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Bird Flu - Is it still a threat?
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Xeract
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Bird Flu - Is it still a threat?
I just finished reading an itneresting article on the apparent disapearance of Bird Flu, at least in the media. It was about a year ago that a dead swan was found in Scotland that carried the H5N1 virus, but since then there haven't been any more cases in England and I haven't heard of any in other parts of the world.
The article says that while the cases have died down due to the warmer winter changing migration patterns, the danger is not over yet.
But the threat has not diminished, says Dr Alan Hay, head of the World Influenza Centre at the National Institute for Medical Research, because poultry and humans around the world are still getting infected. It is just that events have been less dramatic in Europe.
"This year people commented that weather has been warmer so the migration patterns haven't been repeated and that may be one reason we haven't seen a resurgence of cases among wild birds," he says.
"The winter in the northern hemisphere is just coming to an end so we seem to be past the worst potential time for these outbreaks.
"But we shouldn't be reassured by that because we've seen a resurgence in Japan and Vietnam so we don't know when the whole thing might blow up again."
My feelings are that the hysteria from the media isn't neccessary, but we should all be aware of the risks from bird flu should it mutate into a form that is deadly to humans.
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| 03-04-2007 12:59 PM |
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Kingfisher
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RE: Bird Flu - Is it still a threat?
I think we are a long way from dismissing bird flu as gone away. In the United States in particular, people suffer from 'press fatigue' over the subject. Since nothing new can be said, it's simply a reiteration of what's been said before.
Interestingly, my home area here has been working on keeping bird flu at bay since 2005. As one of the cities most likely to be hit hard by bird flu coming in from Asia, Seattle has been active in drawing up plans to prepare for a pandemic.
Kingfisher
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| 03-04-2007 07:33 PM |
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riana
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RE: Bird Flu - Is it still a threat?
No, we can't dismiss Bird Flu. Just because the mutation of the virus that would allow it to be passed on through humans hasn't happened yet dosen't mean it won't. We may have a colder Winter this year which would change the bird migration patterns again. It's impossible to predict.
There are also many other virus's that have the potential to cause a worldwide epidemic though, not just bird flu. These don't seem to get anywhere near the same amount of coverage though. The fact is, there are always going to be a chance that some terrible illness causes an epidemic. You can prepare for them, but I don't think you can prevent each one individually.
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| 03-04-2007 09:18 PM |
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Kingfisher
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RE: Bird Flu - Is it still a threat?
You can prepare for them, but I don't think you can prevent each one individually.
Quite true! The United States is worried about West Nile Virus, and I'm sure that South America has it's own set of nasties that none of us have ever heard of!
The speed and ease of air travel has made it extremely easy for these viruses to spread, and made it extremely difficult to contain them.
Kingfisher
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| 04-04-2007 07:17 AM |
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