Bird Flu's Back!

[Schmitty27]

The bird flu scare is back in the news again. Bush is calling for military quarantine if a pandemic occurs in America. Others say we should create more vaccines in prepartion for an invasion.

My solution, since bird flu has been the biggest problem in mostly Asian countries, we ship out healthy domestic birds that wouldn't cause the ecosystem to go haywire, let the areas of infection die away, and after a few years return the birds.

Anyone else?

[Schmitty27]

Yeah we just gotta worry about our chickens being killed off. I really like my Tyson chicken nuggets.

[FKLBRLS]

DAMN IT! Now I have to listen to the news blabber on about this Bird Flu BS. Like it's something to be scared about. The way everyone in the media talks about Bird Flu, or even SARS or regular flu for that matter, you'd think it was the Black Plague. People are getting all in a fuss for nothing. Just don't go get bitten by a chicken and you will be fine.

[7i7i7]

Bird flu shouldnt be too bad if your healthy- I agree its getting out of hand with the fuss about it.

[Wadi66]

Makes me wonder how much you guys have read about it? Is it something to be concerned about? Yes. While it gets its start from birds, it quickly spreads from human to human and is usually fatal within a week at most.

I agree that a healthy immune system will make you less likely to fall victim, my question to each of you is, how healthy is your immune system? While you may think you're quite healthy, do you ever get the flu or a cold?

Now. You may be fine, but how about people you know? Hopefully the bird flu won't come ashore here, however you can be sure that if there are outbreaks that are not quickly brought into containment, affected nations will be burying in mass.
As for vaccines. The U.S. is getting something like 2.5 million. Some scream that isn't nearly enough. But as with all diseases treated by vaccines, the disease mutates against the vaccine into a different strain. The vaccine then becomes useless.

[Madcowhunter]

I have a terrible immune system, I had pneumonia years ago, and I heard it really weakens the immune system.

I get the flu at least once a year, and I get a cold a couple of times throughout the year. I just recently recovered from being ill.

EDIT:
Flu vaccinations are actually made from dead flu cells, the reason the vaccine doesn't always work is because the cells mutate.

[7i7i7]

I'm pretty healthy- I dont get sick too often. My sister was telling me that this has a good chance of turning into a pandemic. There isn't a day where I don't hear about avian influenza over here. I think that other countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and China haven't done enough to prevent it. I will most likely get a flu shot if it has a strain of the bird flu since my sis told me to as long as there isnt a shortage for children. Just from what my sister told me, I'm going to have to change my stance on this, seems it could be very serious.

[Wadi66]

Madcow, are you trying to bump your numbers? :biggrin: At the bottom of your post is a little button that says "edit". Believe it or not, you can actually click on that and add remarks to your post without having to post again. Its a marvelous invention, I use it often.
the reason the vaccine doesn't always work is because the cells mutate.Didn't I just say that? You're such a great guy, backing up what I say and all. We may just have to keep you around. :biggrin:

[Madcowhunter]

OK fine I'll fix it:icon_bigg

EDITT: Hey, you did say that. I learned about the vaccine mutations from Science last year.

[Wadi66]

I have a terrible immune system, I had pneumonia years ago, and I heard it really weakens the immune system.

I get the flu at least once a year, and I get a cold a couple of times throughout the year. I just recently recovered from being ill.you better check out some of these sites.
http://www.bodyvibes.com/
http://www.sweetpoison.com/ph-balance.html (http://www.sweetpoison.com/ph-balance.html)

[7i7i7]

Pretty interesting links there Wadi- do you do the diet and body vibe plan? My diet is no junk food, no fast food, and lots of water like its going out of style.

[Wadi66]

Pretty interesting links there Wadi- do you do the diet and body vibe plan? My diet is no junk food, no fast food, and lots of water like its going out of style.I watch what I eat, staying away from processed foods, the milk I drink is delivered and comes from cows NOT fed growth hormones and steroids. No junk food. As for the vibe, my doctor has a frequency laser that he uses on me when necessary. I'm thinking I would like to get the one shown on the site as its basically the same technology.

[Argonath]

Is this disease the same as SARS was?

[Schmitty27]

Basically Bird Flu is the flu but mostly infects birds. Contact with a bird infected could pass it on to a human. If the strain keeps mutating it might be able to start in humans not just the birds. SARS was picked up directly to humans and cause respiratory problems. They really aren't the same.

[Wadi66]

Some people in China et al. have already been infected and are infecting others.

[7i7i7]

Thank you for the reply Wadi- you and my sis also got me to look at some information regarding avian influenza. I really think that H5N1 will make mutate into a form that is easily spread. It will happen eventually, just a matter of time. Also it could become weakened when it mutates into an easily spread form, or it could stay the same or even increase in lethality.

[RLord4268]

Makes me wonder how much you guys have read about it? Is it something to be concerned about? Yes. While it gets its start from birds, it quickly spreads from human to human and is usually fatal within a week at most.


While watching NBC Nightly News, they had an expert that predicted the arise of bird flu again, and actually prevented an outbreak in 1995. They said that no one knows more about bid flu in the world than this guy. He said though that it is not contagious among human to human contact, only from animal to human.

[Wadi66]

Okay everyone, time to read up (and you thought this forum was just for gabbing and complaining)

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/files/ComingPandemic.pdf

Dr. Woodson has written a detailed history of Avian Influenza Pandemics, explores the possibilities of what could lie ahead and offers advice on preparing for the worst.

"The prime focus of the medical community today is how lethal will this new hybrid virus be. It is not likely to be as lethal as native H5N1 avian flu is but will probably be a lot worse than routine seasonal flu. While no one can predict this in advance, it seems logical to assume that there is 1 in 3 chance that the offspring virus will have a worldwide clinical attack rate of 35% and 50% and a case fatality rate of 3% to 10%. If this proves to be the case, the effect on humanity and society will be traumatic in ways thought impossible today in light of advances in technology and medicine since 1918.

The nightmare or worst case scenario surrounding H5N1 avian influenza comes from the concern that the case fatality rate that the offspring will inherit is much more like its avian parent than its human. If this happens, then we can expect a medical and social disaster the likes of which have not been seen since the plague swept Europe in the 1600s.

In the opinion of Dr. Michael Osterholm, PhD, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the most likely scenario if we have a major pandemic, is for an event that approximates the death toll seen during 1918 Spanish Flu. On the other hand, if reassortment of H5N1 avian flu with human influenza results in a pandemic of the minor variety this would not represent the dire threat to humanity or lead to any significant disruption in our social or economic life. Right now, we are dealing with probabilities and expert estimates since no one can say for certain what the outcome of a combination between H5N1 avian influenza and human influenza will be. "

[Wadi66]

here is what I find.

Go to FOX news web site, click on video's (top right corner), after that box opens, on the far left choose "Health". After that box opens, find FOX Rx. Watch video. So far it is suspected that 60 people have been infected with the bird flu. What they are waiting for is to see if the virus mutates and is passed onto other humans. From a post on another forum "It looks like the major danger here is infecting a human then mutating to another form that takes advantage of the human's unique weaknesses."

Then.... some MORE information (you can't have too much)
http://www.recombinomics.com/H5N1_Map_2005_QinghaiLAni.html

Then, as for vaccines...

Vaccinations, Not Virus, Responsible for Spanish Flu

The following is an interesting commentary about an article on the 1918-1920 pandemic, which the propaganda says was caused by Spanish flu (Irish Examiner, May 1).

It took a British science team to identify the first virus in man in 1933, yet propaganda says that the virus of Spanish flu killed millions of civilians and soldiers during the pandemic from 1918 to 1920.

Many would have us believe that all those American soldiers who died from non-combatant causes died from Spanish flu. However, U.S. Army records show that seven men died after being vaccinated.

Further, according to a report from U.S. Secretary of War Henry L Stimson, the deaths were not only verified but also there had been 63 deaths and 28,585 cases of hepatitis reported as a direct result of yellow fever vaccination during only six months of the war.

Plus, the yellow fever vaccination was only one of the 14 to 25 shots given to recruits.

After vaccination became a requirement in the U.S. Army in 1911, cases of typhoid and vaccinal diseases increased rapidly, according to Army records. The death rate from typhoid reached the highest point in the history of the U.S. Army after America entered the war in 1917.

In 1917, 19,608 men were admitted into army hospitals due to anti-typhoid inoculation and vaccinia, according to a report of the Surgeon-General of the U.S. Army; and this doesn’t take into account others whose symptoms were attributed to other causes.

The army doctors knew all these cases of disease and death were due to vaccination and were honest enough to admit it in their medical reports.

Army doctors tried to suppress the symptoms of typhoid with a stronger vaccine, however it caused a worse form of typhoid, paratyphoid.

They then concocted an even stronger vaccine to suppress the previous one and created an even worse disease--Spanish flu.

After the war, this was one of the vaccines used to protect a panic-stricken world from the soldiers returning from WWI battlefronts infected with dangerous diseases.

The rest is history.

Irish Examiner.com May 8, 2003

[shotdrops286]

Every flu cares the avian influenza virus. This is all hyped up too much in the media. When was the last time you heard of SARS?


Agreed. This is what i cant stand about the media..they hype everything up and then when something liek katrina happens noone does anything becasue they beleive its all hype *excuse the typos*

[Wadi66]

FT that's all well and good, but each strain becomes more and more resistant. You may think the media is hyping this up, but what if they said nothing? The point is for people to know what could possibly happen and how to lessen the impact in your personal life. Some will panic (they panic over everything), some will not. Personally I don't panic because I know what to do to afford myself and my family the greatest degree of protection. The medical establishment and some media, will lead you to believe vaccines are the way to go, yet evidence to the contrary is available to those who want to know. The fact remains that most people look to someone else to guide them to safety when the reality is you have to look out for yourself. The information has been provided, do with as you wish.

[Graeme_W]

While I was in England for the past two weeks, all you would hear on the news is how much Great Britain is going to get slammed by the Avian Influenza. One thing I didn't understand, however, was how they said that 60 people in all of Asia have died from the strain in the past two years, and that the approaching death toll from GB alone will be 50,000. How do you jump from 60 in a HUGE expanse of land, to 50,000 in a country the size of Pennsylvania? I was quite baffled. And to puzzle me more was the fact that even government officials on the matter said that it isn't a case of "if," it is a case of "when."

It seems as though England's leaders aren't even trying, while our people seem to be trying, but only half-heartedly.
Any thoughts? Do you honestly think that 50,000 people will die in Great Britain alone :icon_ques

~Graeme

[Schmitty27]

Just bringing this up again showing that China is trying to do something to stop avian flu. Unfortunately for them its about the most costly solution they could think up. What is it you may ask. They now say they will vacinate their entire domestic poultry population. Well how many is that you might want to know. Just about 14 billion birds, yeah that's not a typo, its surely a b. Is it just me or does it seem like they could have done something else than decide to waste so much money on this. Hey but if it drive the commies into bankruptcy then by all means lets tap some birdie veins!

Link to the story is here- http://www.adelphia.net/news/read.php?id=12352848&ps=1012&lang=en

[Wadi66]

Schmitty, they'll innoculate through the feed. In the US poultry is given growth hormones and antibiotics mixed with their feed. Its more cost efficient.