Pandemic Flu Outbreak - Assignment Example

Pandemic flu is a global disease outbreak which spreads mainly among people who have little immunity. There are many dangerous viruses which can be the source of pandemic flu, but the most dangerous one is virus A the proteins of which have transformed into H5N1 virus which is known today as avian flu or bird flu. The virus is carried by wild birds and can be rather dangerous for domestic poultry which can in turn affect humans. H5N1 doesn’t currently infect humans, but the virus is constantly changing, and in some cases, it can make people sick. About half of infected humans died: as the virus doesn’t always cause humans sickness there is no vaccine which could be able to struggle with the virus. Symptoms of avian influenza differ from those of other common types of influenza, and they also can change depending on the cause of infection. There is a danger that avian flu virus mutation can lead to the mass spread of the pandemic among humans, so intensive studies and research on the virus are being held. HHS, the World Health Organization and other establishments are working hard to prevent avian flu spread around the world. Federal, state and local governments give clear information about avian flu which can help people to hold appropriate measures to prevent it. Business activity can also play an appropriate role in pandemic infection prevention. People should be ready for appropriate actions in case of pandemic flu: strict plans for schools, community organizations, individuals, and families are developed. The WHO and European Commission are providing global monitoring of the situation: they give statistics, rapid response information, official reports on test results and many others. USGS, the National Wildlife Health Center and the US Department of Agriculture are also providing United States Monitoring of the situation. Specific groups of the population, such as workers, travellers, hunters, and health professionals are informed about possible action in appropriate cases. The full range of appropriate measures is determined. Different situations are concerned with what would occur in case of pandemic flu, such as the impossibility to work, social disruption, school closure, and transportation services disruption; people should be well informed and be ready for possible inconveniences. HHS has developed detailed instructions for people travelling abroad – it will help them to prevent infection. But one of the most important issues concerning effective protection from pandemic flu is vaccination. Everybody can take appropriate information from the State Departments of Agriculture, Wildlife and Public Health. Unfortunately, there is no sufficient vaccine which could prevent pandemic flu development in the human body and its spread around the world, but US President George W. Bush has allocated a great amount of financial resources which will help to conduct appropriate studies and research in this field. But the virus is constantly changing its structure, and its mutations are rather resistant against current drugs – so, intensive medical research should be conducted for testing and approbation of new antiviral means. It needs to note that current medication testing should be held and accurately evaluated – it should help to estimate the possible effects of these means and have a clear notion about the possible consequences of these medicines for the human body. In addition to that, infection mechanisms should be attentively studied: humans are rarely infected by H5N1, but pandemic flu can be a serious threat to people with weakened immunity. So, it is necessary to study the wildfowl and poultry avian flu mechanism. The virus spreading threatens poultry farming and many agricultural sectors connected with poultry and mammals. So, Interagency Screening Plan was adopted to monitor birds’ migrations throughout the United States. Appropriate measures for protecting poultry, pets and people exposed to animals are adopted. It is planned to investigate disease-outbreak cases in birds, to increase monitoring of live wild birds and birds killed by hunters, to provide a sampling of water and bird faeces, and to some other measures. These measures can lead to a better understanding of the virus's nature and its spreading ways, but it also needs to pay appropriate attention to the ways of pandemic flu limitation and measures needed for its spreading prevention. US Government has implemented an appropriate strategy for detecting and containing outbreaks: the human influenza pandemic can affect global economic and social infrastructure and health. But it needs to note that pandemic flu can mostly affect the poorest regions of the world, and it needs to pay appropriate attention to financial and medical help for these regions of possible pandemic flu spreading. The measures indicated above can achieve maximal effects in the case of the effective and appropriate performance of these means. People should be sure that they can be defended from the virus, and only long-term studies and attentive monitoring and surveillance of the situation will lead to positive results of the measures indicated above. Read More