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Is Anyone Doing Anything About Bird Flu?

With the news media talking and writing about the Bird Flu, there is no doubt that many people are wondering just what is being done to stop it from spreading from one person to the next person. It is commonly thought to be a deadly virus, which is true. But, what people do not realize is that there are many people working to develop antivirals to help ward off the strain of the Bird Flu that is so deadly. The Bird Flu, also referred to as the Avian Flu, as of yet has not been known to be spread freely from one person to another person. It more commonly has only been transmitted from an infected bird to a person.

But, that is something that could easily change. There are several groups that are working together to produce vaccines for those that are likely to be exposed, at some point, to the Bird Flu. The problem with this however, is that the virus mutates quickly. That means that by the time they produce a medication that could help to fight the strain of Bird Flu that is currently identified, it may have had enough time to mutate into yet another strain. This new strain may be immune to the medications. This is where the problem lies.

The World Health Organization, The World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations are all working on developing a method of treatment and quarantine of the Bird Flu. There are over 88 different governments of various nations working on this problem as well. They are all working on the same basic things. They are working on monitoring the virus, on planning for what to do if something should happen, and they are working on treatments for it. Here are the goals of the U.S. Government.

• Minimize the spread of the Bird Flu in animal populations.
• Reduce the number of humans that are becoming infected.
• Work on being prepared for the Bird Flu should it become pandemic.

There are many drug companies working on producing a vaccine for the Avian Flu. They have to continuously monitor the strains of the Bird Flu that have currently been identified. While there is no sure fire 100% guarantee that the Bird Flu will actually be able to be stopped from becoming a pandemic, there are many people that are working on helping this to happen.