Pregnant Chinese Woman Dies From H5N1 Bird Flu

many people have forgotten about the far more deadly bird flu virus

With all the news about the H1N1 swine flu virus it seems that many people have forgotten about the far more deadly but admittedly less contagious H5N1 bird flu virus. While the bird flu virus has not caused the same amount of human infection as the swine flu virus is nevertheless recently killed a young woman in China.

Ms. Chen, 22 was four months pregnant when she was admitted in the hospital in the city of Ezhou and succumbed to the disease soon after. After samples were sent for testing it was confirmed that she had the H5N1 strain of bird flu and measures were taken to place anyone who had close contact with her under observation just in case they too developed flu symptoms.

The Chinese Ministry of Health confirmed the reports but said that as far as they could ascertain there was not an outbreak of bird flu among birds and therefore it was extremely unlikely to have a lasting impact on the local human population.

Despite the deadly nature of the H5N1 bird flu virus it can be cured with quick and decisive medical attention. The medications Tamiflu and Relenza have both shown to dramatically reduce the death rate from the H5N1 bird flu virus provided that they are taken within 24 hours of symptoms developing. The longer you leave this deadly flu virus without treatment the greater the likelihood of death occurring.

The World Health Organization has recommended that influenza drugs are stockpiled in the event that a bird flu pandemic breaks out among humans and the stockpiles were very useful to treat the less deadly swine flu virus which swept all around the world last year, and which still presents a significant health threat worldwide.

As well as using Tamiflu and Relenza, medical experts recommend that sensible precautions such as washing your hands regularly and staying away from infected people are the best ways to prevent the spread of infection.