The Flu For many people, the flu is just a fever and chills that come in the winter, and there may be a big upset stomach. Flu's common reputation belies its true nature as a deadly killer who could become even more deadly in the blink of an eye. Every year in the United States alone, about 40,000 - 60,000 people die from this disease. Globally, the true total is unknown, but some estimates vary up to 1.5 million deaths per year. One of the most troubling actors waiting on the wings of the world stage right now is an outbreak of a special strain of the influenza virus known as "avian flu."
Avian influenza, as the avian influenza virus is known, is actually a strain of the flu caused by the H5N1 influenza virus. It is so well known because it was first seen in birds and has a predilection for attacking. Usually migratory wild birds transport it to a new area, where it then spreads to domestic birds. In some areas, the bird flu threat has caused millions of birds to be culled to prevent the spread of the disease to more birds and possibly humans. Although the disease was first observed in Asia in 1997, it has since spread across a large part of the world, reaching Africa and western Europe in early 2006.
Why the commotion over a flu that infects birds? First, the serious economic damage caused by the loss of millions of poultry is especially devastating in many of the affected countries to date. Many of these countries have an extremely high dependence on poultry as a staple food. But the most serious consequence of the H5N1 virus is that it can also kill humans. In fact, it is an especially effective human killer, with a mortality rate of more than 50% of those infected so far. So far, all cases of the virus affecting humans can be traced back to infected birds. No cases of human-to-human transmission have been documented, although some are suspected.
Unlike some of the more traditional influenza viruses that infect humans, avian influenza is not limited to the old and previously sick when it kills. Many of those who have died from the H5N1 virus have been in their teens and twenties, an age group that has traditionally been protected from the worst effects of influenza viruses. This is a strange parallel to some of the other extremely deadly influenza strains that have infected humans, such as the 1918 Spanish Influenza. The 1918 Spanish Influenza was a pandemic. A pandemic is an outbreak of disease that spreads to much of the world. In the 1918 flu pandemic, up to 40 million people are believed to have died in less than a year.
There is great fear among health officials in many countries and the World Health Organization that avian influenza could lead to such a pandemic. The key ingredient for a pandemic to occur is the ability for the flu virus to spread easily between humans. According to WHO events "during 2004, supported by epidemiological and virological surveillance, they have given the world an unprecedented warning that a pandemic may be imminent." The easy human-to-human transmission of bird flu could bring untold devastation to humanity. By some estimates, 250-300 million people, possibly more, could die within 6 months of a flu pandemic. The loss of life and the pressure on health systems and national economies could spell ruin for many. All it takes for a pandemic to occur is a mutation of the H5N1 virus into a form that allows humans to infect other humans. It only takes a small change in the virus's surface proteins to allow this to happen. With the speed of modern transportation systems, infected people would spread the virus worldwide in a matter of weeks.
Health authorities around the world are preparing for the effects of such a pandemic. The World Health Organization has 112 offices worldwide to monitor and isolate influenza viruses. This is expected to allow the early onset of a pandemic to be recognized.
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