Avian flu: a myth or reality?
Coming back of Spanish flu
Spanish flu pandemic in 1918-1919 affected more than 500 million people in the whole world. The mortal virus took more than 400 million lives then. Since that time world flu epidemics (pandemics) recurred two times (in 1957 and 1968), however, unlike Spanish flu they were caused by a less mortal virus, since the number of victims was much less than during the pandemic 1918. The results of contemporary researches show that the virus of Spanish flu was a typical avian flu virus which acquired an ability to propagate in human body and pass from human to human. Presently the issue of possible new bird flu epidemic is discussed at the highest levels. In scientists` opinion the following events should take place for the eruption of pandemic:
1.The avian flu virus should adjust to propagation in lower temperatures than the temperature of bird body. This has already happened. It has been proved by cases of infection of workers in poultry farms in some Asian countries.
The normal bird body temperature is about 420С, whereas the normal temperature of human body does not exceed 37,5 (inner temperature) or 340С (in nasopharynx ). It is obvious that the virus has acquired an ability to propagate in human body, however, only in lungs and trachea, but not in nasopharynx unlike regular flu virus.
2. Mixing of the genetic material of human flu virus and bird flu virus must occur. According to scientists such a mixing could happen in pigs. The fact is that, the body cells of pigs could equally be affected by human flu and bird flu virus. While propagating the viruses exchange part of genes, in the result of which new mutant species of viruses with totally new characteristics form. Examination of bodies died of Spanish flu showed that the virus of 1918 was a mutant virus which contained both human and bird flu components. These “mixed” variants of the flu virus are especially dangerous to people, because the recombination of the genetic material provides viruses with new proteins which are not familiar to immune system of human. Getting into human body such a virus starts to propagate without any hindrance within 1-2 weeks, which is enough to kill a human. The Spanish flu virus was a very uncommon one. Modern researches and historic facts show that mainly young people died of Spanish flu, not children and old people (unlike the regular flu virus) despite the apparent immunosuppressive effect of some components of the virus. Patients affected by Spanish flu died of cardiopulmonary insufficiency associated with massive pneumonia and diffuse lesion of blood vessels of the whole body developing in a few days.
3. The virus should acquire an ability to pass from human to human. This last characteristics of the virus has not been fixated yet, since within the whole history of bird flu detection (the first epidemic among birds and cases of human infection were detected in 1997 in Hong Kong), there has not been any case of passing of the virus from human to human. It is worth mentioning that if the virus acquires such ability, just one patient infected with mutant virus who would pass the ocean may provoke flu pandemic which would affect the whole world just within a few hours.
Despite all capabilities of modern medicine it would not be possible to prevent bird flu epidemic (in case the virus acquire all necessary characteristics). Presently all efforts to fight bird flu are arrowed at localization and suppression of the disease outbreak among birds.
Most professionals assert that in all probability the problem of Spanish flu recurrence is just a matter of time.
Swine flu
Swine flu (H1N1) is a disease caused by strains of flu virus and characterized by epidemic spread of the disease in swine populations. It is widely spread over everywhere among pigs with the exception of Australia, greater part of Africa and naturally Antarctica. Swine flu is “well known” in North and South America, Europe, continental China, Taiwan, Japan and other countries in Asia and some regions in Africa. The virus circulates among pigs as well as among other mammals, birds and people. The virus tends to mutate with time. Swine flu is rarely transmitted from animal to human.
Swine flu outbreak in 2009
In 2009 an outbreak of a new strain of the H1N1 virus occurred, which was at once called “swine flu”. It was caused by H1N1 subtype virus which genetically resembles swine flu virus most. The viruses of this type are transmitted from human to human and cause symptoms similar to those of seasonal flu. However, this disease, which caused panic in so many people all over the world, has nothing to do with true swine flu: not a single pig caught this disease in the period when Mass Media started “swine flu” hysteria. It is believed that those were newsmen who gave the disease the name of “swine flu”. Now “new flu” is a more frequently used name for H1N1.
Geography of H1N1
The 2009 outbreak is believed to start on March 18 when the first cases of the disease were fixed in Mexico City. Then the flue has spread in Mexico (now more than 17 450 infected) and to south-west of the US. Now the number of the infected prevail in the US (43 800 patients) and Australia (29 000patients). The H1N1 virus has been detected in almost all European counties, but among the European countries the situation is most serious in Great Britain (12 500 patients) and Germany (11 100 patients).
The symptoms of H1N1
The symptoms of “swine flu” are the same as of regular flu. They include dizziness, high temperature, fever, general weakness, cough, angina, runny nose, pain in muscles, joint ache, nausea and upset stomach.
What medicines are used to treat swine flu?
World Health Organization recommends the following antiviral medicines intended for the treatment and prevention of “swine flu”: Oseltamivir and Zanamivir. They claim that H1N1strain is less sensitive to other antiviral drugs. Oseltamivir also comes under the name of Tamiflu.
However, statements that the right medicines for treating “swine flu” are Tamiflu, Triazoverin and Interferon spread by mass media are more like of marketing fad. And as an ad it works great: after mass media announced about the effectiveness of Tamiflu against swine flu, the medicine was literally snapped up despite its expensiveness. However, the effectiveness of this medicine against H1N1 has not been confirmed. In due time, this medicine was also believed to be panacea for avian flu, which occurred in 2004. However, 70% of patients who died of this disease used Tamiflu.
How to protect yourself against swine flu?
You can avoid this infection by observing regular measures taken during flu or acute respiratory disease outbreaks. Avoid busy places; do not make trips to regions where “swine flu” outbreaks have been reported. However World Health Organization considers it ineffective and inappropriate to organize quarantines or restrict people`s right to travel.
Vaccine against H1N1
World Health Organization and medics in the whole world are still trying to create a vaccine against H1N1 virus.
Is H1N1 virus that dangerous?
Both “regular “and the “new” flue pandemia could be dangerous. Every year about 10 million people in the world have flu; half a million of them die. Many doctors think that the panic about the disease is often more scary than the disease itself. Meanwhile, the statements made by mass media about “swine flu” could be described in no other way than panicky. Fresh are the memories of the audience, so frequently “intimidated” by newsmen, about the recent outbreaks of bird flu and Siberian plague which also were alleged to be dangerous for humanity. However, there were no serious consequences for humanity in planetary scale, and all the “terror” happened just on the pages of newspapers, web-sites and TV screens.