How can we get the government to create an Avian Flu vaccine now?!?
407777
There is an avian flu vaccine it's just in a very limited supply.
274567
It's an AVIAN flu virus. We already have it here (~10-15 BIRDS with it and maybe 1-2 people) and it's no big deal right now. IF it manages to acquire the ability for human to human transmission THEN we are all in big trouble. \n\nRight now I would only worry for people that go hunting or people that keep lots of birds. You can only get it from birds...
590006
Doesn't much matter what I think, or what you think. There will, or won't be a mutation in the current avian flu which will make it contagious in humans. But learing something about it will probably help with worrying. If you eat poultry, make certain it is fully cooked, both to prevent salmonella infection and to lessen any chance of passing on the avian flu. \n\n=======\nflu viruses\n\nFirst some background on flu viruses. It's a large family.  There are flus which infect birds (we're looking at a really strong one now -- it's killing essentially all of some species, eg chickens), which infect pigs (there was a swine flu panic during Gerald Ford's Presidency), which infect humans, and ... Usually, bird flus infect only birds, as in this case. There are only about two hundred people, and a few cats, known to have been infected with this avian flu. it's ot very good at infecting us -- so far. The really scary thing is that about 1/2 of them have died. Very few diseases have a mortality rate that high.\n\nFlu viruses sometimes swap bits with each other and acquire the ability to do new things, like infect another species. A pig flu infects a bird and the two flus 'mix and match' and produce a new flu capable of infecting a human, perhaps. Or some other combination. Most of this seems to go on in SE Asia, where duck ponds, a few pigs, and the humans family live in very close quarters. This cross species stuff doesn't seem to be all that common. Human flus have undergone major changes only every few years (2 or 3 since WWII) for instance, and if those changes are the result of this shuffling business, there's an indication of the chances of thsi one branching out to people. Perhaps.\n\n=======\nprior bird flus in humans\n\nIn fact, we know of only one large pandemic caused by a bird flu, or at least by a flu which had bird characteristics. That's the one in 1918, which has only recently been pinned down as a bird flu. Some researchers went looking for bodies which had been buried in the Arctic and remained frozen since 1918. After a decade's work digging in the permafrost, samples from them finally yielded enough information to reconstruct the 1918 virus, and it was a characteristically bird sort. It's still not clear what made it so deadly, but at least we're pretty sure what it was now. It popped up, killed something like 50 million folks around the world in 18 months or 2 years, and vanished.\n\n===========\nfuture possibilities\n\nIf the present bird flu changes enough to infect humans, and stays very contagious as it is now in birds and as nearly all flu viruses are, it may be a rerun of 1918 for humans. And if it retains its current lethality in humans (50+% so far, in a very small sample), it will probably be a good deal worse than the 1918 experience. We have more people, packed more closely, and with little margin (extra food capacity, medical capacity, sewerage and water capacity, ...), so things should be worse, all things being equal -- as they obviously are not.\n\nThere are a few things this bird flu does which appear to be new. When infecting humans, it seems to be able to spread by food. Most flus, human flus anyway, don't. This is new. And, it attacks nearly all tissues, while most human flus have largely been respiratory diseases. This is also new. Finally, it is essentially 100% lethal for chickens, also new behavior. Whether a changed avian flu which readily infects humans will contiue to behave these ways, or whether there is something specially vulnerable about the 200 some folks known to have been infected with it, is not known. It may be that lots of people have been infected, shock it off as a cold or something, and never saw a doctor. We don't know.\n\n==========\ndefenses\n\nUnlike 1918, we understand what we can do to beat any new flu variant. Vaccines work pretty well on all the flus we've encountered so far. The problem with deve
245350
There is no kit!\nVaccine is almost ready.\nHygiene and prevention then.
856496
Get the flu shot! You've gotten many good answers. While new strains of the virus are always occurring, at least you can protect yourself from those known. They do NOT make you sick, (per annie7951) If you already have the virus & it's not known, you may "assume" it made you sick, but will actually make your flu less severe when it becomes apparent. Please! I never "bash" anyone on this site, but the comments of "orangen" (something or the other) were erroneous at best as to flu shots being a "money making scheme."  Much bias against pharmaceutical companies (some justifable) but they work very hard on the "new strains" to make them effective. I hate to think of the potential of epidemics if no one got flu shots. I've been taking them for years, have NEVER had any reaction, & NEVER get the flu. Until, if you decide to get one, when you are "out"--stores, shopping carts etc., be careful not to touch your face with your hands & wash your hands THOROUGHLY as soon as you get home. I've seen check-out people coughing into their hands & then handling my items. I always suggest that if they HAVE to cough, (or sneeze), to do so in their sleeve ELBOW if no tissues are available. Pharmaceutical companies even provide vacines one can get free at some drugatores or clinics. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...
349972
Negative. They worry that they won't be able to make large quantities of bird flu vaccine because the vaccine is made in chicken eggs, and the flu kills the embryos.
4462
Rylog,\n Birdflu infected upto 133 members as per some records. This is only infected when they got in touch with those birds or their excreta.  But the whole world is getting worried if it across from human to human. Upto now all infections are from bird to human, not human to human. Example for human to human infections are winter flu, but we got vaccine for that. Where as for birdflue, there is no vaccine as such. Roche, a company  which manufactures TamiFle might help for this. Scientists are still working on the vaccine. \n\nHope this helps..
284944
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm
430997
penicillin doesn't work with viruses\n\nan immunization is a mild case of the disease as far as your body is concerned, and passive immunity through breast milk only lasts as long as the child is breastfeedidng.\n\nan immunization is the only way to deal with the bird flu- short of killing every bird in the world.\n\nbut there is another question that we are not prepared to answer--- should we immunize?should we continue to reduce mortality  in areas that cannot support the populations they have?  why continue to have unchecked population growth when it will only lead eventually to famine and war for deminishing resources?
13027
There is no vaccine for it and low resistance. People who are weak will die more easily. It is not 100% fatal, just very severe.\nThe real danger may be that it could reduce the population of birds, both domestic and wild.  The damage to food production could be very bad.
509603
I believe that the Bird Flu will be the next scare here in the U.S.  Remember the West Nile Virus?  The virus carried infected mosquitoes from Africa and infected millions.  Now only one percent of the people infected needed serious medical attention just here in the United States.  And only one percent of that one percent lived.  The outcome of the illness was severe brain damage, long and short term memory loss, stroke(s), blindness, speech, and other major normal day use of your body.  Their lives were basically destroyed.  The government have not been very helpful on getting these people help either.  \nBut, I feel the government is preparing for the pandemic properly.  Better be safe than sorry.  As for the people out there saying it is all propaganda, I'd like to smack them right here and now.\nI...ME...MYSELF was infected with that damn mosquito that nobody believed was ever going to happen and the government was just talking...propaganda.  \nMy life is hell to say the least.  I fight everyday to regain my strength, my day to day life living.  I have lost so many people near and dear to me because I got sick.  \nSo all of you out there that thinks this is all propaganda, write on here after you become infected with the pandemic so you can tell all of us how you were wrong.  Don't ever think it can never happen to you, because it can. Do not be ignorant and listen to warnings.  I guess the mistake I made was not using insect repellant.  One mistake I will never make again.\nWhy would our government want to mislead us in such a tragic way?  Don't you think the war we are in now is tragic enough?\nQuit being fools and listen to all health bulletins when and if the pandemic comes close to the States.
603376
I am not relying on them. I got my pneumonia shot and am getting this\nLaboratory tests show Sambucol® neutralises Common and Avian Flu Virus H5N1 \nAdded: (Thu Jan 19 2006) \n\nNew research, carried out by Retroscreen Virology has indicated that \nSambucol®, a patented formula, may fight the virulent Avian Flu virus. Results have been presented yesterday, Wednesday, in a press conference held in the Royal Society of Medicine, London. Speakers included Prof. Hannoun, Emeritus Professor at the Pasteur Institute and Dr. Mumcuoglu, developer of Sambucol®. \n\nLaboratory trials held in a leading research institute, Retroscreen Virology \nLtd, associated with the University of London found Sambucol® to be at least \n99% effective against the Avian Flu virus H5N1. Sambucol® was effective at \nsignificantly neutralising the infectivity of the virus in cell cultures. These \nresults will also be presented during the International Conference on Bird Flu: \n“The First Pandemic of the 21st Century. A Central Role for Antivirals”, to be \nheld at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital on January 19th-20th 2006. \n\nDr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, is looking into further investigations into the \nactivity of Sambucol® against Avian Flu on a wider scale. \n\nIn an earlier study (1995) Sambucol® was found to be effective against a wide range of influenza strains. Laboratory studies conducted at the Hebrew \nUniversity – Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem demonstrated the activity \nof Sambucol® against human, swine, and avian influenza strains. \nSambucol®'s efficacy was also demonstrated in two double blind, placebo \ncontrolled clinical studies. Sambucol® was shown to cut the duration and \nseverity of the common flu by up to half. \n\nENDS \n\nNotes to editors; \nSambucol® is based on an active substance isolated from the black elderberry. \nManufactured by Razei Bar Industries Israel, Sambucol® is available in 17 \ncountries and in the UK is sold in Tesco, leading chemists, independent health \nfood stores and wholesalers from £8.49. \n\nFor photography please visit the following site and enter the log in details: \nFTP address: ftp://pixelit.co.il \nuser name: ftp_razeibar \npassword: 63+84675 \n\n\nFor further press information please contact: Francesca Gaffey/Cheryl Davies, \nCommunique Public Relations, Waterside, No2 Canal Street, Manchester, M1 \n3HE. Tel: 0161 242 5120/0161 242 5108 Fax: 0161 228 7391 E-mail: \nfrancesca.gaffey@communiquepr.co.uk cheryl.davies@communiquepr.co.uk \n\nFor research information please visit: Retroscreen Virology Ltd. at: \nhttp://www.retroscreen.com/ \n\nFor product information please visit: \nRazei Bar Industries (1996) Ltd. At: www.sambucol.com
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.
609595
No.  It's total fearmongering, just like the governments all over the world did with 9/11, and Anthrax in the mail etc...\n\nA virus cannot try to mutate.  It just does it.  Flu season for this year is almost over, and who knows what will happen in time for next flu season?
1068755
I am glad you are at least asking the question.  Get bookds from the library.  There is one called "A shot in the dark" and it was soooo illuminating.  Did you know vacine manufacturers cannot be sued if they damage your hild?  Did you know how many cases of vaccine damage there are???  Itis really an eye opener, but too much for this small space.  Get the books, go to the library.  It is worth it
647638
For the first part, scientists' vaccines are based on strains that we've already seen.  Each yearly flu shot is based on last year's common bug, with a couple of changes to compensate for the mutations they suspect the virus has undergone.  Since these are just guesses, the scientists may or may not have a vaccine that functions well or at all.\n\nIf we can't find a specific vaccine, the best way for communities to prepare is by doing all those things your mother said: wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and make sure you're not hanging around with people that are sick.  Many hospitals already have protocols in place for patients that would need isolation rooms, there is stockpiling of various viral medications that will at least hinder the spread of the disease if not stop it altogether, and general public awareness has been heightened.
1064134
Well, it wouldn't be an AIDS vaccine, it would be a vaccine to prevent HIV infection... and the FDA just gave approval for human testing of a vaccine for HIV infection, so one is likely to be forthcoming very soon.\n\nThe big problems with HIV which make the road to a vaccine seem much longer than it should take are in the uniqueness of the virus.\n\nFirst, we cannot instantly create a vaccine to any virus out there, no matter what type of virus it is.  These things take time to make.  It was years of research which led to a working vaccine for all the diseases we now vaccinate for, from polio, hepatitis, measles, mumps, smallpox, etc.  Even the flu vaccine initially took several years to develop, and we have to take some time to develop new vaccines for new strains, even though we've become old hat at making them.\n\nSo, in that regard, it hasn't taken an especially long time.  Twenty-five years of research may seem like a lot of time, but when you're confronted with a whole new class of disease, learning as much as we have about it in that length of time-- even as it's racing to evolve so quickly-- shows quite a bit of dedication and accomplishment.  \n\nDespite the notable fact that those researching the problem have often been crippled by prejudice and hatred on the part of those doling out the money for research, an amazing amount has actually been done in the last quarter century or so to fight this disease and ultimately defeat it.\n\nAs we get the process of creating a vaccine for this particular virus down, it will become easier and quicker for us to manufacture new vaccines to guard against the virus as it evolves into new strains.  Subsequent vaccines are always much easier to develop than the first one to combat a disease.\n\nThe second problem is that HIV likes to mutate a lot more than other diseases seem to, which would greatly decrease the effectiveness of a traditional vaccine since creating a vaccine that was only effective for one or two strains, without taking the others into account, would only offer partial protection against the possibility of becoming infected, a protection which would become increasingly incomplete as the number of new strains you weren't vaccinated against increased.\n\nYou also have to couple that with the fact that HIV doesn't go through the usual routes of transmission.  Vaccines work by pre-empting your body's immune response.  Instead of waiting for you to fight off an illness so your body's immune system can engineer a pattern on which to build its antigens to destroy the virus, vaccines simply supply it the blueprints so the first time you come into contact with the virus itself, your body already has the ability to produce the specific antigens to destroy it without you getting sick.\n\nThat's all well and good, except HIV starts off by specifically infecting and destroying the cells which do that, so even if you supply them with the blueprint, by the time the body knows its under attack, it's too late for it to do anything about it.\n\nSo, all that put together means we have to be quite a bit trickier than usual in creating an effective advance defense for the little bugger so we don't have to worry about contracting it... but like I said, it only took us twenty-five years or so to figure it out from the first time HIV appeared, so we've actually done pretty well on that road.