If there is a bird flu pandemic, the pneumonia vaccine will be a useful adjunct, in that it will protect people from a serious secondary complication that leads to about half of the deaths. by Wiley, Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic. Rarely a pandemic strain develops, the last two of which (in 1957 and. The emotional center of the brain, the amygdala, cannot process fear and courage at the exact same moment. The USDA has allotted over $4 million for a bird biosecurity outreach program in Asia to keep infected birds from coming to the United States, but far more money is needed. In each case we were warned that we had no immunity and could be at great risk. Bird Flu takes on the issues that are injected with a sense of panic and dread, as many parts of the world have grown to fear the spread of a deadly influenza outbreak in recent years. We've been asking one another this question ever since experts told us that the year 2000 bug in our computers would shut down communications and banking nationwide. It is made this way in part because the predominant yearly flu strain changes from one year to the next. If a fire occurred away from your house, your best protection would be to put out the fire rather than to immediately build a firewall around your house. Influenza comes in two main varieties: A and B. And at one point he (rightfully) discourages people from trying to storm medical facilities at the first sign of danger in order to get their hands on precious flu vaccines when they might not really need them, but then in the next breath he practically brags about being able to score said vaccines for his wife and parents. Unfortunately, a patient may be spreading the virus for several days before becoming clinically ill. Close contacts of people who are ill should anticipate the possibility of getting sick and in the "window period" should take extra precautions in terms of limiting personal contacts. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Shares His Reading Recommendations. In the fall of 2005, the purchase of hand sanitizers was up almost tenfold. In the meantime, it is important to realize that not a single bird in the United States has been found to have this pathogenic avian influenza. Viruses don't even fit the definition of "alive," though most scientists agree that they are. . Is FEMA somehow afraid it will invoke images of bird flu? He has appeared regularly on the "Today Show," "Good Morning" "America," the "CBS Early Show," Fox News Channel, "ABC News," CNN, NPR, and Air America. And as far as anyone knows, the yearly flu vaccine does not offer protection against bird flu. Wiley (TP), 9780470038642, 202pp. hide caption. But it's also quite possible (in fact it's even more likely) that it may never mutate at all or that if it does mutate, the mutated virus would result in a much less severe illness in humans. But even if someone brought bird flu here on a plane, it would not spread, because there is no human-to-human. I'm sure this is a response to the fear of getting bird flu. We’d love your help. transmission with bird flu in its current state. Start by marking “Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic” as Want to Read: ... Start your review of Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic. Siegel's previous books include False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear, in which he argues against paranoia and reactionary strategies in health care and public safety. (It also comes in a C, which rarely causes illness.). Plus, even if you stockpiled it, without a physician's instructions you'd never know when the appropriate time to take it would be. First, frequent hand washing decreases the spread of flu viruses. Most people who hear about bird flu vastly overestimate how bad this is likely to be for humans, while underestimating how terrible it already is for birds. It can pass from wild birds to the poultry on farms when they come into contact, and certain strains, known as pathogenic avian influenza, make these domestic birds very sick. He is a weekly columnist for the "New York Daily News, " and a frequent contributor to the "New York Times, Los Angeles Times, " "New York Post," "Family Circle, " and the "Washington Post." But the chances of this occurring are very small for any given period of time and are not directly proportional to the number of infected birds. Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, answered this question when speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations bird flu conference in November 2005: "Much of the preparation that we need to do for pandemic influenza is long-term preparedness; it's not overnight, immediate-reaction preparedness. ""-John M. It is crucial to learn how to correctly convey to the public that a threat over a given period of time is very small but worth taking seriously because the worst case is devastating. It is only a half stop from this kind of irrational fright to deep-rooted prejudices where everyone is "the other" and the only way to maintain safety is to cordon off your house. • While developing these new vaccine strategies, put together emergency stockpiles against certain pathogens, such as H5N1, where the effects of a human pandemic would be greatest. The same is true for avoiding poultry. Our CDC is combining with the WHO to build a worldwide network that tracks emerging diseases and recognizes and prepares for potential pandemics. Currently, there is no commercially available bird flu vaccine for human use. What if the worst-case scenario does occur and the H5N1 bird flu does mutate to a form that can infect me? You are protected by a species barrier; it is very difficult for you to get this virus from birds, even in parts of Asia where the virus is endemic in birds. It is generally effective when taken in the first forty-eight hours after symptoms begin. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. A scientist looking for funding on how to significantly improve our vaccine capabilities may only be trying to scare people into understanding why longterm planning is important. This strain (also called the H5N1 virus) surfaced in Hong Kong eight years ago, although it may have been around for four decades previous to this. There is no cure for any influenza for either birds or people. At times, Siegel seems curiously dismissive of efforts of private preparation, i.e. It is possible in birds, and very unlikely in humans. Twenty million birds have been vaccinated against bird flu, and many millions more have been culled. This mutation could occur either at random or if the virus mixes its DNA with a human flu virus inside a pig or a human. If 100 million doses of a vaccine for a specific flu could be manufactured in a month or two, as is possible with the latest techniques, then the need for government stockpiling for a particular bird flu such as H5N1 would be much less. The FAO has begun working closely with the World Health Organization and the World Bank to promote a regional network for improving surveillance and diagnosis of the disease in both birds and the rare human. Avian influenza has been around for thousands of years, and thousands of varieties of the virus exist, a few of which mutate sufficiently to affect humans. We would be well advised to listen closely to what he has to say. • In the United States, we are dependent on other societies for many of our major products. Better funding for bird culling and vaccination programs is crucial. In the wake of 9/11, our leaders have been playing Chicken Little. It should not be necessary to alarm the public as a ploy to get funding for disaster planning. The test is 100 percent accurate, though it doesn't tell how sick a bird (or a person) is. In order to mutate to a form that can infect us, it must sacrifice some of its ability to kill.) The concern about the disease itself is based on the fact that the H5N1 pathogenic avian influenza is a very aggressive killer of birds, and as it spreads in birds, it increases the worldwide viral load of this particular virus. • Discourage personal stockpiles. There are 16 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 9 different neuraminidase subtypes, all of which have been found among influenza A viruses in wild birds. Ironically, panicked politicians are likely to run right past him, funding short-term solutions that treat a created societal inflammation. The president proposes that $2 billion of this would be devoted to stockpiling antiviral medications and 20 million doses of an experimental vaccine against the bird flu strain H5N1. There's not necessarily any connection between what's deadly in birds and what's deadly in humans. In making his case for an honest appraisal of the dangers, Siegel cites progress in vaccine work and improved living conditions world-wide as two improvements that should make an epidemic far less deadly than that of 1918. Fear is our ultimate warning system, designed to protect us against imminent danger. But many experts talk about long-term preparedness. Bird Flu : Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic, Hardcover by Siegel, Marc, ISBN 1620455668, ISBN-13 9781620455661, Brand New, Free shipping Marc Siegel is an articulate voice of reason in a world beset by hype and hysteria.
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