Should we be scared about the Bird Flu?
139936
No.  Unless you live in a few countries where it is a problem.  It's just another media mass-hysteria.  The risks and dangers are GREATLY overblown.\n\nCheck out the link below....and relax.....\n\n\nWAIT!!....INCOMING CHICKENS!!!!!!!!
535981
Influenza is a real threat only when it crosses the species barrier i.e. can be transmitted from pigs to birds to humans.  So far this Avian flu has not crossed the species barrier to humans, staying within the confines of the bird community.  Once humans start displaying the symptoms of the Avian flu, then we will have something to worry about.  Best course of action: make sure your immune system is up to scratch and don't worry because itll take some time to mutate, unless we fight it with antibiotics which will make it mutate faster and then.........
154127
No, I don't think so. My understanding is you would have to be living in very close surroundings with poultry that have the virus, or in close contact with live birds.\n\nHowever, I guess we'll be discovering new stuff about bird flu for years to come.
636068
The bird flu is nothing to panic about right now if you are a smart consumer. The bird flu is still in asia and has not been rapidly spreading in the USA. You will not catch the bird flu is you properly handle and cook all poultry. The only way you can get it is if you go over to asia and handle an infected bird. Other wise you are pretty safe safe! Scientists are working on a vaccine right now so hopfully the bird flu epedimic panic will soon fade away!
357102
i think so.not only that i think H5N1 was manufactured in a lab.why Else would there be a threat from birds? can you imagine a morning without birds chirping?if we loose that we've lost the morning songs that our children will never hear and maybe what we re taking for granted.
242424
A lot of people ARE worried about the threat of bird flu, because of the media coverage of it.\nIn fact it is more likely that there will NOT be a pandemic. As far as the chance of a bird flu pandemic goes, the most commonly agreed upon figure by experts is 10%. So if you interpreted the documentary you saw correctly, then the documentary is wrong. Of the known cases of humans who have been infected with avian flu, a little over half have died. Most of the infected people have been children, who are probably more susceptible to it. You can only be infected by bird flu through close contact with infected birds, or the excretions of infected birds. Proper cooking of meat and eggs destroys the virus.\n\nA vaccine is under development.\n\nIf you want to find out more information about bird flu, and how it is being dealt with on an international level, I suggest you look at the World Health Organisation's website:\n\nhttp://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/\n\nCheerio.
150583
In people, bird flu usually begins much like conventional influenza, with fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, but bird flu can lead to life-threatening complications.
718190
After consulation with members of the health protection agency (UK), i disagree with the last guy to answer. The general consensus of opinion is that bird flu will mutate, and it is obly a matter of time. However, it may mutate and lose its virility; it may end up no more annoying than a cold. It may have even already mutated, but we just havent noticed it in the population...\n\nHow do i plan to prepare? the best advice is to take any flu jabs OFFERED, and have a few extra tin goods in the house, so you can stay inside longer than normal, but there is no need to panic buy.\n\nBird flu has currently got a death rate of 56%, which is very high for any disease, and avain flu's have a habit of mutating into a mammalian form, so we should be on our guard.
165898
Okay the first thing is that currently the brid flu is onyl contagoius from bird to human, not human to human. until the flu can be spread human to human we are okay. But that is what scientists fear. \n\nIs a bird flu pandemic imminent?\n\nShort answer: probably not. But there are many unknowns involved, making accurate prediction impossible.\n\nSooner or later, pandemic flu will happen. Flu pandemics sweep the globe from time to time as new flu bugs emerge. These bugs cause global epidemics -- pandemics -- because humans have little or no immunity to these viruses. Sometimes, as in the war-torn world of 1918, it's a terrible plague. Sometimes, as in 1957 and 1968, it's relatively mild.\n\nBird flu is still a bird disease. The H5N1 bird flu in Asia does not spread well from person to person. It's a leading contender to be the next pandemic flu bug because it has caused an unprecedented epidemic in poultry and wild birds across Asia and Eastern Europe. But nobody knows for sure whether this will be the flu that causes the next human pandemic.\n\nBird flu could become a human flu in two ways.\n\nIf a person were infected with a human flu and the bird flu at the same time, the two viruses could swap genes -- reassort -- and a human version of bird flu could emerge. This is what happened in the last two flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968.\n\nBird flu could also evolve into a form adapted to humans, as was the case in the 1918 flu pandemic. There's evidence the H5N1 bird flu virus has begun this process, but scientists say it isn't yet very far along. Nevertheless, a few H5N1 viruses isolated from humans have acquired some key 1918-like mutations.\n\nAt a World Health Organization news conference in May 2005, Klaus Stöhr, PhD, DVM, project leader for the WHO's Global Influenza Program, was asked whether a bird flu pandemic is imminent.\n\n"With this virus we have had very many surprises; we have had a very steep learning curve," Stöhr said. "We are seeing that it is changing very rapidly. We have also seen that it is not reassorting as everybody thought 18 months ago. So we do not know if a pandemic can occur next week or next year, or perhaps if another virus is going to cause a pandemic. We should simply continue with our pandemic preparedness."\n\nIs there a cure for bird flu?\n\nNo. There's no cure for any kind of flu. \n\nThe H5N1 bird flu bug has been particularly deadly for people unlucky enough to catch it from poultry. But if the bug learns to spread among humans, it almost certainly won't be as deadly as it is now, says Ira Longini, PhD, professor of biostatistics at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta.\n\n"Avian H5N1 looks like a [very high] case fatality in humans. But this has never been true of any human strain," Longini told WebMD. "There has never been any human influenza virus that has behaved that way in recorded or even unrecorded history. The case fatality of even highly virulent flu strains are a couple of deaths per 10,000 people."
925628
Bird flu has to mutate into a disease that can spread from human to human before that can happen.  Right now it has only gone from birds to humans who have VERY close contact with those birds.  (Handling dead bodies of infected birds)\nIf it does mutate to a form that can be spread among humas, then it is hard to say how dangerous it could be.
329889
There have been at least 10 influenza pandemics over the past three centuries (some just as deadly as 1918) and theoretical models have concluded that one will inevitably happen, sometime…eventually….in the future….at the some point.  There is absolutely no conclusive evidence as to when it will happen or if it will even happen in our lifetime.   \n\nRegardless if we are overdue for a major flu pandemic, this does not imply that the public should automatically “overreact” on media reports of the bird flu.  Those affected by the virus have all lived or worked in very close proximity to infected poultry. In almost all cases, domestic poultry were left to freely roam outdoors in close contact with wild aquatic birds and other wildlife.  But those in metropolitan cities are showing the greatest concern.  It is the continuous overreaction of the public which causes momentum effects in the pharmaceutical industry (and other industries for that matter).  The hype has been more about selling Tamiflu than anything else.  This is partly due to sensationalism in the media, but it's mostly due to a lack of education on effective prevention and treatment methodologies for specific diseases.  Tamiflu does absolutely nothing to cure the bird flu and never has.  It merely decreases symptoms and only under certain conditions.  Most credible scientists agree that a catastrophic pandemic such as those in the past are highly unlikely in developed countries.  This is 2006, and our methods of communication and science are light years from that time. The same technology that allows humans to travel so quickly around the globe also provides better medicine and better protection. So how in the world does anybody make the giant leap of faith that 103 deaths will translate to millions based on what we know about the H5N1 strain?    \n\nThe bird flu itself is a tragedy for the people of Asia and the livelihood of many bird handlers. Even more tragic is how an epidemic among birds has been used to orchestrate public panic and divert us from addressing other more pressing health issues. More than half a billion people suffer from malaria, nearly 10 million have tuberculosis, of which 2 million will die in the next year. Thirty million have died from HIV/AIDS and more than 40 million are infected. Yet bird flu seems to be the most pressing health concern we hear about on mainstream media.  It is a great irony that we spend more time worrying about what might be, rather than what is.  We do need to have a strong foundation for research, and there is no question that an elaborate worldwide infrastructure for epidemics must be in place before a pandemic.  I think understanding the evolutionary functions of mutating viruses is paramount in pandemic preparedness.  If the current hype helps in the building of these fundamental mechanisms, so be it.  What we DON’T need is a deceptive plot at the expense of public awareness to help inflate the stocks of a pharmaceutical company. If the current hype on Birdflu and Tamiflu is not a hoax, then I don’t know what is.
1040019
Curing this flu is no easy matter, avian influenza is so deadly that it is right behind anthrax on the bio-defense list, as a possible terrorist weapon. There are two ways to try to dodge the flu. One is to kill all infected birds. The other is to develop a vaccine before the disease shifts. Because this strain requires four times the usual vaccine dosage it is impossible to produce the 600 million doses our population needs. Current supplies could provide vaccine for 15 million people; that’s only 5% of our population. Accumulated data paints such a frightening pathogenic picture that WHO issued an urgent warning that a flu pandemic could affect billions of people worldwide. Billions because, unlike our annual flu outbreaks, everyone is vulnerable, regardless of age or health. To make matters worse,in Germany, on February 26, 2006, the virus demonstrated its adaptability when a domestic cat  was found dead from  avian influenza. A few days later, an infected stone marten was discovered. This shows us that the virus is changing. Last week it was believed that 6 members of an Indonesian family had all died of avian flu, which could indicate that the virus can now spread through human to human contagion. If a pandemic does strike we will immediately lose 40% of the country's work force. President Bush got less than half of the $7.1 billion he asked for to fight this flu. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist warned Americans that state and federal authorities are "woefully underprepared" to enforce quarantine provisions and distribute medicine, food, and other vital supplies in response to an avian flu pandemic. There isn’t medical equipment or staff enough to handle this outbreak. There are pitifully few ventilators and not enough coffins or cemeteries to bury the dead.  Perhaps as many as 1.7 million Amjericans  will die as the flu cycles through our country.Bush has said he will deploy the U.S. military to enforce a quarantine on areas where infection is found. Well, that’s just ridiculous. Where will the manpower come from? \nThere really isn’t a good solution to the problem. There isn’t enough vaccine; people are going to die. Remember birds distribute the virus through their fluids and feces so watch where you step and stay clear of ducks, they are carriers of the virus but are unaffected by it.  So the best bet is to stock up on water, canned foods and Tamiflu, stay in your own home, limit visitors severely, watch over your old folks and the infants and keep them as washed up as possible, wash your own hands often and pray. But be careful what you pray for … this flu might never be a problem ... it could be some other strain of man-killer flu entirely.
309598
I think they would have to. That pic is probably the CDC not taking any chances, but if someone showed up with it, they couldn't keep doctors and hospitals quiet. I hate to say it, but the US has enough on its plate now not having to deal with Bird Flu.
639471
Look!  First thing is first the only people who have gotten the bird flu live with birds lots of birds I would not worry about it. It wastes time and energy and why dwell on it when it is not here yet?
451441
Tough Question - My glib answer is that it won't happen because I am taking precautions for an outbreak. Evey time I take precautions for a disaster nothing happens;) \n\nWhy I am worried is because one case of human to human transmission has happened in Thailand. Also the flu has a week incubation period and during that time it can be spread.   \n\nSpanish flu killed between 50 & 100 million in 1918 and started off as an avian virus. Experts say that the Spanish flu virus had 12 mutations which made it adapt from just infecting birds to infecting pigs and humans.  The mass fowl cullings around the world seem to be preventing any adapted viruses from starting a human pandemic. However the virus has reached countries that don't have the infrastructure, because of bad government, war and poverty, to identify and contain H5N1 in birds. This means that if the adaption happens it could get a foothold in the human population and then start spreading. \n\nThe next point is what do you mean by "really become  contagious?" \n\nMost of the models of the spread of a pandemic are based on past infections. Most predictions are scientifically valid but they depend on a number of factors that can not be controlled. If avian flu mutates to human to human it may become less lethal and it may not be as contagious as it is now. The only way that the statistics will be proved depends on what the H5N1 virus does next.\n\nThe range of the numbers show just how difficult it is to get a clear idea of what may happen. Here are some numbers I crunched based on assumptions and a worldwide population of 6 billion. Note fatalities are based on no medical treatment. \n\n1.) Bird flu stays in birds and can only be transmitted through eating uncooked chicken, exposure to dead birds and drinking or eating things that have been infected.\n% of world population that gets sick 0.000040%\nNo. Sick 2,400\n% fatalities 63.64%\nNo. fatalities 1,527\n\n2.) Bird flu mutates and is really weakened in the mutation \n% of world population that gets sick 25%\nNo. Sick 1,500,000,000\n% fatalities 0.50% (half a percent)\nNo. fatalities 7,500,000\n\n3.) Bird flu mutates and is as virulent as the spanish flu of 1918 (WHO figures) \n% of world population that gets sick 50%\nNo. Sick 3,000,000,000\n% fatalities 5%\nNo. fatalities 150,000,000\n\nThese models become scarier and scarier the worse the plagues and disasters used as a base. All they really say is that if there is a pandemic people, without medical help, will die. They don't say that it will happen. (If you want to really scare yourself or someone else do the maths on bubonic plague 80% infected and 80% fatalities).  \n\nSo overall I'll say there is a chance of this avian fly being the next pandemic. The chance is not so terrifyingly likely that I am going to sell up and move to a defendable mountaintop and start shooting at strangers. However the chance is big enough that I have spent about $100 dollars on Tamiflu and food - just in case. \n\nThe only people who have told me with a 100% certainty that the pandemic is going to happen and everyone will die are people who are trying to sell me stuff to survive the coming pandemic. I think they are pretty biased.
430046
As of March 2006 ... 100 deaths due to bird flu.  The most overrated potential pandemic in the history of the world.  In Turkey some people blood tested for H5N1 and never got sick.  So, there may have been thousands infected but only 1% died. [Response to BACTERIA BOY: The evidence is from two brothers in Turkey.  One son got sick, so they tested his brother -- he was infected, but did not get sick.  So the death rate is no where near 50% as suggested. It is true we do not have human-to-human transmission -- which will change everything.  Correction to other posts: The 1918 pandemic killed about 40–50 million people worldwide. Links to stats would be helpful. Tks.]\n\nIn my opinion the World Health Organization has caused more anxiety over this threat than the threat itself.  Don't blame the media, blame the WHO. [See the latest post by the WHO which has been verified by NAMRU-3.  In Egypt 4/12 have died -- that is 33% not 56%, or 1% based upon the data from Turkey -- this is the type of HYPE I reject.  However, we do agree, it is true the avian influenza is dangerous, and will be catastrophic if/when it jumps to a human influenza virus.]\n\nWe have learned rule one: Don't sleep with the chickens.\n\nBalanced, great detail at the New Scientist site below.\n\n[Added a reference showing 1918 as not 20 Million, but 50 Million deaths, by John M. Barry, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities with several supporting sources quoted.]
467753
I don't think you should be scared