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Preparing For Pandemic Influenza (Avian Flu)

Influenza as a viral respiratory disease that takes place in humans as well as animals such as pigs, ducks, and chickens.(1) Within humans, the symptoms of influenza consist of fever, muscle aches, and difficulty with breathing. The bird flu appears to engage humans by direct contact, and the fear is that the course of mutation will generate a type of bird flu that will transmit a disease to humans by the respiratory route. This may be the beginning of a deadly pandemic. Anxiety about the disturbing event of an influenza pandemic in the nearby future is greatly rising.(1) Raymond Tellier explains how H5N1, the highly pathogenic strain of influenza has began circulating Europe, Africa and Asia. It is believed that the major mode of transmission of influenza is through large droplets, resulting infection of this virus. It is believed that historically, the typical course has been the influenza pandemics occur approximately every tens years-(1957, 1968, 1977). (3) However a pandemic has not occurred in 29 years, so that leaves many to believe that one is impending. In addition, over the years there has been an increase in human population as well as birds, so one could argue that if a new pandemic was to take place, it is past due.
The press and scientific media has made it known that the mortality rates of the H5N1 virus are in the 50% range, the New Jersey Law Journal coined the number to be at least 141 people as of August 23, 2006. The Futurist exclaims that although avian influenza is restricted mainly to birds, the reality that this flu is distributing quickly and entering several other species imply that bird flu may very well develop to create a human pandemic. As indicated by a recent survey, 56% of U.S. doctors trust that a global influenza pandemic will appear in the next four years. The appearance of a possibly devastating human influenza pandemic is looming. It is assumed the even though the existing virus strain is not easily transmittable to...