a persistent cough and sneezing, as well as general nasal congestion. This will be one of the early symptoms, again similar to those of the common flu.
As the disease begins to take hold, an infected person will begin to experience lethargy and tiredness, as well as a persistent fever. This can be coupled with stiff joints, muscle aches and a sore throat or sinuses.
One commonly experienced symptom of the Avian Influenza is infection of the eyes resembling conjunctivitis. In many cases, this eye infection was the only indicator of the person being a carrier of the Bird Flu virus before the infection became life threatening.
Over time the above symptoms will increase in severity, and develop into viral pneumonia or extreme an respiratory infection or both. It is on development of these two symptoms that the disease most often becomes fatal.
It is through knowledge of this disease laid out in these Bird Flu supplements we hope to make people aware of the impact of the Bird Flu threat, and through that knowledge better prepare themselves and their families against it.
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