Bird Flu

[see_change]

WHO are now saying that a Pandemic is now inevitable. Could make the SARS seem like s sunday picnic if it happens.

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1271629.htm

See change

[Thommo]

WHO are now saying that a Pandemic is now inevitable. Could make the SARS seem like s sunday picnic if it happens.

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1271629.htm

See change
Seech, could you explain the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic please?

T

[qaz]

mmmmmmmm, maybe I shouldn't be eating that giant xmas turkey we bought this year.

[see_change]

Couldn't find my medical dictionary , but in general usage a pandemic would be a worldwide epidemic.

See Change

[Peter 14.7]

Hi All

Taken from WHO website on the Asian Bird Flu referred to as H5N1 . I think the 2M to & 7M dead has to taken in context on world wide and that ( as usual) third world contry residents and poultry workers especially are as higest risk.

However it seems to mutate very easily and that is the greatest fear that is mutates to something harder to control.

Peter 147

BTW the site is full of risks and Bird Flu does not stand out especially. For what thats worth.

Can a pandemic be averted?

No one knows for sure. Influenza viruses are highly unstable and their behaviour defies prediction. However, WHO remains optimistic that, if the right actions are taken quickly, an influenza pandemic can be averted. This is WHO’s foremost objective at present.

The first priority, and the major line of defence, is to reduce opportunities for human exposure to the largest reservoir of the virus: infected poultry. This is achieved through the rapid detection of poultry outbreaks and the emergency introduction of control measures, including the destruction all infected or exposed poultry stock, and the proper disposal of carcasses.

All available evidence points to an increased risk of transmission to humans when outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza are widespread in poultry. As the number of human infections grows, the risk increases that a new virus subtype could emerge, triggering an influenza pandemic. This link between widespread infection in poultry and increased risk of human infection is being demonstrated right now in Asia. All human cases and deaths detected so far are in two countries – Viet Nam and Thailand – with very widespread outbreaks in poultry.

WHO stresses the urgency of the situation and the need for rapid action in the animal and agricultural sectors. For example, the culling in 1997 of Hong Kong’s entire bird population – an estimated 1.5 million chickens and other birds – was done in 3 days. Again in 2003, the culling of nearly 30 million birds (out of a total bird population of 100 million) in the Netherlands was done within a week. Rapid action in both of these situations is thought by many influenza experts to have averted an influenza pandemic in humans.

Is it reassuring that so few human cases have occurred?

Yes. WHO has some evidence that the H5N1 strain may have been circulating in birds since April 2003. The detection so far of only a few human cases suggests that the virus may not be easily transmitted from birds to humans at present. However, the situation could change quickly, as the H5N1 strain has been shown to mutate rapidly and has a documented propensity to exchange genes with influenza viruses from other species.

In situations that could favour the emergence of a new pandemic strain of influenza virus, every case of human infection is one too many. In addition to the rapid destruction of infected animals, another opportunity to prevent human cases is through the protection of workers involved in culling operations. WHO has issued guidelines for conducting these operations safely.

[Merovingian]

Couldn't find my medical dictionary , but in general usage a pandemic would be a worldwide epidemic.

See Change

Correct. I just checked it:

Source = http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pandemic


Widespread; general.
Medicine. Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population: pandemic influenza.


Hope that helps. :)