Word: viruses
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...Botswana is trailblazing a progressive approach that points to possible solutions, not just for its citizens but for the continent. The government admits its problem and is making inroads against the disease with help from outside. Although more than one in three Botswanan adults has the aids virus, more than 35,000 (including nine of the 12 contestants) now take antiretroviral drugs (ARVS), meaning they should live relatively normal - and long - lives. "For many people it has become a manageable chronic condition," says Brad Ryder, communications manager at the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership, a drug therapy program funded...
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...
...does it take so long to develop a vaccine? All flu shots contain a blend of several virus strains, which take about four months to grow into a single strain inside chicken eggs in the lab. Doses can't be saved from year to year because the same strain rarely shows up in two flu seasons...
...possible pandemic? The U.S. is testing a prototype vaccine and has already placed an order for a limited supply of this shot, 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