Flu Immune 500

The 1918 Pandemic was the most devastating pandemic probably of all time. In 1918-1919 at least 20 million people died. Some experts estimate as many as 40 millions due to this pandemic. A pandemic is a worldwide epidemic or disease outbreak. The Spanish Flu was such an outbreak and scientists it may have been a form of avian or bird flu. The nature of the flu is still beyond scientific consensus and some scientists call it “avian like.”

The Center for Disease Control, an American research and public health advocate, was one of the proponents of the reconstruction of Influenza A, which was responsible for the Spanish Flu. This revived and deadly flu strain is alive and in the labs of CDC.

Though it was deadly for its’ time, the Spanish Flu strain could pale in comparison to the influenza of today. Flu strains are living organisms that evolve in the chambers of the their hosts. These hosts include humans, dogs, swine, and birds.

The bird flu has recently been known to kill people, especially in Asia. The World Health Organization has compiled death attributed to the avian flu worldwide. In October 2007, WHO has listed 204 deaths directly attributable to avian flu from 2003 to 2007. Compared to the human flu death toll, that is an insignificant number. The Avian flu however could be deadly if it mutated enough to be able to be transmitted human to human.

More than at any time in history, the population densities of humans and mass mobility have never been greater. That means human-to-human contact is greater and greater. It means that contagious diseases can travel worldwide very quickly. The pace of the 1918 Spanish Flu was what we would call a lumbering pace today. Ocean crossing was typically by steamship not overnight jet flight.

Is the bird flu the next great pandemic? The human infections have been sporadic and not always deadly. In the years between the WHO has confirmed 330 infections with Avian flu resulting in 204 death. Scientists and doctors are keeping a careful watch on Avian and other flu strains. This is one of and possibly the main reason why a pandemic event has not happened for a long time. The last of the big three was the Hong Kong flu of 1968. Over 33.000 were killed.

There have been thee pandemic threats, which have been contained according to pandemicflu.gov. website. These occurred in 1976, 1977, and 1997. The avian flu has become a flu under great scrutiny since 1997. Some countries such as Canada have chicken sentries, which are kept outdoors in a fenced area. The health of these chickens is monitored for flu infections.

Birds, waterfowl are extremely mobile. Many birds and fowl migrate to the arctic regions from the tropics of sub tropics. They make these trips annually and many of these different species use the same flyways and rest in same locations. So the possibility of disease transmission is high. That is why the bird flu strains are of great concern. Still the greatest killer flu annual has been of human origin. Thousands of humans die from the regular’ flu or from the complications caused by this easy to get flu.

The bird flu is a real threat to mankind but compared to the ‘regular’ human flu, it is a small killer.