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Biotech / Medical : SARS and Avian Flu -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: William H Huebl who wrote (3967)	1/31/2007 11:58:37 AM
From: JMarcus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4232

Not so good news. We now have confirmation of the first human death due to H5N1 in Nigeria. The below article notes that Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem the spread of the virus. -------------- Four possible bird flu deaths in Nigeria 22-year-old woman victim of H5N1 strain; tests on three others inconclusive Reuters Updated: 6:19 a.m. PT Jan 31, 2007 LAGOS, Nigeria - Four Nigerians are suspected to have died from H5N1 bird flu, but tests on three of the victims were inconclusive and the virus was confirmed scientifically in only one case, a senior health official said on Wednesday. Abdulsalam Nasidi, a bird flu expert at the health ministry, said the three inconclusive cases were the mother of the confirmed case in Lagos, a poultry worker in northeastern Taraba state and one person in far northeastern Borno state. The woman from Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos is the first confirmed human victim of bird flu in sub-Saharan Africa, after the deadly disease was first found in poultry in Nigeria a year ago. “Last night our team of 13 scientists were able to conclusively identify the case of avian influenza in a 22-year-old female who died in Lagos,” Nweke told a news conference. The woman was one of 14 people, three of whom died, from whom samples were taken for tests that were concluded on Tuesday. Samples are now being sent to foreign laboratories for confirmation. Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem the spread of the virus. In Japan dozens of chickens at a western poultry farm died of the H5N1 strain, agriculture officials said Wednesday, fueling concerns about a series of recent cases in the country’s poultry industry. The bird flu outbreak in Okayama prefecture was Japan’s third this year involving the H5N1 strain. Two earlier outbreaks in southern Miyazaki prefecture prompted the slaughter of thousands of chickens. Officials are still trying to determine whether another Miyazaki outbreak also involved H5N1. Authorities already began slaughtering chickens at the Okayama farm after the bird flu virus there was confirmed Tuesday to involve a virus from the H5 family, said Agriculture Ministry official Yasushi Yamaguchi. The H5N1 virus has prompted the slaughter of millions of birds across Asia since late 2003, and caused the deaths of at least 163 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Japan has confirmed only one human H5N1 infection, and no human deaths. Bird flu has killed at least 164 people around the globe since it reemerged in Asia in 2003, according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organization. The death toll includes 11 fatalities in Egypt. Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. URL: msnbc.msn.com

To: William H Huebl who wrote (3967)	2/1/2007 2:16:39 PM
From: Think4Yourself	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4232

That's only good news if the virus doesn't mutate, which it will if it acquires interspecies transmission capabilities. The Australian population will have a false sense of security about being fully protected, when they probably will not be fully protected. Then again, it's probably a lot better than doing nothing. Anything available at the beginning of a pandemic, including immunizations and treatment drugs, has no guarantee of working. The real good news is that we can now identify and develop immunizations within a few weeks that will work. This makes it much less painful to take the steps required to prevent getting the flu before the immunizations are available. A pandemic can still shut society down for a few weeks/months, but it's no longer likely that it will wipe out a large chunk of the human population. I will not go for immunizations available now if a pandemic occurs. The facility where you go would be a great place to catch the virus and you have no idea if the immunization will work. It's not worth the risk. Hunker down and wait for a sure treatment/preventative. I personally believe there is an even bigger pandemic threat than bird flu right now. They hae resurrected the Spanish flu virus. H5N1 might never take on the deadly characteristics the Spanish Flu virus has. I hope the folks in control of the Spanish Flu virus have that thing under strict quarantine, and well protected from the zealots of all the religions.