Bird Flu Virus.

[geo0939]

I've just finished watching the documentary on Channel 4 about bird flu. It appears this virus is so smart that it tricks the immune system into actually killing off perfectly healthy cells. This is really terrifying to contemplate, but fascinating at the same time. It makes you realize how good the scientists have to be to (hopefully) overcome it. Well-made programme but scary. What are the chances of a cure, do you think?

[scubadiver]

geo- the immune system actually attacks host cells that have been infected with the virus, instead of attacking circulating virus. As the programme correctly pointed out, this is usually seen in people with healthy immune systems- generally late teens to mid thirties.

With regards to a "cure"- the programme mentioned anti-virals, but at the moment some work done in Japan looking at the effect of Tamiflu (which the government is currently stockpiling) on bird flu strains- specifically H5N1, suggested that Tamiflu doesn't work particularly well in this situation.

The best bet for a "cure" is development of a vaccine. However, until the H5N1 strain mutates further into a strain that can be passed human to human, no-one knows exactly what strain to develop a vaccine against.

Vaccine manufacturers are currently working on producing a vaccine against H5N1 and looking at whether this may provide some cross protection against the mutated pandemic strain. The problem is that if they wait until the "correct" strain is identified, it will take a further 4-6 months to produce any quantity of vaccine, by which time the initial waves of pandemic will have occured and many will be dead.

One of the things the programme didn't mention with regards to the 50 million estimated to have died during the 1918-19 Spansih flu pandemic was that the population of the world at the time was roughly a quarter of what it currently stands at. Multiply the death toll up and you will begin to see how devastating this potentially will be.

[justforthis]

That should put your mind at rest then.......

[scubadiver]

Yeah- as if the programme wasn't worrying enough!!

Sleep well !!

[geo0939]

I had a good night's sleep thanks. Thank goodness I didn't read the reply till this morning, (kidding). What strikes me, in the face if this, is that the biggest threat doesn't come from "big men" sush as Bush, Saddam or Milosovic but rather from the smallest things on earth, such as viruses. Thanks for your responses.

[geo0939]

Don't know what happened here but thanks for the replies anyway.