What's All The Fuss About...

Is there any real point in worrying about the dreaded H5N1 bird flu?

Is there any real point in worrying about the dreaded H5N1 bird flu or is it all just an over hyped scare. Millions if not billions of pounds have already been spent on preparing for an illness that has yet to claim 200 human lives and when one thinks of what else that money could have been utilised for it seems that many governments and health officials are overreacting. The problem is especially acute for poorer countries that shifted valuable resources into stocking up with bird flu drugs which are now soon to reach their expiry date rendering them useless.

It must be borne in mind the last serious ‘bird flu’ pandemic in Europe that occurred in the early part of the 20th Century claimed the lives of more people than the first and second World Wars put together. Known as the Spanish Flu as it had seemed to originate in Spain it was very poorly understood unlike today when modern science has meant that we know exactly how the virus spreads and how it mutates.

This does not mean that modern science is able to immediately come up with a vaccine for the mutated H5N1 virus if it struck humans but a vaccine probably would be able to be worked out within months of a major pandemic. This nevertheless could be after many many people in the UK and other parts of the world had already succumbed to the disease.

We feel at Ukmedix that a happy medium is needed with regard to a possible pandemic. You need to get on with your lives without taking undue risks or precautions and at the same time stock up with Tamiflu or Relenza or even both so that you are prepared for the event should it happen. Education is vital too and you should be familiar with what to do in the event of a major bird flu outbreak. Simple things like cleaning your hands on a regular basis can be very effective according to scientists.