avian influenza virus information

Page 1 (This page)

Definitions
Why Scientists Fear H5N1 may Evolve into a Global Pandemic
Evolution of H5N1
Symptoms of Avian Flu Infection
Do we have any Cures?
Antiviral Pharmaceuticals
Vaccines
Prevention

Page 2:
Natural Healing Possibilities

Star Anise
Potential Remedies
Disclaimer
Additional Resources

Avian influenza virus type H5N1:
The H5N1 virus is a type A influenza virus.
The letters H and N stand for the virus proteins hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N).
There are 16 known variations of H and 9 variations of N.
The pathogenic forms are of the subtype H5 and H7.

Epidemic:
A contagious disease affecting a large number of people in a fixed geographic area or community.

Hemagglutinin:
Hemagglutinin is a protein that the H5N1 virus uses to enter a cell.

Pandemic:
A contagious disease affecting entire countries, continents or the whole world.

Virus:
An infectious agent that reproduces only in living cells. Since the virus is not even a normal cell, cannot produce energy, requires a host to become active and uses the hosting cell to reproduce itself, scientists are still debating wheather a virus is alive or not.
A virus cannot be seen under a regular microscope, cannot be cultured like a bacteria and is smaller than a bacteria.
Because of it's size, a virus can pass through filters which trap bacteria.
The structure of a virus simply consists of protein with a genetic code sequence.

A world-wide pandemic would require that the H5N1 virus learn to jump more efficiently from human to human. The Avian flu virus could learn this either by mutating (a characteristic the virus already appears to exhibit, mutating constantly) or by learning from another virus (potentially even from a regular influenza virus).

Margaret Chan, working for WHO, speaks of "sustained" human-to-human transmission (Sep 12, 2005). The WHO has not confirmed any "sustained" human to human transmission. A "sustained" transmission would require the virus to become air-borne and spread like the flu.

One possible case of human-to-human transmission through contact was reported in the press while another case was mentioned in "The Compassionate Eye". At the end of the show, a Dr. Wang reported treating 4 cases of H5N1 infection in Vietnam with one of the patients being a doctor who had been treating H5N1 patients before becoming infected. There are up to three cases of H5N1 victims known which may have contracted the virus directly through other infected humans in Asia. While most infections still come from chickens, more direct contact infections cannot be ruled out in Turkey.

This gives us two modes of human-to-human transmission: One infection requires close contact while the other is spread through the air like the flu. Still, while infections through contact are not able to cause a pandemic, these first human-to-human transmissions by close contact may set the stage for a possible global outbreak or pandemic. And, each new transmission increases the risk of such a pandemic.

Update: Human-to-human-to-human transmission has occured in Indonesia in 2006 involving a large family cluster of infections.

When will a pandemic occur?
WHO scientists and virologists have stated that a global pandemic is not a question of "IF" but rather a question of "WHEN". Some say that a global pandemic is due simply because of periodic occurrences in the past that infer the reoccurrence of such outbreaks. More reason for concern comes from scientists who have studied the evolution and history of the Avian flu virus (especially the mutations).

How a pandemic would start?
A pandemic would start suddenly with single cases of 2 - 20 human-to-human transmissions, likely among family members. This would be followed by small clusters of cases, including health care workers, doctors, nurses and other people in close contact with H5N1 victims. These small clusters would formulate a few hundred cases within a period of 2 weeks following the initial outbreak. If the outbreak is confined to a specific area and is recognized early, there is a chance that the outbreak could be stopped by sealing off the infected area. However, if the outbreak continues, there would be thousands of infected people within an additional 1-2 week period. These larger clusters would make it extremely difficult to prevent a global pandemic from happening.

The first known pandemic of H1N1 (commonly known as the Spanish Flu) resulted in 40-50 million casualties world-wide. Although it is known as the Spanish Flu, it did not start in Spain and it's actual origins are unknown. What we know is that the first recorded case of the Spanish Flu occurred on March 4, 1918 in Camp Fuston, Kansas. Within days hundreds were infected. American soldiers then introduced the virus to Europe where it quickly infected 1 out of every 4 Spaniards. From Spain, it quickly spread around the globe. After a second wave, the virus simply disappeared by 1920.

Pigs are seen as a perfect medium for mixing bird and human virus strains. Apparently the American soldiers, who were infected, had come from pig farms at home. From this experience and other observations, it is theorized that the virus moved from bird to pig and then to a human host.

However, in connection with a recreation of the 1918 virus, Dr. Michael Osterholm, an Infectious Disease Expert, stated recently (Oprah Winfrey Show; Jan., 06) "We know from that, that the 1918 virus jumped directly from birds to people."

Another important observation (from tissue studies) indicates that the Flu's deadly complications may come from secondary bacterial lung infections triggered by the virus (Source: Pete Moore. Killer Germs, 2001).

The lungs may fill with blood and the virus may destroy lung tissue as well as tissue from other organs, including the liver. Breathing may become difficult or impossible. Single cases may be mistaken for pneumonia. Symptoms may include: Coughing, sweating, fever, nausea, vomiting, weakness, collapse of lower respiratory tract, low white blood cell count.

Most troublesome is the over-activation of the Immune System which starts attacking body tissue. J.S.M. Peiris of the University of Hong Kong and his team found that the virus triggers the release of inflammatory substances like cytokines and chemokines. A large scale release of these substances is known as a Cytokine Storm.

Fatality rates vary. The first reported cases of H5N1 had a fatality rate of 70%. The fatality rate has since dropped to around 60% and is expected to drop further if the virus learns to jump from human-to-human more efficiently. However, this would also result in a tremendous increase in infection and casualty rates.

At this moment there is no pharmaceutical cure for an infection with H5N1. A cure (possibly in vaccine form) cannot be fully developed until the virus evolves into its final human-to-human transmission stage.

At the time of writing, 4 drugs are available for the treatment of influenza: Amantadine, Rimantadine, Tamiflu and Relenza. Amantadine and Rimantadine are older treatments and may not work well for H5N1 which has developed resistance against Amantadine. A report published in the medical journal The Lancet concludes that Amantadine and Rimatadine may not be useful in the treatment or prevention of the Avian flu virus.

Tamiflu (genric: Oseltamivir) and Relenza (generic: Zanamivir) do not cure Avian flu either but are said to reduce the severity of the infection if administered within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. Thus, precise diagnosis is most important as the disease may be mistaken for pneumonia.

Tamiflu is taken in pills; Relenza is inhaled through the nose. Relenza is not recommended in cases of Asthma or respiratory disease.

Tamiflu belongs to a class of pharmaceuticals called neuraminidase inhibitors and is traded by Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

The FDA warns that Tamiflu bought through the internet may not be the real thing. It is important to aquire Tamiflu only with a prescription and through regular pharmaceutical sources.

Far ahead of any possible pandemic, H5N1 has already shown some resistance to Tamiflu. The New England Journal of Medicine has reported that 4 out of 8 patients in Vietnam died even with Tamiflu treatment. There is speculation that Tamiflu may still work if used sooner, in a higher dosage and for a longer period of time.

Side effects of Tamiflu may include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bronchitis, stomach pain, dizziness and headache. Japan has reported 12 deaths associated with Tamiflu. A report published by news-press.com (Nov.05, 2005) tells of a Cape Coral patient who became violently ill after taking Tamiflu. The FDA is assessing which role other medications or medical conditions may have played in these reported cases.

Update (20 Jan, 2006): Roche Holding AG has injected ferrets with Tamiflu four hours after being infected with the current strain of H5N1. The company stated that results of this test "suggest that Tamiflu can prevent mortality in animals."

A vaccine has been developed in China to prevent Avian flu in birds. An effective vaccine for people may have to wait until a pandemic strain of the virus appears. People will require first a primer and a booster four weeks later. Developing immunity may take up to eight months. This means that there is no real protection from a vaccine available for people who contract the disease early on. Since we also know that the virus may mutate rapidly any vaccine developed from the first strain may not work on a secondary wave or future outbreaks of a modified virus.

New types of vaccines are being developed. DNA vaccines, using gold particles as a base, may be able to cut production time from months to weeks. Cell-cultured vaccines, not reliant on eggs, may also cut production time. Adjuvants (chemical additives) may support the Immune Response, requiring less of the protein used for the actual vaccine.

All-strain vaccines (expected to work on any strain) would not require constant replacement as the virus slightly alters.

Latex gloves, hand washing, breathing masks, school and public meeting closures, avoiding crowds and infected people are all methods to prevent one from contracting a communicable disease. Experience, science, observation and common sense also tells us that a strong Immune System is a very important factor in preventing an infection.

However, since the H5N1-Virus is known to turn one's Immune System against one's self (in a Cytokine Storm), a treatment which only concentrates on strengthening the Immune System may not be the best approach in fighting this virus.

Still, when a contagious disease goes around, there are always people who do not get the disease. Or, even when infected, there are always those who survive the disease better than others. Keeping the Immune System in shape involves knowing what should be done and what should be avoided.

Sugar, sweets, sodas, denatured and chemically altered food items can burden the Immune System. A spoonful of sugar can depress the Immune System for hours. In tests, oral administration of 100 grams of sucrose, glucose, fructose, etc. significantly reduced neutrophil phagocytosis (Textbook of Natural Medicine, 2006: 647).

Things to avoid may also include alcohol, smoking, unhealthy chemicals and other known health hazards. An unhealthy amount of stress and anxiety can also depress the Immune System.

Balance is the key word. If the foods we consume lack certain vitamins, minerals or enzymes they should supplemented or replaced with more nutritious foods. An experienced health professional may even be able to reverse past mistakes, perhaps advising to start with a gentle detoxification program before taking other measures to strengthen body and mind.

These are basic ideas - what any individual ultimately should or should not do is best discussed with a health care professional.

avian influenza virus information - Page 1