Many people are asking their doctors, "Should I be worried?" The answer is maybe. If the virus manages to mutate in just the right way, we will all need to worry about bird flu. However, this is highly unlikely to be an immediate danger.
What is Bird Flu?
Bird flu is a form of influenza virus. It is closely related to the types of influenza that typically infect people during flu season. The virus has affected a very large number of birds in areas of Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and most recently, Turkey. A bird illness in Greece is also suspected to be the same virus, but this has not been confirmed. The bird flu virus travels easily among birds, but does not readily spread from birds to humans. However, contact with contaminated birds has caused some human infections (117 of them documented thus far). The virus also does not easily spread between people. So far, the virus does not exist in a form that can cause a pandemic.
Why are experts worried?
The people with confirmed cases of this bird flu have been very sick, and roughly half of them have died. If this virus ever does become more contagious, it will be a very big problem.
Flu viruses have a history of changing their genetic plans through mutations, shifting their characters from one year to the next. In some years, these mutations have created a "monster" influenza virus that has been both very contagious and very severe. Because history repeats itself, we can expect that the bird flu virus will indeed become more contagious.
What Changes Can I Make Now?
You don't need to take special precautions relating to bird flu this year, unless you plan to travel to Southeast Asia or any country that has had cases of the avian virus in birds. In that case, avoid visiting poultry farms, live food markets, and touching unclean surfaces if they may be contaminated by bird or animal droppings. And wash your hands frequently during your travel.
As always, don't eat poultry unless it has been fully cooked. The United States is not importing poultry for food from any affected country. Experts do not suspect that eating fully cooked chicken or other poultry can spread the infection, as long as the cook is careful not to contaminate cooked food by placing it on an unclean surface.
What Can I Expect in the Future? If a bird flu pandemic does occur in the next several years, several strategies will probably be used to control the spread of infection. Scientists are working on a vaccine that is designed to control the spread of the bird flu in its current form. Antiviral medicines such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) may play an important role, but this drug and similar antiviral medications are not perfect answers. This medicine shortens the symptoms of present-day influenza by roughly one day. Doctors are hopeful oseltamivir might reduce the symptoms from a future bird flu, and it may be a useful way to prevent new infections in an area where the illness is spreading.
ED. NOTE: Subsequent to the receipt of the Harvard Health Newsletter various strains of Bird Flu have been found in Europe, and North America.
