GLORIA SHELLER
Staff Writer
The Black Plague, mad cow disease and now the bird flu. What do all these have in common? Animals. Proof that humans prevail.
No, but it is true that all the epidemics have been spread through seemingly unfavorable animals. Who really likes birds anyways?
I’ve been hearing a little more than I’d like to about the Avian Influenza Type A than I’d like. Avian Influenza, commonly called the bird flu, is a virus carried by birds, which has become an epidemic in areas of Asia and Europe since 2003. When humans contract the flu, their immune systems are not capable of fighting the unfamiliar virus and require medical treatments to aid in the process.
If I were a bird (thank God I’m not), the bird flu would be pretty standard along with a load of other viruses and diseases that birds carry. But since I’m not a bird, I should probably be watching out since the virus has been spreading from Europe and Asia to the United States. Who knows, Malibu could be next.
Chances of the bird flu actually hitting the United States in the same ways it did Europe and Asia are pretty low because we are more readily prepared with medical advances and simple knowledge of the virus. Why? People in countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have been dealing with the bird flu for a few years.
Luckily there have been no cases of human casualties due to the bird flu in the United States; however, there have been outbreaks of birds carrying the disease on small poultry farms in Texas, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. Lucky for Pepperdine students, the outbreaks have really only been found in small rural areas where people breed, handle and eat their own poultry.
Bird flu can be spread in many ways, such as coming into direct contact with a contaminated live specimen, handling contaminated poultry, or touching/ coming in contact with the same surface as either a live of deceased bird that is infected. Once transmitted humans, the influenza can be spread as easily as the common cold. Thus, it is not the birds we really have to be concerned about. It is the dirty kids who don’t wash their hands after they leave the petting zoo who are the real problem.
For all you hypochondriacs: Start checking your symptoms. The bird flu is accompanied by your typical flu symptoms: cough, stuffy nose, sore throat and muscle aches. But things can be taken a step further. One can experience eye-infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory disease, and in some cases, death, if not treated.
Before you all start freaking out, there are vaccines being manufactured. The Food and Drug Association has approved four drugs to be used as treatments for the influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Amantadine, rimantadine, oselamivir and zanamivir have all proven to be effective ways to fight the bird flu the key is receiving treatment for the corresponding strain. Scary.
After learning about the bird flu, my extreme dislike for birds was only strengthened. My mom discouraging me from chasing the pigeons in the park when I was younger was for my own good.
I shall leave you with nothing but advice: Handle poultry with care at least until word of the bird flu has died down. The holidays should be interesting. I wonder what Thanksgiving would be like sans the bird.
“Who wants to carve the Soy Turkey?”
11-03-2005