Word: h5n1
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Such dire predictions about a disease that is so far believed to have killed just 42 people might seem hyperbolic, if not for the fact that it has already proven devastating among poultry. Since the virus known to scientists as H5N1 first emerged as a major concern in 1997, more than 140 million chickens and ducks across Asia have either died or been culled in a vain attempt to eradicate the disease. Bird infections lead directly to human infections?most recently a 21-year-old Vietnamese man who was confirmed with bird flu last Friday...
Where has bird flu been found so far? Cases of the most powerful form of avian flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, have been reported in Hong Kong, China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam...
...health officials so worried? There is currently no vaccine against H5N1, so it could spread easily in populations with no immunity to the virus. So far, there have been no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission (all victims so far have contracted it from chickens or ducks). But because the virus is so unstable, it may only be a matter of time before it becomes efficient at moving from person to person. Even if a vaccine were available, it would take months before the correct combination of viral-strain types could be incorporated into the shot. In the meantime...
...which can be mass-produced if needed. Health officials also plan to fund a year-round supply of the chicken eggs needed to grow the vaccine virus strains. In addition, they are stockpiling the antiviral drug Tamiflu, which is effective in preventing and treating even new viral strains like H5N1. --By Alice Park
...Given enough time, Vietnam should be able to tighten control over its poultry trade. The trouble is, bird flu may not wait that long. The disease is already endemic in much of Asia, and a recent WHO report showed that the H5N1 virus has become progressively hardier and more lethal, with a human mortality rate of 75%. Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, says he's shocked by the virulence of avian flu in the patients he has helped treat: "I've never experienced...