interesting article on bird flu

[briannell]

Bird Flu Drugs May Need Military Protection, WHO's Rodier Says
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- European governments may need to use their armies to protect stashes of bird flu treatments from looting should there be a human outbreak of the deadly illness, a World Health Organization expert said in an interview.

The drugs need to be prescribed shortly after flu symptoms appear and governments should create small stockpiles around each country, said Guenael Rodier, special adviser on communicable diseases to the Geneva-based WHO in Europe. However, splitting up the stocks may make them vulnerable to raids by citizens desperate for protection from the virus, he said yesterday in Copenhagen.

``There's a risk that some of the stocks would be taken over by the populations,'' said Rodier, who has advised the U.S. on dealing with infectious illnesses and who spent last week in Romania tracking how that government dealt with a bird flu outbreak. ``You could use the military'' to secure the drugs, he said.

Governments have ramped up purchases of Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Relenza after an Avian flu virus that has killed 61 people in Asia entered Europe. Experts say they are concerned the virus may mutate into a form that will trigger a global flu pandemic that may kill millions of people.

The H5N1 virus that's ravaged Asia and spread through Russia and China into Turkey and Romania has similarities with the so- called Spanish flu of 1918, according to research published in the journals Nature and Science on Oct. 5. Another such outbreak is a certainty, said Denis Coulombier, head of preparedness and planning at the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

`One Day'

``What we know is that it will happen one day,'' Coulombier said at a press conference yesterday. ``It's difficult to say whether it will be a severe pandemic like with the Spanish flu.''

Representatives of European countries are meeting at a WHO conference in Copenhagen to produce recommendations on how to cope with bird flu and what preparations they can make in the event that the virus becomes transferable between humans.

Antivirals such as Tamiflu may be the only drugs available to combat a pandemic because vaccines won't be developed until 6 months after the disease has appeared. By that time the worst of the first wave of cases will have passed, Rodier said. Vaccines may be effective later against recurrences of the illness, which may continue for two years after the initial outbreak, he said.

At the moment bird flu poses a danger to the EU's 14.5 billion-euro ($17.4 million) poultry industry rather than its human population. The EU's two biggest publicly traded poultry processors, Amersfoort, Netherlands-based Nutreco NV and Sable-sur- Sarthe, France-based LDC SA, said separately last week that sales of chicken and turkey meat had plunged as much as 10 percent after the discovery of the H5N1 virus in Romania.

``We will be stuck with this disease for many years,'' said Willem Droppers, an adviser to the World Organization for Animal Health, in an interview in Copenhagen. Governments can do little to tackle the threat of further outbreaks caused by migrating birds, he said.



To contact the reporter on this story:
Duncan Hooper in Brussels at dhooper@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 24, 2005 19:03 EDT

[briannell]

What is Pandemic Influenza?

Pandemic influenza is an extremely contagious virus that may spread quickly throughout the world and cause illness and death even among generally healthy groups such as military personnel.
Pandemic viruses emerge when there is a major change in the proteins on the surface of the virus resulting in a new influenza A virus subtype.
These new influenza subtypes often originate from animals populations such as birds or pigs.
Pandemics often occur outside traditional flu season. While people may have some immunity to seasonal outbreaks of influenza, they may not have immunity to pandemic influenza.
Why should I learn about Pandemic Flu?

Earlier influenza pandemics spread worldwide within months. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that the U.S. would have up to 200 million cases with 800,000 hospitalizations and as many as 300,000 influenza-related deaths within the 3 to 4 month period of the first wave of the pandemic.
Age groups and geographical areas not affected by the first wave are often vulnerable during the second wave of a pandemic.
What to expect if there is a Pandemic

In an influenza pandemic, the DoD’s mission is to preserve combat capabilities and readiness, save lives, and reduce human suffering.
Initially pandemic influenza vaccine may not be available. Military personnel will be vaccinated as soon as the vaccine becomes available. If an effective vaccine is unavailable, military readiness may be affected.
The military and civilian medical systems will likely be overwhelmed with patients. Medical staff availability may also be reduced due to illness among the staff.
Antiviral drug supplies may be limited.
Other interventions, such as staying home if ill, covering coughs and sneezes and frequent hand washing, may be key in controlling the virus’s spread early in the pandemic.
What’s being done?

The CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Department of Defense have large surveillance programs to monitor and detect influenza activity around the world, including the emergence of possible pandemic strains of influenza virus in human and animal populations.
Scientists are conducting research to develop a new vaccine. Research for a vaccine that may protect humans against H5N1 virus has begun.
Avian Influenza

Avian influenza (bird flu) is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza (flu) virus. Human flu pandemics will most likely come from birds. Wild birds often carry the disease without becoming sick. Domesticated birds such as ducks, chickens and turkeys can become very sick and die when infected. The disease is very contagious among birds. Since avian influenza is similar to human influenza, humans can sometimes contract the avian type of influenza. Most cases of bird flu influenza in humans have resulted from contact with contaminated surfaces or infected poultry. People may have no symptoms at all or may have fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, eye infections, acute respiratory distress and viral pneumonia. People can become very ill and die. In very rare cases, the virus may be passed from one person to another. Scientists now fear that the virus will change and spread more easily among people. The concern is this could cause an influenza pandemic and potentially make millions of people ill. There is currently no vaccine for avian flu. For more information about pandemic and avian influenza
visit these websites:

CDC – Information about Influenza Pandemics

CDC – National Vaccine Program Office

CDC – Key Facts About Avian Influenza

WHO – Avian
Influenza

WHO – Frequently Asked Questions

OIE – Food Safety

Antiviral Drugs
and the Flu

CCDC Interim Guidance about Avian Influenza A (H5N1) for U.S. Citizens
Living Abroad

['93HonoluluCat]

Bird Flu Drugs May Need Military Protection, WHO's Rodier Says
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg)

<S N I P>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Duncan Hooper in Brussels at dhooper@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 24, 2005 19:03 EDT

The UN and Bloomberg over-reacting!? That's never happened!

['93HonoluluCat]

An interesting side note is Honolulu International Airport will be closed to flights in to, and out of Asia if there's a outbreak of Bird Flu there.

If that happens, Hawaii's going to take a MAJOR hit economically. Last year there were about 2.5 million Asian tourists that came to Hawaii, and each of them stayed an average of a week, and spent an average of $500/day per person.

That's a huge hit for the businesses in the 50th State.

[Hell's Bells]

i hope that noone blames bush for this but i would not be surprised if someone does

[DriftCat]

i hope that noone blames bush for this but i would not be surprised if someone does

Now thats some funny sh*t