When AIDS first emerged in the 1970s, doctors and patients had no idea that the disease would one day become a serious epidemic. Awareness of HIV, and especially the fear of contracting the virus, was minimal until the following decade, at which point more than 100,000 people had already been infected.
Because hindsight is 20/20, it’s easy in 2006 to look back and lament the sluggish process of deciphering and working to treat AIDS. However, it may be that our generation has its own infamous disease to struggle against and hopefully conquer: bird flu.
At this point, avian influenza has been relegated to mostly winged creatures and people who come into contact with infected poultry. Although bird flu originally appeared in southeast Asia, sick birds have now been reported in Turkey, Russia and even Iraq. Initial media attention to the flu has faded, but this disease remains a serious concern that requires proper preparation if we wish to prevent a pandemic.
Like the HIV virus, there is no known vaccine, preventative or curative, for avian flu. As a viral infection, bird flu has the potential to spread rapidly from human to human, just like any traditional flu. In fact, according to a recent BBC report, “the recent spurt of human infections increases the likelihood that a mutant strain would arise that could spread between humans.”
The bird flu fatality rate has been reported to be anywhere from 60 to 100 percent.
Especially scary about the idea of a global bird flu pandemic is that most countries don’t have the technology to tackle even the common flu virus. This week, U.S. doctors were advised to discontinue the use of two flu medicines because the dominant strain of the influenza virus had become immune to both. Last winter, flu drugs were in such short supply that only the infirm, the elderly and health care workers were initially inoculated.
In the United States, we may consider ourselves immune to any chance of an avian flu epidemic. Officials and citizens alike continue to believe that bird flu is only a problem for third world populations. However, AIDS was at one point believed to be a problem only for gay and promiscuous people; history demonstrates that viruses do not discriminate along lines of race, class or sexual orientation.
Thus it is imperative that the United States, along with other wealthy nations, takes steps to organize a global plan for tackling avian influenza. To begin, our nation ought to consider subsidizing intensive bird flu research, working with international organizations to create a plan of action for countries that experience a sudden surge in bird flu and setting aside funds now to ensure that if a vaccine becomes available, distribution is swift. Locally, citizens and officials need to formulate specific plans about how quarantine procedures would work at a county or city level.
Commendably, the United States pledged $334 million on Wednesday to help thwart the virus in countries in southeast Asia. In the long run, it will be advantageous for us to take similar steps to treat bird flu as a serious threat, rather than sitting back and waiting for it to become one.
Editorial Board
Parker Howell – Editor in Chief
Shadra Beesley – Managing Editor
Jonah Schrogin – Design Editor
Ailee Slater – Commentary Editor
U.S. must fight bird flu before it’s too late
Daily Emerald
January 18, 2006
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