May
18
Just when bird flu news was settling down into some sort of routine, along comes the news that pigs in Sumatra have tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
Not humans, pigs - so why the concern?
Pigs are often quoted as being the “mixing bowl” where the H5N1 bird virus can intermingle with a human influenza virus to create a mutant strain that is transmissable between humans. The fact that H5N1 has now been found in the “mixing bowl” is a major concern, to say the least.
There is a chance that this is the catalyst that could trigger a global bird flu pandemic, but of course, there is just as much chance that a variant strain emerging from the “mixing bowl” could also be non pathogenic or of low pathogenicity ie not very harmful to humans.
Of course no variant strain may emerge from the pigs in Sumatra, howwever the fact that there is a cluster of human fatalities from H5N1 bird flu nearby, raises its own concerns. The World Health Organisation cannot, at this time, rule out the possibility that these victims caught the disease from each other ie the H5N1 virus was transmitted from human to human.
Its too early to get a clear picture about what is happening in Sumatra, but these snippetts of news seem to me, to move the bird flu story along a bit further - in a direction that could be concerning.
May
13
It’s interesting to see that several European countries are removing the bird flu restrictions they put in place a few months ago.
I guess this is to be expected as the migration season has now finished so the threat of wild birds spreading avian flu into other European countries and the United States has now diminished.
Of course, bird flu can be spread by other means, however I would expect to see the interest in this disease slowly decrease as we progress through the summer. I expect bird flu will still occupy some of the news footage, with its continued presence in Africa and Asia, but if it is contained in the western world, then we will start to forget about it.
That is until the next flu and migratory season.
Bird flu isn’t going away, it will still be with us next autumn and early spring and I expect we will be hearing about new outbreaks of this damaging disease.
May
8
Birds Flu - the movie
Filed Under Bird Flu | 2 Comments
Well I guess it’s happened sooner than I thought - a movie about a bird flu pandemic already!
In the movie, the H5N1 virus is brought to the United States by a businessman from Hong Kong. The virus then follows the worst case scenario by passing from chickens to humans and then between humans, causing a pandemic.
It’s only a movie, but I wonder what effect it will have. There is still plenty of ignorance around about bird flu and it’s risk to humans. Showing a worst case scenario, presumably for dramatic effect, seems a bit mistimed, as it could easily height anxiety about this disease.
I realise that screening a movie like this once bird flu has gone away, would have little impact and publicity as we would by then know that bird flu wasn’t the cause of the next flu pandemic, however it should be made very clear by the producers that this film is portraying a worst case scenario which will almost certainly not happen.
May
3
News that an experimental vaccine is successfully protecting mice from the H5N1 bird flu virus shows how much research is being undertaken to find effective protection against this deadly disease.
This research must bring other benefits too. Reading the article, we learn that the vaccine may potentially protect animals from other influenza viruses too.
Of course what happens in mice cannot be directly translated to the efficacy of a vaccine in humans, but it is a start. The scientists are learning more about how the H5N1 interacts with animal cells and how it can therefore might be stopped in its tracks. They are getting closer to reducing the threat of this virulent virus.
But the scientists are doing more than that.
By learning more about H5N1, they are also learning more about influenza viruses in general. Better vaccines for other forms of influenza will almost certainly be created from this rush to stop H5N1 and that is good news.
May
2
No news is good news
Filed Under Bird Flu | Leave a Comment
It is noticeable that the number of news items about bird flu is decreasing at the moment.
When preparing the news today for survivingflu.com, there were really only two news items that seemed of interest to the growing numbers of people who are now visiting that site every day.
This is good news, as it means that there have not been any major new outbreaks recently, and even better, that there have not been any more human cases of H5N1 infection.
Of course it doesn’t mean that bird flu is going away, it just means that we are in a welcome lull phase at the moment. We have been warned that H5N1 will be with us for a number of years so we just have to get used to it being a part of our lives.
May
2
Brokeback Mountain
Filed Under Films | Leave a Comment
About:
Two cowboys discover their homosexuality whilst working together on Brokeback Mountain in the 1960’s and then live with the consequences during the ensuing decades.
For:
The film portrays effectively the difficulties faced by homosexuals during that era and in that tough rural environment. Set against stunning scenery on the one hand and hum drum lives on the other, the excellent acting and direction creates a memorable film.
Against:
Perhaps a bit slow at times, this is a very good film, but probably not of the calibre promised by its Oscar successes.