The Situation With Vaccines For Bird Flu And Other Types Of Flu

Submitted By: Sarah Jenkins

With everyone on the brink of panic regarding a bird flu pandemic, many are wondering if a vaccine has been developed and if not, why it has not. Vaccines have become a common and widely accepted way of dealing with various viral infections. Unfortunately, this is not yet a valid option for bird flu.

The primary reason an effective vaccine has not been developed for the strain of bird flu causing so much concern is simply lack of time. The process of vaccine development is long and arduous. The virus must be researched on a molecular level in order to create an effective vaccine. Although bird flu was first identified in 1997, the real concern for the disease did not come about until 2004, with the first real outbreak of the virus. Therefore, less than two years has been available to research and develop a vaccine. While vaccines have been developed, they are still in trial phases and hope to be complete soon.

To understand the other significant reasoning, you must first understand a little about bird flu and the threat it carries. As of yet, the virus is not a global, imminent concern. The reason for this is that the virus is now only transmittable through poultry and is not passed through human to human contact. Although many people have died, it is still primarily an Asian and European disease and has not reached pandemic proportions. However, that is likely to change soon.

As time goes on, the virus is mutating and is expected to become transmittable through human contact. When this happens, it will very likely spread quickly and devastatingly throughout all regions of the world.

Therefore, the second reason a vaccine has not yet been developed is due to the mutation of the virus. As of yet, the concern regarding the virus is not as drastic as it will be once mutation is complete. If mutation occurs, a vaccine will be essential to control the spread of the virus. However, a vaccine can not be developed to avoid the new version of the virus until it actually mutates. Any vaccine created before then will be useless on the mutated form of the virus as the molecular basis of the disease will change, altering the effectiveness of a vaccine.

It is believed that much of the groundwork has been completed for the mutated virus vaccine, but until mutation occurs, there will be no way of knowing its effectiveness.

About the Author:
Sarah is an acclaimed writer on medical matters, and has written extensively on the subjects of Attention Deficit Disorder, Bird Flu and Cohn’s Disease. For more of her articles, go to http://www.imedicalvillage.com now.

Bird Flu: The Lethal Menace

by Divya Pathak

These days all one seems to hear in India is "Bird Flu". The disease which has taken a major part of India in its grip, has not only severly affected the poultry industry of the nation but also it has sent panic bells ringing across the states - from Delhi in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South, to West Bengal in the East, the latter being worst affected. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the current outbreak of Bird Flu in India as the worst case reported till date.

In the affected areas, chickens are being culled at a rapid pace, but still the disease is spreading its wings from one district to the other, from one state to another. One primary reason for the rapid spread of Bird Flu is the lack of awareness about the virus which causes the disease. Almost everyone knows that the disease is lethal, but not many know what causes it, how it spreads, and how it can be prevented.

Keeping in mind the scale and spread of Bird Flu virus that has taken its toll in India, Headlines India decided to give its readers an insight into the disease, which first broke out in 1997 in Hong Kong, affecting 18 people and claiming 6 lives.

Bird Flu, also known as Avian Flu, is an influenza caused by virus, which affects birds. It might sound surprising, but the fact is that birds, like humans, are vulnerable to influenza. Influenza viruses can be divided into three types (strains) -- influenza A, B and C. Type A is responsible for the deadly influenza pandemics. Type B can lead to smaller, more localized outbreaks. Type C, less common and more stable than other strains, has milder symptoms. Types B and C are usually found only in humans, whereas type A infects both people and animals, including birds, pigs, horses, whales and seals.

Bird Flu is caused by the H5N1 strain of virus, and is a type 'A' influenza. It usually affects chicken and other poultry birds such as ducks. Earlier, human infection was unheard of in Bird Flu. However, the virus spread from birds to humans in 1997, when six people in Hong Kong died of the disease. According to the data provided by World Health Organisation on February 1, 2008, approximately 225 people across the world have succumbed to the disease over the past five years.

It must be noted here that although the bird flu virus is highly contagious, it rarely causes any harm to the carrier. Thus, even while infected with an avian flu virus, the animal does not have "flu". Typically, flu virus is adapted by one species of bird, and in turn spreads to another species. This happens more with the domestication of chickens and turkeys, as the avian flu virus acquired by one species rapidly mutates and infects the other species as well. This rapid spread can be stopped only by killing every domestic bird in the affected area.

The H5N1 strain virus causes avian influenza. The highly pathogenic Influenza A virus subtype, H5N1 virus, is an emerging avian influenza virus that has been causing global concern as a potential pandemic threat. It is simply referred as "bird flu" or "avian influenza".

Over the years, H5N1 has evolved into a flu virus strain that infects more species of birds than any previously known flu virus strain. This strain is deadlier than any previously known flu virus strain, and continues to evolve becoming both more widespread and more lethal.

H5N1 has killed millions of poultry Asia, Europe and Africa. Although human transmission of the virus is rare, the recent cases of human infections have left the health officials worried. Health experts are concerned that the co-existence of human flu viruses and avian flu viruses (especially H5N1) will provide an opportunity for genetic material to be exchanged between species-specific viruses, possibly creating a new virulent influenza strain that is easily transmissible and lethal for humans.

With bird flu engulfing almost the entire nation, where 26 people with suspected symptoms have been kept in isolation, the disease is posing a potential threat to the country. The virus is spreading like wildfire, and in order to prevent the disease from affecting human beings, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of how bird flu affects human beings, the symptoms of the disease, its treatment and prevention measures.

Read our second Special Report in this series to know more about bird flu to protect yourself and your family from it.

About the Author
Divya Pathak is a reporter working with http://www.headlinesindia.com an upcoming news portal based out of New Delhi, India.