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Bird Flu VaccineAvian Influenza Vaccine |
Bird Flu MedicationsVaccines are being developed for the H5N1 Bird Flu virus but until they are ready several existing antiviral medications are the best defence and treatment.There currently is no vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 virus that is being seen in Asia. However, vaccine development efforts are under way. Research studies to test a vaccine to protect humans against H5N1 virus began in April 2005. (Researchers are also working on a vaccine against H9N2, another bird flu virus subtype.) For more information about the H5N1 vaccine development process, visit the National Institutes of Health website. Studies have suggested that prescription medicines designed for human flu viruses would also work in preventing bird flu infection in humans. However, if flu viruses develop resistance to these drugs, these medications may not always work. The H5N1 virus that has caused human illness and death in Asia is resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, two of the antiviral medications commonly used for influenza. It is believed that oseltamavir (Brand name - Tamiflu) and zanamavir antiviral medications would probably work to treat avian flu caused by the H5N1 virus, though studies still need to be done to prove that they work. Governments around the world have been stockpiling large amounts of Tamiflu in case the worst fears of a major bird flu epidemic or pandemic come true. This has created a shortage of the medication which the manufacturers, Roche, are working to overcome. Although Governments are stockpiling Tamiflu for possible Bird Flu outbreaks, there is no guarantee they will make it available to you. Doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen, armed forces etc will be first priority. To protect yourself and your family you need to buy your own Tamiflu antiviral medication. The H5N1 virus does not usually infect humans. In 1997, however, the first case of spread from a bird to a human was seen during an outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Hong Kong. The virus caused severe respiratory illness in 18 people, 6 of whom died. Since that time, there have been other cases of H5N1 infection among humans. Most recently, human cases of H5N1 infection have occurred in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia during large H5N1 outbreaks in poultry. The death rate for these reported cases has been about 50 percent. Most of these cases occurred from contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces; however, it is thought that a few cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 have occurred. So far, spread of H5N1 virus from person to person has been rare and spread has not continued beyond one person. However, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could one day be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population. If the H5N1 virus were able to infect people and spread easily from person to person, an “influenza pandemic” (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin. No one can predict when a pandemic might occur. However, experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation in Asia very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily and widely from person to person. Symptoms of bird flu in humans have ranged from typical flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), and other severe and life-threatening complications. The symptoms of bird flu may depend on which virus caused the infection. |