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Deadly Version of Bird Flu Found in Romania
CMan0 writes "The BBC reports that a deadly version of the bird flu has been found in Romania. Several ducks and chickens have died on a farm in Romania this month of the disease, it has been confirmed. It's mentioned that the disease is spreading very rapidly, as the last known location of the disease was Siberia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in August and the 1st of October in Turkey." From the article: "People appear dazed by what is happening, but since it was confirmed that this is the strain of the bird flu virus found in Asia, they have begun co-operating closely with officials sent to collect their birds, our correspondent says. Turkey has already reported the discovery of the lethal strain of the virus among birds in the west of the country. The EU has banned imports of live birds and poultry products from Romania and Turkey. EU veterinary experts said on Friday that the bird flu outbreak did not represent a risk to the general public 'at present'."
It should be noted that the dead birds are from an area next to the Danube's Delta, which is the biggest delta of Europe, and where millions of wild birds from many species live or pass through on their migration route. It is therefore little surprise that such a busy nexus was touched by the virus. As far as I know, this particular virus was not thought to be dangerous to humans as such, but the possibility if it combining with the human version was the concern.
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H5N1 the strain of avian flu that has people so worried has been infecting humans since 1997 and has a mortality rate of over 50% (after having infected a total of around 120 people). Since 1997 it's been combatted by massive cullings in all areas where outbreaks have been found (among birds). Currently it can only infect humans directly from birds through eating undercooked poultry. What people are worrying about is a strain that can be transmitted directly between humans, this has yet to happen.
The Plague of Justinian was possibly the most devastating pestilence of the ancient world. Lasting fifty years, it arrived in the Imperial capital, Constantinople, in 542 A.D. Mortality in the city reached as high as 10,000 per day. Ships were loaded with the dead, towed out to sea, and abandoned. Fortification towers were unroofed, filled with corpses, then re-roofed.
The most famous pandemic was the Black Death, which, like a lot of the perturbations that perennially rattled the cage of Western Civilization (Aryans, Mongols, Huns, Turks, gunpowder, etc) originated in Asia. From 1346 to 1361, the epidemic killed up to one-third of the population of Europe.
The last pandemic ravaged Europe in the seventeenth century and is best known to us as the Plague of London, 1665-66. This is the one chronicled by Samuel Pepys in his diary (which most of us didn't mind reading in high school because of all the sexual content). Since the printing press was now available, this was the first epidemic in which the populace was kept thoroughly informed of the latest in cutting-edge medical knowledge. One pamphlet informed its readers that the plague was caused by "eating radishes, a cat catter wouling, immoderate eating of caviare and anchovies, tame pigeons that flew up and down an alley, and drinking strong heady beer." Rumors that syphilis prevented the disease caused the gentlemen of London to storm local houses of ill-repute. English physicians apparently knew better; many just left the country.
Ed Uthman, MD
Pathologist, Houston/Richmond, TX, USA
As a Romanian, I can tell you that the government here took action imediately. I can't say the same thing about the Republic of Moldova, where I heard they had a few villages where chicken were dying by the hundreds, in a single day, and the officials did just about nothing.
I'll do the stupid thing first and then you shy people follow...
From the obviously-ancient-topnews section;
Bush gets reelected as President for his second term!
Giant-Tsunami hits the Pacific Ocean!
Time Warner aquires AOL Online!
I believe you meant RFC1149. RFC2549 includes QoS, so is less likely to be affected.
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This exchange of genetic material between viruses is known as the "antigenic shift" and is believed to be the cause of influenza pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish Flu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigenic_shift
"Antigenic shift is the process by which two different strains of influenza combine to form a new subtype having a mixture of the surface antigens of the two original strains. The term antigenic shift is specific to the influenza literature; in other viral systems, the same process is called reassortment or viral shift.
Antigenic shift is contrasted with antigenic drift, which is the natural mutation over time of known strains of influenza (or other things, in a more general sense) to evade the immune system. Antigenic drift occurs in all types of influenza including influenza A, B and C. Antigenic shift, however, occurs only in influenza A because it infects more than just humans. Affected species include other mammals and birds, giving influenza A the opportunity for a major reorganization of surface antigens. Influenza B and C only infect humans, minimizing the chance to mutate drastically.
Flu strains are named after their types of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase surface proteins, so they will be called, for example, H3N2 for type-3 hemagglutinin and type-2 neuraminidase. If two different strains of influenza infect the same cell simultaneously, their protein capsids and lipid envelopes are removed, exposing their RNA, which is then transcribed to DNA. The host cell then forms new viruses that combine antigens; for example, H3N2 and H5N1 can form H5N2 this way. Because the human immune system has difficulty recognizing the new influenza strain, it may be highly dangerous. Such combinations caused, for instance, the infamous Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 which killed 40 million people worldwide. Influenza virus which have undergone antigenic shift have also gone on to cause the Asian Flu pandemic of 1957, the Hong Kong Flu pandemic of 1968, and the Swine Flu scare of 1976."
I'm not so sure that the threat is overhyped. Pandemics do happen from time to time and prove to be quite effective in wiping out large percents of populations (animals, and human). Take a look at a chart of human population growth -- the 1918 event is quite visible. The Spanish Flu in 1918 infected over 1/5 of the world's population and this was during a period of relatively slow international travel. Ignoring the potential danger to us all would be just foolish. So what exactly do you mean "the end has never been near?" Go hunt through historical accounts in your area and you will find documentation describing how the spanish flu brought the end to many in your community. To survive you have to acknowledge and prepare to deal with risks.