What's Up With the Bird Flu Scare?

Here are the main facts about bird flu.

At first reading, bird flu can be a scary pandemic to consider, particularly if we extrapolate past events into the future.  The upcoming years may turn out to be extremely worrying if reports of bird flu increase. But there is no reason to be concerned, depressed, anxious or  disheartened IF your mindset is right for the future. 

What is Bird Flu?

The earlier outbreaks of bird flu in Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam have been caused by the H5N1 strain of bird influenza viruses. Bird influenza can range from a mild disease that has only minor effects to a highly infectious fatal version. It spreads in the air and in manure.

It can also be transmitted by contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing. Clinically normal waterfowl and sea birds may introduce the virus into flocks. Broken contaminated eggs may infect chicks in incubators.

Bird flu is no worse than a bad cold for an animal, which also sees the animal fully recover, if tended to with appropriate housing, bedding, basic, inexpensive medical care and proper nutrition.  Slaughtering these animals is as absurd as murdering our seven-year-olds for having a runny nose, because we have decided we're not going to live with the common cold.

Is Bird Flu Harmful To Humans?

Human fatalities from bird influenza are very rare and were unknown before 1997, when six people in Hong Kong died after being infected with the H5N1 strain.

In early 2002, a 33-year-old Hong Kong man contracted the H5N1 virus and died of pneumonia.

In April 2003, a veterinarian who had been working on a Dutch farm infected with bird flu became ill with an H7 strain of the disease and died of pneumonia. The vet did not take medication against bird and human flu. Rules have been tightened to ensure anyone who comes in contact with infected farms does so.

Only two deaths in Thailand have been confirmed to have resulted from bird flu and as of January 28, 2004, only 10 deaths have been attributed to bird flu.

For further information, see The Truth About Bird Flu.