| Is
avian flu another health endemic or media hype? Ever since the
mid 1980s, an inventory of viruses or viral diseases has wreaked
a host of health pandemics to humankind and animal life. Generally,
the infectious diseases are afflicted directly from animals to
people. The widespread effects of these viruses are known as the
following: HIV/AIDS
West Nile Virus
Monkeypox
Hantavirus
SARS
Avian influenza
The
latest flu to pose risk upon humankind is the notorious bird
flu or Avian flu. Aside from the fatal disease HIV/AIDS, Avian
flu is deemed as a significant health detriment.
In
the sphere of viruses, they are interspecies contracted. In
a single impetuous mutation, viruses can spread like wildfire
from animals to human beings by infiltrating DNA. As seen in
West Nile fever, the virus is transferable via an intermediate
host, the mosquito. Nonetheless, viruses can directly infect
humans and animals.
When
individuals are afflicted with Avian influenza, it generally
commences starts with the symptoms of a conventional flu (fever,
sore throat cough, and achy muscles). Despite its similarities
to influenza, bird flu may trigger life-threatening complications.
At
the beginning of 2005, health officials announced a public warning
of the potential dangers of a serious bird flu outbreak. Health
analysts are depicting a dismal forecast of a global pandemic.
The health concern is being compared to the flu epidemic of
1918 and 1919, which accounted for the lives of merely 20 million
people, universally.
In
the meantime, researchers are scrambling to discover a remedy
to circumvent a potentially devastating outbreak. In an effort
to quell the risk of Avian Flu, the United States government
initiated plans to obtain tens of thousands of doses of experimental
vaccines. While the preliminary laboratory trials are showing
efficacy, clinical studies will continue to explore vaccines
for people at the highest risk, the elderly and children. |
