Flu germs mutate constantly. The H5N1 flu virus is less deadly to those who catch it but more dangerous to the human race. Evidence shows a H5N1 flu pandemic is near!
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Flu germs mutate constantly. The H5N1 flu virus is less deadly to those who catch it but more dangerous to the human race. Evidence shows a H5N1 flu pandemic is near! |
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THE start of the H5N1 bird flu virus was in 2003. Now in 2009 it has come a long way. All viruses' main goal is to spread to the largest number of people as it can. In August of 2007 a study by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that there was HUMAN TO HUMAN SPREAD of the bird Flu in 2006. This was the first time the bird flu past from one person to another. Some experts thought that we dodged a bullet. It could have started in 2006. The germ at this point was not embedded around the world as it is today. There are strains of the virus in some areas that could start the problem. In China 2009 there were deaths from the bird flu in different parts of the country. People got the virus it seemed without contact from birds. Experts thought that the vaccines that were used to fight the germ hid the symptoms. Sick birds with no symptoms could carry the virus. And maintain it while it changed. A major way to fight the H5N1 germ is to kill all poultry that show signs of the germ. With no signs of the disease a major weapon we use to contain it is lost. Its spread would become much easier. People would eat the bad meat. Control of the disease would be much harder. Infected birds would fly to other areas infecting other birds. In an article April 8, 2009 (Reuters) In Egypt, WHO (The World Health Organization) was concerned about people carrying the virus without symptoms. They are testing to see if it exists. Human carriers that do not have symptoms would be a nightmare. And would help the virus spread. "The emergence of symptomless
human carriers of the virus would be a worrisome development because it
could allow the virus, undetected and untreated, more time to mutate
inside the human body, Jabbour said." "If there is any sub clinical case in Egypt, the aim is to treat immediately to stop the reproduction of the virus. Because whether (through) mutation or reassortment, this will lead to the pandemic strain," he said. Two out of 11 cases of bird flu this year were adults all of them lived. Last year there were 7 cases' mostly adult. And three of them died. The cases to death ratios are important. Why are the adults in Egypt now living more than last year? These numbers show WHO CASE DEATH rates on March 30, 2009. Total number of cases includes number of deaths. WHO reports only laboratory-confirmed cases.
I reported a story of interest on my blog at flustop.blogspot.com on March 28, 2009: KNOCK, KNOCK who's there? A pandemic. Could be at our Door step? Health experts in Garut, West Java Province reported 46 cases of bird flu in humans up to March 23. Four people passed away. And 36 people lived. Suddenly you have four die out of 40 a death rate of 10%. By far this is the lowest death rate in the world for the H5N1 virus. Most people would think that a higher survival rate is a good thing.
But it shows that the virus is getting more dangerous. In the 1918 Spanish
Flu Pandemic the H1N1 germ killed 2.5% of those who caught it. In a report on Mar 31, 2009 (CIDRAP News') "H5N1 Virus may be adapting to pigs in Indonesia" tells the story of the virus becoming more mild to humans. Experts think the flu germs from Indonesian pigs are milder to mice than from chickens. They believe the germ may be less hostile to humans. Their test means the virus has made a jump closer to causing a pandemic. They report their findings in the Archives of Virology. Pigs can be good middle man host helping the bird flu adjusts to humans. Pigs do not show signs of having the bird flu. They can pass a strain of the germ to those who have contact with them. Or pass a strain to those who eat them. People have gotten a virus from pigs in the past. The flu pandemics of 1957-58 and 1968-69 were caused by bird flu-human hybrid viruses. We do not know if it came from pigs or not. The bottom line is the H5N1 flu virus is now more
mild. But it is more DANGEROUS!
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