[quote=“LittleBuddhaTW”]Hopefully this time around, the Taiwan governing authorities will actually listen to the advice of organizations like the US CDC in dealing with this (they didn’t listen to the CDC advice when it came to SARS, and we all know what happened with that …).
Just like with SARS, standard medical masks are absolutely useless against the bird flu virus. I was shocked when the government actually told people to wear those cheap masks when doctors repeatedly said that only N-95 masks would offer any protection.[/quote]
standard surgical masks, not of the N95 variety, are designed to keep the water droplets and particulates in the breath of the WEARER from flying out into the atmosphere or straight into people’s eyes.
in other words, the surgical masks prevent you from infecting other people with the spit in your respiration. pretty good idea in taiwan, where people don’t bother to turn away when they sneeze. plus theres always the little poem dedicated to wonderful electricity when eyes meet while wearing masks on the mrt…search function isn’t being so friendly today…
i’d say surgical masks were and remain good measures in preventing the spread of new/emerging respiratory disaeses. eating pineapple or stocking up on chili powder, however is unfounded quackery.
The whole bird flu thing has been blown out of proportion by the media. This is nothing to worry about at all, just a virus that infects birds and chickens, it cannot and will not ever mutate to infect humans. This is just a huge non-story.
There is absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s just cannot happen, it is genetically impossible to jump from birds to people.
This is not Sars all over again. It is CNN media pundits having a field day. Ask any scientist, such a DNA mutation cannot happen.
[quote=“Cola”]The whole bird flu thing has been blown out of proportion by the media. This is nothing to worry about at all, just a virus that infects birds and chickens, it cannot and will not ever mutate to infect humans. This is just a huge non-story.
There is absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s just cannot happen, it is genetically impossible to jump from birds to people.
This is not Sars all over again. It is CNN media pundits having a field day. Ask any scientist, such a DNA mutation cannot happen.[/quote]
Is this true? I was reading an article about a father and son in Thailand you came down with the flu and the scientists were relieved to find out they tested negative, as they feared it had mutated into a human-human virus.
Is it just scaremongering? Any scientists on here know anything about it?
I have heard that an influenza jab might be a good idea (so if you get sick you know its not a regular bout of flu). Wouldn’t be bad to get one generally anywhere.
Does anyone know where you can get jabs in Taipei? NTU Hospital or somewhere else???
I think it’s EXTREMELY irresponsible of you to post something like this (I remember you posting a lot of crap about SARS too …). There is lots of good, credible information on the websites of the WHO and CDC, and it is genetically possible for the virus to mutate, which is exactly how many scientists believe the Spanish influenza outbreak happened in 1918.
Moderators: For people who are genuinely concerned about this (and they have every right to be), this kind of blatantly (and intentionally) erroneous information should be removed. I don’t think it does anyone who is trying to understand the situation any good. TXS.
This I agree with you about. H5N1 first popped up how long ago again? Oh, that’s right, EIGHT YEARS AGO. Surely if it was going to suddenly blow up into some huge pandemic it’d have done so by now. It is being way overblown as a Disease of the Month. However, there is a chance of it happening…
… primarily because these two comments are complete bullshit. It has happened before, and it could happen again - it’s not a huge mutation required, and bird flus have made the jump before. Many strains of human flu originated in birds. So please, while I agree it’s being overblown, refrain from talking rubbish.
Taiwan has responded to bird flu fears by starting work on its own version of the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu, without waiting for the manufacturer’s consent.
Taiwan officials said they had applied for the right to copy the drug - but the priority was to protect the public.
I saw a female doctor assure the public on the news today (I don’t have a link) that the actual virus is small, but it needs to travel on aerosols (spelling?) and those are big enough to be caught by the cheapie masks.
I found that, while we had SARS, I felt the healthiest yet…I have had flu for about 5 years now…being contaminated by the public in general:) Wearing masks helped a lot, also for the pollution.
I guess it would be a cool idea to stock up on some cool spray painting masks, with the good filters…that at least stay on your face.
General health always helps…WASH YOUR HANDS…and try not to touch the tap with your hands…rather use your arm to close it.
I will go for a flu shot anyways…even if it doesn’t help for bird flu, your body will be stronger because you wont be sick with the flu ( I hope.)
These viruses are hectic, but so is crossing the street. Millions get killed a year by crashes, and nobody is going on TV talking about wearing a better helmet or seatbelts!!!
Just as a PRECAUTION, I would recommend contacting relatives or friends overseas and see if they can send over a package of N-95 masks (before they become unavailable again even overseas, like with SARS). With the possible threat of new diseases coming over from southern China all the time, I think that would be a wise thing to include in everyone’s disaster kits that we’re (hopefully) keeping in the event of a major earthquake or typhoon. It’s just always good to be prepared, especially since Taiwan is so vulnerable to any number of disasters.
For those of you who would like to include MRE’s (Meals-Ready-to-Eat), the standard “cuisine” of the US Armed Forces, they can be purchased easily enough online. Just go to Google and type in MRE … there are lots of military on-line surplus stores that stock them.
Thanks for the heads up LittleBuddhaTW. I’m going to leave it in because this is a discussion on bird flu and not a definitive answer to all bird flu questions.
There will no doubt there will be a minority who hold similar views to Cola and if Cola would like to express their opinion here and it is shot down with irrefutable medical data then that can also form a reference point for people reading Forumosa and they can help educate those less well informed.
I just saw a report on CNN that the parrot that just died recently from bird flu in the UK originally came from South America, but then had “transitted” through Taiwan. Since I haven’t seen any cases of bird flu in South America reported yet, it looks possible that the bird was infected during its stay in Taiwan.
Also, here is an interesting article from “New Scientist” that discusses research into the possible origins of bird flu, as well as how the virus has been mutating (which it has been), and that these mutations occur under “unusual selective pressure” (such as the vaccination of sick birds, which can mask the symtoms long enough for birds to shed more of the flu). According to the article, “In 2003, scientists who developed an improved flu vaccine for poultry, including Robert Webster of St Jude’s, concluded that such vaccination “may be a serious problem for human pandemic preparedness” (Virology, vol 314, p 580).”
As for why this is such a big deal now (and I could be wrong on this one, so please correct me if that is the case), is that while the virus was previously contained to southeast Asia (China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand), this is the first time that this particularly virulent strain is now being found elsewhere (i.e. Europe).
Note to mod: Thanks for combining the “flu” threads.
I think it is a big issue now for other reasons, not only because it is spreading to Europe, although that is sensational to the media. The real problems:
It has a mortality rate that is quite high
It has demonstrated the ability to infect mammals/become a mammal virus (pigs)
It has begun the process of adaptation or mutation into a human virus
There are numerous cases in which human-to human (H2H) transmission is suspected
No vaccine is available
There is a shortage of after-the-fact anti-viral drugs
Those anti-viral drugs have a long production time
I was “just” trying to say that there is a lot of scaremongering going on in the media, and it is best not to get involved in perpetuating that kind of scaremongering misinformation. The bird flu is just that, a BIRD flu, it does not infect HUMANS, and the chances of that happening are almost ZIL, ZERO, ZILCH. Of course, people can “speculate” all they want, but it’s better to indulge in factmongering than in scaremongering.
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and other animal diseaseas and viruses have never jumped to humans, and there is nothing to fear about the avian flu, as it only affects and infects avians.
That’s all I was saying. Facts are more important than scaremongering headlines. Why get all worked up about bird flu when it has very little to do with any kind of human influenza? Where are the facts and where’s the proof?
But, comrade stalin, at this point, any jump to humans is PURE con-jec-ture. Why get all worked up about mere conjecture? In all likelihood, this so-called pandemic everyone is talking about will NEVER occur.
Have you even tried reading any scientific information on the avian flu, either from the WHO, CDC, or medical journals? Sixty people have died from the avian flu, most recently in Thailand, I believe. No one has been posting “scaremongering headlines”, but I have seen a lot of informative links to organizations and scientific journals that know much more what they’re talking about than you, Cola (aka Lane119, aka Formosa, aka Winter).
Maybe people have short memories and don’t remember the immense amount of bull during the SARS incident, but I remember.
Little Buddha, let’s take the personal out of this.
If you have proof that the current bird flu we are seeing can definitely mutate into a human flu, cite the sources and I will shut up. I just haven’t seen that stuff yet, and believe me, I have read alot about this. I have an open mind, so cite me some sources and list some URLS that show proof.
Try reading some of the links that I posted early in this thread (Medicinenet and Taipei Times). Sources for both the adaptation process being underway and deaths from H5N1.
Possible, but the concerns are real. The danger is certainly real, as anyone who has read even a little bit on historical epidemics, including major flu epidemics, will know. The Spanish Flu of 1918 was, if I remember correctly, an avian flu. And how many people died from that? Certainly something to take seriously.
Ah, yes, here’s confirmation that it was an avian flu which acquired the ability to not only infect humans, but pass from human to human, and the death toll:
(Wiki)
Something to work towards preparing for. Certainly nothing to panic over at this point. Hopefully your point is just the latter, but overstated. However, your following statement is clearly not correct:
Type A flu viruses, which have their natural host in wild birds, have often infected all kinds of mammals; see:
and from the WHO: [quote]The widespread persistence of H5N1 in poultry populations poses two main risks for human health.
The first is the risk of direct infection when the virus passes from poultry to humans, resulting in very severe disease. Of the few avian influenza viruses that have crossed the species barrier to infect humans, H5N1 has caused the largest number of cases of severe disease and death in humans. Unlike normal seasonal influenza, where infection causes only mild respiratory symptoms in most people, the disease caused by H5N1 follows an unusually aggressive clinical course, with rapid deterioration and high fatality. Primary viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure are common. In the present outbreak, more than half of those infected with the virus have died. Most cases have occurred in previously healthy children and young adults.
A second risk, of even greater concern, is that the virus
Dragonbones,
Thank you for your very informative post, and for pointing out the references and sources that I was too lazy to go looking for … however, giving Cola’s past record re: SARS, I didn’t feel like getting into a pointless debate with him.
