Bird Flu Poses Serious Danger. Why?
News Reports about Bird Flu are becoming alarmingly frequent.
More and more cases of human contamination are being reported.
What exactly is "bird flu" anyway? And how does it pose a risk?
As more reports of Bird Flu spread, the risk of a World wide
epidemic(Pandemic)is quite frightening. Consider the following
to get a glimpse as to the complexity:
* Domestic ducks carrying the virus can now excrete huge
quantities of highly toxic, contagious virus without even
showing signs of sickness. This is acting as a "silent"
transmitter of the virus, to other birds. This is one reason
it's difficult to control. The birds spreading it don't seem
ill!!
* Bird flu is caused by the H5N1 virus. The strain thats
spreading is one of the deadliest versions known. When compared
with H5N1 viruses from 1997 and early 2004, H5N1 viruses now
spreading are more lethal to experimentally infected mice and to
ferrets (a mammalian model) and survive longer in the
environment.
* H5N1 virus appears to have expanded its host range, infecting
and killing mammals previously considered resistant. People are
now coming down with it.
* The behaviour of the virus in its natural reservoir, wild
waterfowl, may be changing. The spring 2005 die-off of upwards
of 6,000 migratory birds at a nature reserve in central China,
caused by highly pathogenic H5N1, was highly unusual and
probably unprecedented. In the past, only two large die-offs in
migratory birds, caused by highly pathogenic viruses, are known
to have occurred: in South Africa in 1961 (H5N3) and in Hong
Kong in the winter of 2002-2003 (H5N1).
Why are pandemics such dreaded events?
Influenza pandemics are horrible.That can rapidly infect
virtually all countries. Once international spread begins,
pandemics are considered unstoppable, caused as they are by a
virus that spreads very rapidly by coughing or sneezing. The
problem is that when a person is the most contagious and
dangerously spreading the virus, there are no symptoms yet. The
fact that infected people can shed virus before symptoms appear
adds to the risk of international spread via air travellers who
don't yet know they are sick.
The severity of disease and the number of deaths caused by a
pandemic virus vary greatly, and cannot be known prior to the
emergence of the virus. During past pandemics, attack rates
reached 25-35% of the total population. Under the best
circumstances, assuming that the new virus causes mild disease,
the world could still experience an estimated 2 million to 7.4
million deaths (projected from data obtained during the 1957
pandemic). Projections for a more virulent virus are much
higher. The 1918 pandemic, which was exceptional, killed at
least 40 million people. In the USA, the mortality rate during
that pandemic was around 2.5%.
Pandemics can cause large surges in the numbers of people
requiring or seeking medical or hospital treatment, temporarily
overwhelming health services. High rates of worker absenteeism
can also interrupt other essential services, such as law
enforcement, transportation, and communications. Because
populations will be fully susceptible to an H5N1-like virus,
rates of illness could peak fairly rapidly within a given
community. This means that local social and economic disruptions
may be temporary. They may, however, be amplified in today's
closely interrelated and interdependent systems of trade and
commerce. Based on past experience, a second wave of global
spread should be anticipated within a year.
As all countries are likely to experience emergency conditions
during a pandemic, opportunities for inter-country assistance,
as seen during natural disasters or localized disease outbreaks,
may be curtailed once international spread has begun and
governments focus on protecting domestic populations.
What can you do? How can you protect yourself? Well,
surprisingly enough you can take herbs! Many herbs are
Scientifically documented to Boost the body's ability to
withstand and fight viral illness. Some of the herbs that
strengthen immunity are Astragalus, Ginseng,Codnopsis, Garlic,
Reishi, Spirulina, Shilajit, Suma and many more. Other herbs
like Echinacea, GoldenSeal, and Coptis fight infection, when
ill.
A wise Herbal protection plan would be to take Astragalus Root
as a daily protective tonic. This TCM(Traditional Chinese
Medicine)root is well known and researched to dramatically boost
Immune Protection and even fight infection.
Known as HuangQi(pronounced "WongChi"), Astragalus is a TCM
Herb, prescribed as a tonic, for centuries, for strength and
vitality. Taken as a tea or tincture, two to three times daily,
Astragalus can boost your ability to protect and fight flu in
general. A TCM botanical that fights viruses is
Honeysuckle(Lonicera, in Latin). Yes, the pretty ,sweet smelling
yellow, or pink flower is a serious antiviral medicine. The
Chinese have used the unopened buds, known as JinYinHua for
centuries to combat infection.