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Essay on the avian flu and the potential pandemic
Essay on the avian flu and the potential pandemic
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A Potential Avian Influenza Pandemic
Avian influenza could potentially be the world's next pandemic. The virus that causes this disease can be transmitted to other birds and humans by bird secretions. Bird migrations, as well as today?s instant worldwide transportation, can spread the avian influenza virus at amazing speeds. The government would face a disease that could wipe out millions of people. Meanwhile, the economy would crash as money is spent eradicating the disease from the country. Poultry farmers would have to cull their birds to minimize the risk of spreading the virus. Perhaps the greatest concern about avian influenza is its potential to not only infect and kill many people, but to be used as a bioterrorism weapon.
Avian influenza is rapidly becoming a great concern to health officials worldwide. The pathogen responsible for this disease is the avian influenza virus from the Orthomyxoviridae family. (University of Maryland, 2005) The H5N1 subtype, however, could potentially cause the most harm. Viruses are typically found in their natural reservoir, the bodies of wild fowl, although they do not always cause symptoms or illness in the birds. These viruses can be transmitted by various means to other birds and, as of 1997, humans. The 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong was the first time the avian influenza virus was noted to skip from bird to human. (CBC, 2005) Since then, health officials are becoming increasingly concerned with what avian influenza could mean in the near future. If an avian influenza pandemic were to occur, the government would face a deadly disease that would kill much of the population. There would be a catastrophic effect on the economy as the government must spend millions to eradicate disease and ...
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International Herald Tribune. (2005, July). A flu nightmare. The IHT Online. July 15, 2005: http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/07/14/opinio n/edfllu.php
Marwaan Macan-Markar. (2005, March) Bird flu to shake up Asian society. Asian Times. July 19, 2005: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/ GC01Ae01.html
Stephen Smith. (2005, July) Avian flu found in migrating geese in China. The Boston Globe. July 15, 2005: http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/arti cles/2005/07/07/avian_flu_found_in_migrating_geese_in_china/
University of Maryland. (2005. n/a) Avian Influenza Virus. Avian Influenza Virus Program. July 25, 2005: http://www.agnr.umd.edu/avianflu/
World Health Organization. (2004, January) Avian Influenza- fact sheet. World Health Organization. July 25, 2005: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_01_15/e
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Cannery Row, a small town beside Monterey Bay, resides people from immigrants to outcasts. Most well-known person in Cannery Row would be Doc. He owns the Western Biological Laboratory which has sea-life creatures which he collects. Everyone in Cannery Row is somehow in debt to him, so residents would want to do something nice for him someday. Doc is also the person helps other people if they are sick and he is the most popular person during the influenza outbreak. Doc isn’t the only person who helps during the influenza outbreak. There is an another person who helps only during the influenza outbreak and her name is Dora. Dora is the owner of the Bear Flag Restaurant, located at the left of the vacant lot, is a sporting house where men can
It has not taken human to human transmission yet, that we know of. So far all cases of the virus result from people coming into close contact with bird blood or droppings. If the transmission of the virus does take human to human form, it could unleash a global pandemic. This is the first time in history that humans have been able to prepare themselves for an epidemic. The bird flu virus travels with migrating birds.
John. M. Barry, The Great Influenza, The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History (New York: Penguin, 2004), 179
However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...
The influenza or flu pandemic of 1918 to 1919, the deadliest in modern history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and estimates place the number of victims anywhere from 25 to 100 million. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic. The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. Surprisingly, many flu victims were young, otherwise healthy adults. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain or prevent its spread. In the U.S., citizens were ordered to wear masks, and schools, theaters and other public
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"Pandemic Flu History." Home. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d. Web. 23 Mar.
United States. National Archives and Records Administration. The Influenza Epidemic of 1918. 23 July. 2008 < http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/>.
From the Chelsea Naval Hospital, overlooking the Boston Bay, I sip on a cup of Joe and browse over the Sports Section of the Los Angeles Times. Earlier this month, three Bostonians dropped dead from influenza. In examining the extent of the epidemic, Surgeon-General Blue commented to the Times , "People are stricken on the streets, while at work in factories, shipyards, offices or elsewhere. First there is a chill, then fever with temperature from 101 to 103, headache, backache, reddening and running of the eyes, pains and aches all over the body, and general prostration." I gaze out my window, the sun seems brighter than usual and the town more radiant. It must be the victory, for the threat of death due to influenza is pervasive. Outside, children jump rope. With every skip of the jump rope they chant. "I had a little bird." Skip. "Its name was Enza." Skip. "I opened up the window." Skip. "And in-flu-enza."
...influenza pandemic in one way or another; the use of quarantines were extremely prevalent among them. Also, the pandemic is directly responsible for the creation of many health organizations across the globe. The organizations help track and research illnesses across the globe. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for example, strive to prevent epidemics and pandemics. They also provide a governing body with directives to follow in case an outbreak does occur, and if one shall occur the efforts of organizations across the globe will be crucial for its containment. It is amazing that with modern medicine and proper organization that influenza still manages to make its appearance across the globe annually.
Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.
Kolata, Gina. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Cause It. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. Print.
A few years before 1918, in the height of the First World War, a calamity occurred that stripped the globe of at least 50 million lives. (Taubenberger, 1918) This calamity was not the death toll of the war; albeit, some individuals may argue the globalization associated with the First World War perpetuated the persistence of this calamity. This calamity was referred to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but calling this devastating pestilence the “Spanish Flu” may be a historical inaccuracy, as research and historians suggest that the likelihood of this disease originating in Spain seams greatly improbable. Despite it’s misnomer, the Spanish Flu, or its virus name H1N1, still swept across the globe passing from human to human by exhaled drops of water that contained a deadly strand of RNA wrapped with a protein casing. Individuals who were unfortunate enough to come in contact with the contents of the protein casing generally developed severe respiratory inflammation, as the Immune system’s own response towards the infected lung cells would destroy much of the lungs, thus causing the lungs to flood with fluids. Due to this flooding, pneumonia was a common cause of death for those infected with Spanish Flu. Due its genetic similarity with Avian Flu, the Spanish Flu is thought to be descended from Avian Flu which is commonly known as “Bird Flu.” (Billings,1997) The Spanish Flu of 1918 has had a larger impact in terms of global significance than any other disease has had because it was the most deadly, easily transmitted across the entire globe, and occurred in an ideal time period for a disease to happen.
Hvistendahl, M, Cohen, J et. al. 2013. ‘New Flu Virus in China Worries and Confuses’ Science 340: 129-130
The swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease in pigs that is caused by the type A influenza viruses. These viruses are referred to as swine flu viruses but scientifically the main virus is called the swine triple reassortant (tr) H1N1 influenza virus. When the viruses infect humans they are called variant viruses. This infection has been caused in humans mainly by the H1N1v virus in the United States. The H1N1 virus originates in animals due to improper conditions and the food they ingest. The virus stays in latency form, thus harmless to the respective animal. The longer the animals survive the more likely the virus is to develop and strengthen making it immune to vaccines. The virus reproduced through the lytic cycle. The virus injects its own nucleic acids into a host cell and then they form a circle in the center of the cell. Rather than copying its own nucleic acids, the cell will copy the viral acids. The copies of viral acids then organize themselves as viruses inside of the cell. The membrane will eventually split leaving the viruses free to infect other cells.