Bird Flu Prevention

Prevention is better than cure! These words are too true. And countries around the world have taken to doing anything possible to prevent the outbreak of bird flu. Bird flu has killed more than 60 people thus far in South East Asia. This is since it was discovered in 2003. It also resulted in the deaths of millions of poultry.

This virus can be a serious threat if it develops the capacity of easy transmission from one person to another. Experts and decision-makers (400 of them!) had to gather recently for a three-day council of war on bird flu, which took place at the World Health Organisation headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

There is currently no vaccine available to protect humans against avian flu or bird flu ? also known as the H5N1 virus. But development is underway ? research began in 2005.

Personally, everyone should know what steps to take so as to keep risk at a minimum. Stay away from people who are coughing and sneezing, especially if you are visiting a country other than your own. Be especially careful if you do not know the bird flu status of that country. Try to avoid places with a lot of human traffic, such as movies, concerts or shopping malls. Try skip peak hour on busses or trains. But if you must travel in areas which are crowded, wear a mask or respirator. This will protect you against any airborne bird flu virus. These particles are released when people cough, sneeze and just talk.

There are so many measures that can take taken. Even in the work environment. Small things, such as using your own coffee mug and using disposable towels to open the toilet door, might just save your life. These things are not difficult to do ? personally I do most of them anyways. But if there is a serious risk then you may want to don your bird flu survival kit ? especially if you or a co-worker are coughing and sneezing.

Whether at home, work and out and about, try and pay attention to the small things. Do not share your cutlery or drink containers. What seems like sharing a cool drink may actually lead to contraction of the virus. Try not to touch things, such as the bathroom door or the handle of the shopping cart. Use towelling papers, or even wear gloves. If you saw all the germs on communal spots such as ATM machines anyways you would probably never take your gloves off in public again!

More questions answered with Bird Flu Q&A

Tamiflu-the only drug to stop bird flu

Bird flu or avian flu has been a great concern to the human population worldwide. We had so many reports of tragic deaths due to bird flu and shortage of limited drugs like Tamiflu all across the globe. Today we have Governments and the entire World Health Organization, Red Cross, and other international health organizations wanting to spend millions to eradicate the killer disease from the living planet.

Treatment of bird flu

Tamiflu is the main drug for the treatment of bird flu. Tamiflu can lessen the effects of bird flu and speed up recovery. Tamiflu can also minimize the effects of bird flu to the point that a patient may survive the virus when, without Tamiflu, the attack would have been fatal. Tamiflu is the only drug that is this effective against the bird flu virus.
To be as effective as possible, a course of Tamiflu should be started within 24 hours of bird flu being diagnosed. This point is very important; delays in starting treatment lessen the effectiveness of the drug.

There are a few other influenza antiviral medications such as amantadine, rimantadine, and zanamivir, which have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment and/or prevention of influenza including bird flu. Reports confirm that at times influenza virus strains can become resistant to one or more of these drugs, and thus the drugs may not always work. The bird flu influenza A (H5N1) viruses identified in human patients in Asia in 2004 and 2005 have been resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. Limited evidence suggests that some antiviral drugs, notably oseltamivir (commercially known as Tamiflu), can reduce the duration of viral replication and improve prospects of survival, provided they are administered within 48 hours following symptom onset.

Tamiflu dosage

In suspected cases, oseltamivir should be prescribed as soon as possible (ideally, within 48 hours following symptom onset) to maximize its therapeutic benefits. Currently recommended doses of oseltamivir for the treatment of influenza are contained in the product information at the manufacturer?s web site. The recommended dose of oseltamivir for the treatment of influenza, in adults and adolescents 13 years of age and older, is 150 mg per day, given as 75 mg twice a day for five days. Oseltamivir is not indicated for the treatment of children younger than one year of age. As the duration of viral replication may be prolonged in cases of H5N1 infection, clinicians should consider increasing the duration of treatment to seven to ten days in patients who are not showing a clinical response. In cases of severe infection with the H5N1 virus, clinicians may need to consider increasing the recommended daily dose or the duration of treatment, keeping in mind that doses above 300 mg per day are associated with increased side effects. In severely ill H5N1 patients or in H5N1 patients with severe gastrointestinal symptoms, drug absorption may be impaired.

Conclusion

Bird flu is not transmitted from one person to another. Individuals at risk are those are directly or indirectly exposed to sick chickens and other fowl. The government thereby advises travelers to countries affected with bird flu not to go to bird parks (aviaries), poultry farms or market where live poultry is sold. However, with the intervention of Tamiflu the infection toll of bird flu attacks have come down. The only reason of this is because Tamiflu treats flu at its source by attacking the virus that causes the flu, rather than simply masking symptoms.The author is an amateur writer focusing primarily on health related topics or on the health related research findings. For more information on Tamiflu, visit http://www.arrestflu.com

Prepare Now for Dangers of the Bird Flu Pandemic Chaos

In a bird flu pandemic, more people might die from other causes than from bird flu itself.

Even if you've stocked up your home with all the food, water and immune system boosting herbs you'll need for the next 3 months and you're all set to sit there and read WAR AND PEACE until the bird flu virus burns itself out -- you could still be at great risk.

If you really want to live through the bird flu pandemic, you better have a plan to avoid human germs as well as the bird flu virus.

On a bird flu discussion forum, someone recently posted this advice -- stop telling your neighbors you're storing food and water for the bird flu pandemic. Stop trying to convince them to do the same thing. Make your preparations in secret. Because when there's no more food at the grocery store, and their kids are hungry, they're going to remember that you've stored food -- and they're going to come knocking at your door.

Truly sad words, but they obviously have a truth to them.

You definitely must think just as hard about the nature of your neighbors as about the nature of bird flu itself.

You must assume that law and order as we take it for granted now will not exist or will be enforced only sporadically.

Your local police are 95% great people with a strong sense of duty. But some of them will catch bird flu too and some will die from it. Some of them will feel their greatest duty is to protect their own families. Others will stay on the job but will be too stretched and stressed out to keep order on every square block of their territory. This is especially true of rural areas. And you cannot depend on the 911 system, which will likely be overwhelmed. And if they're no dispatchers to take calls and send messages -- and no more ambulance drivers or police cars available -- what good is it?

At some point the government may step in and declare martial law, but we don't have enough soldiers to stand on every street corner in the world.

Many neighborhoods will band together for mutual protection.

Many people will band together so they can loot and kill with impunity.

Some people will surprise you. Some gangbangers will use their guns and street organization to defend the people in their hood.

Some "nice" people will take advantage of the lack of civilized constraints to do some not so nice things.

If your neighbors already know you're a bird flu kook, it's too late now to start preparing in secret -- and probably it doesn't matter.

Because if your neighbors get together and decide to go house to house, how're you going to stop them?

And I don't mean they'll be doing it for bad reasons. Neighbors should be keeping tabs on each other to see who's got bird flu. Who needs food cooked and delivered to their door. Who has small children who need watching.

I can understand the stock up on supplies and lock up the door against the world mentality -- I pretty much share it.

But realistically, you'll stand a better chance of surviving the pandemic if your neighborhood works together -- including you.

Because many neighborhoods are going to have to defend themselves against outsiders -- and you don't want to be seen as an outsider who just happens to live on the same block.

You want to be seen as one of the group. As someone smart enough to foresee the pandemic and prepare for it, you should assume a leadership role.

The better you get along with your neighbors now, despite being laughed at for storing food, the more likely you are to keep enough of that food and water for your family.

If your neighbors really are the kind of people you don't want knocking at your door (and I've lived in neighborhoods like that, myself) -- then plan now to get out.

You should do what you can to get out of such a neighborhood anyway, bird flu or no bird flu. Richard Stooker Richard discusses how to avoid avian bird flu in his book How to Protect Yourself and Your Family From Asian Bird Flu -- And check out his Asian Bird Flu blog

Bird Flu Stocks - Is the Opportunity Real?

Everyone seems to be talking about the Avian Flu, otherwise known as the H5N1 virus. We believe the virus and danger is real, but are the investment opporunities for real?

Watching the public market clamor for "Bird Flu Stocks" reminds us of the "Internet Stock" bubble.

We challenge investors to carefully think about whether the bird flu is a great threat or just a great media story. With all the media coverage, would you be surprised to learn that in the entire world, the virus has only infected a total of 194 people and killed a total of 110 people?

The current strain of the virus is not spread among humans. Every person previously infected with the virus had direct contact with sick birds (mainly chickens). However, experts seem to agree that if the virus mutates into a contagious form, it is possible that it will kill millions of people.

Big problems always present tremendous investment opportunities. Investors in companies who develop the products and services that truly solve any large problem can make millions. In anticipation of large profits, it should come as no surprise that many investors have driven the market value of "bird flu stocks" to very high levels. The combined market value of these stocks now exceeds several billion dollars. Investors are assuming these companies will generate large profits.

Well, what if investors are wrong? What if the fancy solutions being touted by many of the bird flu stocks are not as important as we are led to believe?

Recently, a company in England announced that initial tests prove that a simple hand spray (which is already sold in major department stores) is more than 99.8% efficient in killing H5N1. The product was originally developed several years ago to prevent the spread of certain germs and is entirely safe for use by humans.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, avoiding close contact with others, covering your mouth and nose, cleaning your hands and avoiding to touch your eyes, nose or mouth - are the primary ways to prevent getting germs.

When you take a step back from all the hype, the reality is that simply wearing a medical mask and washing hands frequently, will virtually assure that a person will not get infected.

Sometimes, the simple answers provide the best solutions. If medical masks and soap are the most effective defense, what becomes of all these "bird flu stocks"?

Joel Arberman is the Managing Member of Stock Aware, LLC. We publish a free investment research and analysis newsletter and offer investor awareness services. Learn more at www.StockAware.com

How The Bird Flu Virus Lives And Spreads

Bird flu is a serious and dangerous virus. With so much controversy over this deadly disease, it is a good idea to have some kind of idea what you are up against. Knowing how the virus lives and spreads makes it easier to protect yourself from infection.

First, it should be understood that bird flu is much like the other strains of influenza. Like the flu that goes around every year, bird flu is transmitted from the exchange of the virus through droplets of saliva, mucus, or other excretions. However, bird flu is not transmitted from human contact, but through the handling or ingestion of infected poultry. It is more common for people to be impacted by bird flu that handle birds for agricultural purposes or eat infected fowl that is not properly handled.

The virus lives within poultry and survives in the feces of the animal for several days, if not weeks. Therefore, regular contact with birds, especially in dense populations, increases the possibility of contracting the disease. To avoid infection, limit contact with potentially dangerous poultry.

It should also be clear that this particular virus was not always a threat to humans. Prior to 1997, there were no known cases of H5N1, the deadly strain of bird flu, infecting humans. Since the virus first came to pass in the early 1900's, it has mutated and transformed into a different form. This mutation is vital to the ongoing vitality of influenza and is the primary source for the concern surrounding H5N1. The virus continually manipulates itself to bypass treatment techniques and survive in varying environments.

Once the virus is transmitted to a person, it is incredibly interesting what takes place. There are two factors within the immune system that contribute to the devastation of the virus. First, the virus causes an exaggerated response in cytokines, hormones that regulate the immune system. This increase makes the immune system unstable and actually has a negative effect on the body itself, as well as making fighting infection difficult. Secondly, other aspects of the immune system are suppressed, allowing the virus to run rampant within the body.

Since the virus is not bacterial in nature, antibiotics are ineffective in treating the disease. In many illnesses, antibiotics are administered, which suppress the immune system and fight the infection; however, this is not an option due to the nature of bird flu; therefore, the most effective treatment is prevention.

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.