Has the Bird Flu Virus Outbreak Begun?

The bird flu virus has been scaring the wits out of health officials for the past couple of years. The first H5N1 strain developed way back during 1997 at Hong Kong. The first development wasn't given much of a concern.

Eventually the virus popped back out during 2003. It has first greatly affected a whole number of birds. The birds that became infected died really fast after showing signs of symptoms. The virus also spread quickly towards other flocks as well, causing them to die to.

The people who have had lots of exposure with this infected domesticated birds, naturally became the first human casualties. In fact, the infected have reached 140 in five years time in the Far eats. Eventually killing more than 50 people infected.

What is scaring the scientists now are the recent developments of the bird flu in Turkey. They fear that the virus may have already mutated and the transmission from one human to the other has now been possible. This is because in the span of a week, 15 people were reported to be infected already.

That development definitely scared the officials in Europe. It should also be causing major concern to other countries as well. Neighboring countries are becoming stricter on trucks that are coming from Turkey. The vehicles that pass by are being sprayed with disinfectant.

France has already released a budget to buy vaccines, antiviral and face masks.

However all these preparation being done may still not be that be helpful. The best way to prevent the pandemic from happening is to learn how to isolate the infected area. This is important because the virus may still escape via a human transport or a bird that may cause more contamination.

To calm people down, the number of 15 within a week is not much for concern. If the number reaches more than a 100, it shall be a cause for concern.

There are also many critics about the current medication available to help against bird flu. They say that the medication may not really be helpful and stockpiling it is just a waste of money.

The vaccine as of now may still be imperfect, but it does help a person a better chance to get through with the flu.

As of the moment, since we have no idea if this virus could become the next pandemic or just a big bust. What's important is that we try to live a healthier lifestyle. Maybe that's what this virus is all about anyway. It's just telling us that maybe we should change our lifestyle into a healthier one.

Michael Colucci is a technical writer for Bird Flu Facts - A free site that offers facts on the history, prevention, vaccines and more on the Bird Flu Virus.