Bird Flu Epidemic

[abbey_16]

I was watching oprah winfrey today and they had a specialist talking about bird flu and how we should be prepared because theres going to be a huge epidemic of it.... is anyone actually scared yet?? i was just wondering thats all it made me think [img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img]

[dreamer]

Right now, the words "winter v*ing bug" scare the hell out of me more than bird flu.

[abbey_16]

yea.. i guess your right.. i suppose we should worry about bird flu when it actually gets realy close... the winter v*ing bug is over now aint it?? its spring?

[kellybean]

I agree with dreamer!!

[Babydoll]

oh, right. the bird flu is going to hit. *yawn* how many times have we heard this? I don't belive it anymore.


even if it does... the only ones that really need to be "prepared" are the very old and young.

[daffodil]

Isn't the bird flu a respiratory thing? I hope it's not a stomach thing.

[lgood22573]

The only thing that really worries me is- I have parrots (2 of them, I've
had them for 13 years) and if something like that did hit. Our
government could make it mandatory to destroy them out of fear even
though they have never been around other birds. That would break my
heart.

[trixie]

Personally i think its a big hype! i'm not denying that its out there, but doesn't this subject replace the real issues that are rife...? i.e terrorism, politics..? There is always something to scare the s* out of us. I went around in the early 80's convinced we were going to get nuked, then at the end of the 80's i was convinced i had aids, in the 90's i'had'mad cow diseaseLOL, as i've got older, i've tried to not become obsessed with the news 'hype' and concentrate on the important issues like trying to fight for the rights of all those poor children, in Romania, who live in a 'metal cage/bed' and justsit there rocking back and forth all day long.

[japa]

This sounds about right to me.

Personally i think its a big hype! i'm not denying that its out there, but doesn't this subject replace the real issues that are rife...? i.e terrorism, politics..? There is always something to scare the s* out of us. I went around in the early 80's convinced we were going to get nuked, then at the end of the 80's i was convinced i had aids, in the 90's i'had'mad cow diseaseLOL, as i've got older, i've tried to not become obsessed with the news 'hype' and concentrate on the important issues like trying to fight for the rights of all those poor children, in Romania, who live in a 'metal cage/bed' and justsit there rocking back and forth all day long.

[csjones]

I'm not afraid. Some leading scientists recently came out with findings that said they have absolutely no evidence of mass human transmission and that there is really no risk. I also think it's hype. Governments have made really massive profits off preparedness and nothing has happened yet.

[oda_elmira]

I wasn't scared untill I read an article about the bird flu in the news paper that said one of the main sympthoms of the bird flu is v* and diarreah. it made me think: am i acctually more scared of v* than dying? have i lost my mind?

[trinity_13]

There is always a 'superbug' out there that the press love to hype to scare the general public (well here in the UK anyway). A while ago it was SARS and then MRSA now we have bird flu, i think it's been blown out of all proportion, i'm not really worried, i feel more sorry for all the birds that have had to be slaughtered[img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img]

[abbey_16]

hmm.. i have nothing against your comments but how come no one seems to think that bird flu is going to hit? if you had watch oprah winfry you may have believed me.... there was a specialist on telling people that at the moment it is not passing from human to human but the really major flu virus in america years and years ago wasnt passing from human to human at first but then all of a sudden humans were passing it to one another and it became deadly which is what he was saying could happen with this bird flu...!

[crimgoddess]

Abbey, I don't think it's necessarily that people won't say that the bird flu isn't out there, but that it's really not a threat tothe majority ofus.It will only really be a significant issue to the elderly, those with compromised immune systems due to pre-existing illnesses, or the very young. I am none of those things, so really don't bother wasting time worrying about something that there is no guarantee of even happening, and that if is does, won't likely be fatal to me.


(I won't even comment on the whole Oprah thing, lol- I'll just say that it doesn't surprise me that she would present something sensationalistic in a bid for ratings)


I guess I am more skeptical after the whole Sars thing- I live a few hours from toronto, and actually was there a few times during the "outbreak". People were walking around with surgical masks and wearing rubber gloves- meanwhile, it never really became a massive epidemic, and most of the people who actually were diagnosed with Sars we completely fine, and didn't know they had something other than a normal flu until they were told differently.


I actually think that these "outbreaks" are strategically used to divert attention from more pressing matters....but that's just the critical sociologist in me.


*amber*Edited by: crimgoddess

[lostangeleno]

Okay, so Oprah had a guest on her show who said bird flu was going to kill us all. Fine.



But not too long ago, Oprah also had another well-respected guest on
her show who ended up jumping up and down on her couch and screaming.



Consider the source.



Nobody has all the answers all the time, not even the so-called
"specialists." Scary stuff sells papers and gets eyes on
screens...scared people are also easier to control. Don't get
sucked in.



We don't believe bird flu is going to hit because every single day we
are told we're going to get blown up (nukes, terrorists) or deathly ill
(SARS, mad cow) tonight or tomorrow or the day after that, and it's
never happened. Governments have cried wolf one too many times,
if you ask me.



LostAngeleno

[chicajojobe]

Ugh, yeah they all say we should be prepared but offer no good WAYS to prepare for it since they also say that there is no possible way to mass produce a vaccine in time if it becomes epidemic. I think to them the word "prepared" basically just means "afraid."

I had to laugh at people here asking if bird flu was respiratory or stomach. Our phobia really does control our entire lives doesn't it?

Bird flu is frightening because it has a very high mortality rate just like the Spanish flu of 1918 which spread basically all over the world killing a lot of people. However, Bird flu can't be passed from person to person yet so it hasn't become widespread among humans. People who have gotten it caught it from birds (such as on chicken farms).



Edited by: chicajojobe

[abbey_16]

Ugh, yeah they all say we should be prepared but offer no good WAYS to prepare for it since they also say that there is no possible way to mass produce a vaccine in time if it becomes epidemic. I think to them the word "prepared" basically just means "afraid."

I had to laugh at people here asking if bird flu was respiratory or stomach. Our phobia really does control our entire lives doesn't it?

Bird flu is frightening because it has a very high mortality rate just like the Spanish flu of 1918 which spread basically all over the world killing a lot of people. However, Bird flu can't be passed from person to person yet so it hasn't become widespread among humans. People who have gotten it caught it from birds (such as on chicken farms).

thats what i mean it isnt passed from human to human yet.. but soon it may be ... and thats when i will start to worry!

[japa]

Well, then don't worry now because it hasn't happened yet.


The U.S. government should have been worrying last year about Hurricane Katrina decimating New Orleans (gotta love that video footage the news showed of the FEMA director telling President Bush prior to the hurricane that he didn't think the levees would hold and that he thought that the roof to the Superdome was too weak) BUT nope.

Ugh, yeah they all say we should be prepared but offer no good WAYS to prepare for it since they also say that there is no possible way to mass produce a vaccine in time if it becomes epidemic. I think to them the word "prepared" basically just means "afraid."

I had to laugh at people here asking if bird flu was respiratory or stomach. Our phobia really does control our entire lives doesn't it?

Bird flu is frightening because it has a very high mortality rate just like the Spanish flu of 1918 which spread basically all over the world killing a lot of people. However, Bird flu can't be passed from person to person yet so it hasn't become widespread among humans. People who have gotten it caught it from birds (such as on chicken farms).

thats what i mean it isnt passed from human to human yet.. but soon it may be ... and thats when i will start to worry!

[snoozy]

This is what I have heard about the bird flu:


*It has been around for years (i.e. 10 or more), affecting only the bird community.


* Unless you work very closely with birds, right nowit is not an immediate threat to humans.(i.e. it is not transferrable from human to human). BUT the threat exists because it may mutate into a bug that can affect humans.


* The problem that the governments and vaccine manufacturers in the world have, is although they know the current strain (H5N1, which doesn't seem to spread fromhuman to human), they don't know how it will mutate to affect humans.


* The race will be against the clock to develop the vaccine, manufacture and administer it before it does too much damage to the population.


* The additional problem is it's currently transmitted by birds (sorry for stating the obvious), but birds pay no attention to country borders when they migrate, thuspotentially spreading the disease to all the corners of the world


I'm not sure what the symptoms might be. I suppose it depends on what the bug mutates to.


Personally, I don't think the governments will be making much money out of this hype, they would be the ones investing in whatever vaccines they get their hands on. (think about it, if your not earning money, your not paying tax)


As for who in the population will be affected, I think it is easy to say that children and the elderly will be hit the hardest, but anyone who is tired and rundown is going to have a compromised immunity system (just think, you may be okay for now, but some of your colleagues may have parents or kids to care for, so you have to cover their work too, you work more hours, etc, you become tired, and bingo, you are a prime target, depending on how and how rapid it spreads)


Right now, i'm not immediately worried about it, but the media doesn't let me forget that it may be looming...


I agree with the comments that some members here have made about Oprah though, she does had a show to run, and advertising dollars to make, so she will present whatever sells. But the thing is, if the media doesn't make a hype about something like this, and the outbreak in humans were to hit, wouldn't we as a society be outraged for them not telling us?

[trixie]

I'm with Japa - far too many more important issues to be worrying about.

[japa]

In the U.S., after the specious reasons that we were given for going into war with Iraq, I've turned into more of a cynic than I once was. I believe that information is strategically revealed by a government, in tandem with the media, for reasons that aren't necessarily altruistic toward humankind. For every one possible danger that we are hearing all about, there aremore than likely several others that are being kept under wraps becauserevealing them does not serve the agenda of those in power.


sorry for my cyncial views


--will retreat

[chicajojobe]

I believe that information is strategically revealed by a government, in tandem with the media, for reasons that aren't necessarily altruistic toward humankind.</font>

Oh you have NO idea! Have you looked into any of the lastest information on Global Warming?

The executive branch actively censors the reports of scientists who say that is happening. I saw a program on tv in which they showed actual documents that had been censored. Entire passages that gave details about what global warming would cause were crossed out, and parts which said "will happen" was changed to "may happen"

I have a friend who calls the administration semi-facist. I used to think he was being quite paranoid, but not after hearing that. It's outrageous that something like that should happen in a country that not only is supposed to have free speech, but is also supposed to be the guiding light for democracy in the world.


Edited by: chicajojobe

[one who squeaks]

The H5N1 strain is nasty. I wouldn't bother comparing it to other avian
strains detected among humans (H9N2, etc), or even the human influenza
subtypes (H1N1, etc.). H5N1 is unusually aggressive and can kill a
healthy person faster than you can say DUDELOLPNEUMOTHORAX. (Not saying
it will slaughter entire healthy population</span></span>s if a pandemic occurs, just that its morbidity/mortality in healthy indivduals is much uglier than with other flu strains.)

The other problem has to do with unprepared immune systems. The human
body doesn't routinely come in contact with avian influenzas. 1 + 1 =
not pretty. It has the potential to not only spready quickly, but to
infect enormus numbers of people.



Is it a threat to consider? Hell yes.

Is it an imminent threat? Probably not.

Should the general public worry at this point? Probably not.

Does Oprah need a new hairstyle? Uh-huh.



Anyway, I'm not too worried. If you want more info, check out the CDC or WHO websites.




Edited by: one who squeaks

[trixie]

Yes, Oprah needs a new hairstyle LOL

[thegooddr]

Morning all,



Thought I would just say a few things about bird flu and flu pandemics etc in general.



Those of you who know me, and those who have read my history and
background know I am a scientist and work in the area of
virology/vaccine design. I worked in the field of vaccine design
in chickens from 1993 - 2001 and worked in a UK ministry of agriculture
lab working on avian flu.



First off Avian flu has been around for a long time and has always been
a problem. However I think you need to break down 'avian
flu'. Just like human flu there are many subtypes, all with
varying virulence and the capacity to infect. H5N1 is one of
those strains which in poultry causes a massive level of mortality when
chickens are kept in very confined spaces and thereby allowing rapid
transmission. It is also lethal to birds when not in a confined
space, it is just that transmission is more difficult as birds need to
be close to each other to pass it around. All strains of avian
flu can cause illness in humans, and it is happening ALL the time,
however that illness usually manisfests itself in the form of
conjuctivitis as this is the main route of infection by flu into
humans. It is just that the avian flu can on the whole make it no
further than the eye and that is the only point of infection.



H5N1 however seems to have the capacity to infect humans to give a full
blown flu, but only when there is a massive exposure of the virus to
those people who are in very close proximity to a large amount of
chickens that are infected. The VERY worrying thing about H5N1 is
that it can affect not just young, old and the infirm, but very very
healthy people, and it has a mortality rate in humans of greater than
50%. It also causes a very prolonged disease in humans, if you
look at the case histories of those that have died in Asia then you see
that it may be a week of illness before someone is eventually admitted
to hospital and then maybe another week before they die.



So what is the problem, why is there such a panic over this flu
virus. Because of its high mortality and its ability to produce
illness in humans the concern is that IF a human is infected with both
a human form of flu and H5N1 then the segments of genetic material of
the two viruses may start to swap pieces between themselves (whic flu
viruses are VERY good at doing) and you may end up with an H5N1 virus
that has been 'humanised' in that it has picked up genetic material
that allows it to be shed from human cells and passed into another
human via the normal routes. At this point in time such a
mutation is not known to have occurred. IF (and again I stress
IF) this does happen then there is a very real possibility that this
will become a very dominant strain with the ability to pass very
quickly around the globe causing mass mortality, and in saying this I
am not scare mongering, I am telling it how it is, this COULD happen.



Now, here is the however part. There have been many pandemic
threats before, the last real big one of which was for swine flu in
1976 when a swine flu was isolated from a human in USA that had not
circulated for over 50 years. It was feared that again if this
shared genetic material with a human then this could sweep around the
globe. As it was only a single person is reported to have died
from this strain and it never did mutate to form a global pandemic.



The pandemic by which we all measure pandemics is that of the 1918
Sapnish Flu pandemic, and this is also one of the reasons that there is
a panic at the moment. Spanish flu was a mutant form of a human
and swine flu strain, but also had some aspects of avian flu thrown
in. It was highly lethal, causing an initial viral pneumonia
which could kill in 48 hours due to lung haemorrhaging and then it
caused a seconday bacterial pneumonia which could also kill. The
mortality was highest in

[abbey_16]

So to try and summarise this ramble. Should we be afraid of a H5N1 pandemic, well yes I think we should be afraid of it because if it happens it is going to be very very bad and a lot of people are going to die.





thats what i was trying to tell people.... but noone seems to believe me!!

[hippychick]

It's not they don't believe you Abbey it's that they don't believe the media hype and were trying to reassure you.

[chicajojobe]

So to try and summarise this ramble. Should we be afraid of a H5N1 pandemic, well yes I think we should be afraid of it because if it happens it is going to be very very bad and a lot of people are going to die.





thats what i was trying to tell people.... but noone seems to believe me!!</font>

I didn't say I don't believe you. I'm just trying to stay sane!

I'm an emetophobe and hypochondriac so I spend enough time worrying about my health without adding bird flu into the mix.

After all there's literally nothing I can do to increase my changes of avoiding bird flu other than sit around with my thumb up my butt and hope that those in power manage to mass produce a vaccine before bird flu mutates. For this reason I honestly try not to think about it.

I'll freely admit that it's denial, but if I didn't I'd go crazy.

[hippychick]

The way I look at it, I heard it won't hit until next year and what can I do between now and next year to avoid it? Not a hell of a lot, so I might as well get on with this year and enjoy it [img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]

[shiva]

Why do you want people to be afraid? It is what it is.. If it happens, it happens. We have no control over it, so why should we become frantic about it?