How Organizations Are Preparing For Bird Flu

A large number of organizations are working together to combat the spread of bird flu. The US is working with a number of institutions such as the World Organization for Animal Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At this time, a total of about 88 nations are working together in order to stop a potential pandemic of the disease. Great efforts have been made to monitor the disease, and the results are being shared with different organizations around the world.

Currently only a few countries have had people die of H5N1. Almost all of these countries are located in either Asia, Africa, or Europe.  As of this time, No people or animals have died from H5NI in North America, South America, Central America, or Canada. Many institutions who are working towards stopping the bird flu have encouraged countries to pay close attention to their poultry. If a large number of deaths are reported among waterfowl, containment procedures should be conducted immediately.  Billions of dollars have been spent on researching the flu itself, and a number of measures have been taken.

One measure which has been used to combat the disease is the development of drugs and vaccines. Tamiflu is very popular, and a number of other drugs are being designed as well. However, it is important to remember that bird flu mutates at a very rapid rate. If a drug is designed to fight one type of the disease, a few years later it may mutate into another form. Unless a vaccine can be designed which is capable of fighting all types of bird flu, it is only a matter of time before the vaccine becomes weak. Because of this, containing the virus is very important. Most countries have not had any cases of bird flu, and this is good news.

No country in the Americas has yet reported a case of bird flu. This can obviously change overnight, and it is important for governments to be prepared. H5N1 is quite possibly one of the most dangerous virus to ever exist. While it currently cannot be transmitted between humans, this could change in 5 years if the virus successfully mutates into a new form. Because bird flu is a type of RNA virus, it is known for the ability to mutate very quickly. Many scientists are worried that H5N1 may switch genes with other strains and could infect a human. Once this has been done, it could mutate into a form which is very dangerous.

A large amount of money has been spent researching H5N1 and numerous other diseases which are related to it. Understanding how this flu mutates will allow scientists to effectively produce medicines which are capable of treating it. The US government has recently donated well over $1 billion to a number of drug companies for vaccine research. Scientists have started a new operation called the Influenza Genome Sequencing Project. The goal of this project is to determine what makes some flu strains more deadly than others.