Is the Bird Flu Virus for real? Or is it something the media has blown up once again. Does the bird flu virus really possess a threat to us humans? The bird flu virus is the current virus that has been scaring people away from eating at KFC. People might think that the bird flu virus might cause them to die. What the media is doing, is only trying to scare a lot of people from the bird flu virus. This is maybe because of the pandemic that we have experienced before from other flu that have killed millions. The most famous of all the flu is the pandemic that happened during 1918-19. The Spanish flu killed more people than World War 1. 500 million became ill of this virus and around 40 million died. That's why for every new flu virus that's been arising, people get worried right away. Scientist will try to prevent viruses from getting a lot worse like the 1918-19 pandemic. The media on the other hand serves to inform the people of the potential threat. Another thing to worry about is that 36,000 people die everyday of ordinary influenza virus in the United States alone. Can you imagine how much worse a pandemic can cause? Also every 3 to 4 times in a century there will always be a chance that a flu pandemic may hit. What if the bird flu virus is already among them? That's why people form the media and scientist grow deeply worried. The flu can basically achieve these things because it has the ability to mutate. It can change quickly and outwit the vaccines that have been created for previous flu strains. Then they take the immune system by storm. The flu can also grab the genetic material of other viruses and also jump from one species to another. There are times where the transfer needs to be done via an intermediary. Such as the West Nile Fever, this needs a mosquito to be transferred. The viruses that have transferred from animals to people are not something new. This has been happening since the 1980's. The new virus that ahs been scaring people of that comes from animals is the bird flu. Bird flu's symptoms usually start out quite simple and the infected person might think that it's just an ordinary flu. The infected person will experience muscle aches, sore throats, colds and cough. However, it may lead to the immediate death of the infected person. Currently, people who have died form bird flu are still not abundant to call it a pandemic or worry about an outbreak. What worries the health officials is the possibility it becomes an outbreak when it mutates and can transfer from one person to the other. That's why its better the media and the health officials worry about this thing a whole lot before we get another pandemic like that of the Spanish Flu. |
