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| Possible Pandemic | October 17, 2005, 9:03PM |
 by: Prophet-Kyo |
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I posted an article about Avian Influenza last night, but I noticed many errors and untrue statements that I'd gotten off of websites which weren't correct. I have a revisal of my article, with more solid information, and without that silly "death to 1/3 of the population" comment. I hope you all enjoy it, and remember that it's just to help spread the word of a very real problem that we may have to face. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have recently been paying more attention to current events than usual, and have noticed something very disturbing. Avian Influenza, or "The Bird Flu", is spreading wildly through Asia's domestic and wild bird population. One highly pathogenic strain, "H5N1", is currently ravaging throughout many Asian countries including China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Normally, H5N1 is transmitted from bird to bird, through fecal matter, saliva or nasal secretions. But if a human were to come into contact with the infected bird, or it's waste/droppings, they could become infected as well. There are additional strains of Avian Influenza throughout Asia, Europe and North America.While these cases are still dangerous to both humans and birds alike, including H7N3, H7N2, H5N2, ect, they are in no way as dangerous as H5N1. All reported cases of Avian Influenza strains infecting humans, other than H5N1, have resulted in recovery with no deaths, making them a much more minor threat than H5N1. While these various strands of Avian Influenza are present, it is not thought that any of them will be the deadly pandemic that H5N1 is predicted to become. H5N1 in humans was first reported in Hong Kong, in 1997, and is the strain that is predicted to become a pandemic. H5N1 infected 18 people, causing a severe respiratory disease, killing 6. Within 3 days Hong Kong's entire poultry population was destroyed, killing 1.5 million birds and averting a possible pandemic. Two subsequent cases in Hong Kong were reported in 2003, one resulting in death. In September and October of 2004, 5 cases were reported, 4 of which resulted in death. Also, between December 30th 2004 and March 17th 2005, 12 cases were reported in Thailand and 23 in Vietnam, resulting in 23 deaths. This is a cause for concern, as H5N1 mimics the last major pandemic, The Spanish Flu, that affected the world at the end of the first world war in 1918. The Spanish Flu, another strain of Avian Influenza, had initially been present in just birds, but then mutated into a strain that was transmittable from human-to-human. The Spanish Flu caused the death of an estimated 2.5%-5% of the world's population, killing over 50 million. Victims of Spanish Flu would be struck by the effects very abruptly, with symptoms including a blue tint to the face and coughing up blood as a result of severe obstruction to the lungs. Many of those infected with Spanish Flu would die the day after contracting it. Symptoms of H5N1 are very similar to that of the common flu, with fever, cough, sore throat and sore muscules. The more severe cases include pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, which can result in death. Some humans infected with H5N1 have also contracted conjunctivitis, or pink eye. Unlike most cases with flus where the physically fit are relatively safe from death caused by the flu, even healthy young adults can be killed by H5N1. There are no H5N1 specific treatment drugs or vaccines available for human cases, but drugs such as amantadine and rimantadine could be administered to help stem H5N1. As long as H5N1 remains just a bird to human infection, a pandemic is certainly nothing to worry about. Unfourtunatly, just like the Spanish Flu of 1918, scientists are predicting that H5N1 will mutate in the near future. With a death rate of 50%-70%, this would be devastating for the population of the world, as recent cases of H5N1 have shown resistance to flu preventing and treating drugs. With a chance of death that high, and a resistance to anything trying to stop it, a severe blow could be delt to the human population. Even more shocking, a possible case human to human transmission was reported in Thailand in September of 2005. Currently not much is know of this possible transmission, and it is being further investigated. It is theorized that if a person were to have a human flu, then become infected with H5N1, the two flus could mix, and thus mutate, into a flu that affected humans with the effects of Avian Influenza. H5N1 is infecting more and more people as the months pass, so it's only a matter of time before this happens. Additionally, pigs and cats have become infected with H5N1, suggesting that they could also become hosts or transmitters of the infection. Scientists are doing everything they can in order to develop a proper vaccine/cure for H5N1. In early October of 2005, the deadly Spanish Flu was replicated in hopes of developing anything to stop H5N1. They are resorting to bringing back a virus that killed upwards of 100 million people not a century ago in order to stop this. H5N1 is a very serious problem, more than many may think. | |
topic: Current Events | |
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