Social Commentary

Avian Flu

A real threat or paranoia?

by Marissa Maier

Monday February 6, 2006

"The avian flu virus will spread to America. When 15 cases are reported in New York State my parents want me to leave school," said a Sarah Lawrence Sophomore who wished to remain anonymous. Underneath this student’s bed there is a box filled with surgical masks that she believes will protect her long enough to return home if there is an outbreak of the avian flu virus in New York.

Sophomore Ellary Allis has a different sentiment, "Avian Flu, I don’t think that it is a real threat."

The avian flu virus, or bird flu, is a form of flu that is naturally carried in the intestines of wild birds. This particular form of flu has become highly contagious and lethal to domesticated birds.

The first outbreak of the avian flu virus occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, and leaving 12 people ill and killing six others. In 2003 and 2004 nearly 100 million birds were killed in Asia, either from contracting the flu or from being killed because they were infected. Recently, several cases of the avian flu virus have appeared in Asia, and in the European countries of Romania and Turkey. In total, there have been 117 cases of the bird flu internationally and 69 of these cases have resulted in death.

Presently, people have only become infected with the avian flu virus by coming into contact with an infected bird. It is currently impossible for a person infected with the virus to infect another person. Many experts worry that if a person who already has the normal flu comes in contact with an infected bird the two strains of the flu will meld together and create a type of avian flu virus that can spread from human to human.

Dr. Alfred Demaria, a head at the Department of Public Health, recently stated in a Boston Globe article that he believes that a pandemic of the avian flu virus is inevitable (a pandemic that experts have estimated could kill two million to 150 million people worldwide). Flu epidemics have routinely struck the globe every 20 to 50 years. Experts are particularly worried by the fact that the avian strain of the flu has significant similarities to the flu virus that killed 20 million people worldwide in 1918.

Others believe that an avian flu virus does not present an imminent threat. Daniel Perez, a veterinary expert at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, said, in a Washington Dateline article recently, that it is highly unlikely that the avian flu virus will mutate into a strain that would cause a pandemic. He stipulated that one’s chance of becoming infected with the avian flu is akin to being struck by lightning.

The Ministry of Health in Turkey expressed a similar sentiment in October in a release statement proclaiming that the risk of a human contracting the avian flu is slim. Some experts believe that the international community is trying to prepare people for the worst-case scenario.

During the flu outbreak of 1918, the U.S. government was extremely reticent to alert people of the extremity of the outbreak. Thus, people panicked when they saw firsthand the magnitude of the flu pandemic. These experts believe that some governments are desperately trying to avoid this situation by revealing to the public the extent to which the avian flu could manifest itself.

President George W. Bush has outlined several pre-emptive measures against the avian flu virus in his Pandemic Influenza Plan. The plan requests $1 billion from Congress in order to stockpile the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, currently the only drug proven to alleviate the symptoms of the avian flu. The United States currently has 2.3 million doses of Tamilfu in its stockpile, yet it is estimated that 81 million doses would be needed within the country if a pandemic occurred.

It appears that most SLC students are not letting this issue infringe on their lives. "It’s best not to freak out over things like this, because anxiety at this point won’t benefit you," Allis said, "…don’t let the birds win."