NEWS POINT
“BIRD FLU PREPARATION
I. The subject :
We chose this subject because today it’s important to take into account the bird flu virus which might be, soon, the beginning of one of the greatest pandemics in history and to set up measures of protection in order to protect ourselves from this virus and hopefully to eradicate it. Since 2003, this virus has already killed 62 people in Southeast Asia. Today, it is “at the doors of Europe".
II. The Context :
Bird flu assigns a viral disease close to ‘flu, met in species of poultry. Virus A, accountable for the ‘flu, in its most current form, numbers 135 versions infecting birds and 3 directly attacking humans. The exchange of viruses between birds and other animals (like the pig) is very easy, it is much more exceptional, but not impossible, with humans. A virus can mutate and the human being may perhaps be at risk. The H5N1 strain is most disturbing because it mutates quickly and has a proven propensity to acquire genes of the virus infecting other species. It has been at the origin of several infections. After the cases raised in Hong Kong in 1997, where it caused a respiratory affection in 18 people and the death of 6 of them, the first major contamination was noted in South Korea. Then the contamination appeared in Vietnam, in Thailand and, in 2004, in China, Taiwan, Japan, Kampuchea, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia. Since 2003, this virus has already killed 62 people in Southeast Asia. Even if, the virus remains for the moment largely confined to Asia, it was discovered in August “at the doors of Europe", and more precisely, in Russia and in Kazakhstan, then recently, in Turkey and Romania. According to the World Health Organization, bird flu could be a sanitary catastrophe: a world epidemic which could kill up to 100 million people.
Facing the spread of bird flu, countries are forced to developed plans to protect themselves against the possibility of a bird flu pandemic. If, for the moment, the virus can not be transmitted between humans, countries must consider this problem. According to a lot of scientists, it’s just a question of time before we see the virus starting to spread between humans. So, a lot of countries have adopted contingency plans. They are building up anti-viral stocks and encouraging research on vaccine.
However, if it’s necessary to organize a protection against a pandemic of bird flu, it is also important to explain the situation in order to avoid a mass panic about this virus.
III. Sources Analysis :
1. Disaster News Network (DNN) :
Disaster News Network is a new service that tells the story of disaster response and suggests appropriate ways to help people survive. It also facilitates information sharing among disaster responders.
2. International Herald Tribune (IHT) :
The International Herald Tribune (IHT) is the premier international newspaper for opinion leaders and decision-makers around the world. The International Herald Tribune is written for people who need to know what’s happening and what it means. The International Herald Tribune is trusted by its readers because it is independent of any political or commercial interest.
3. British Broadcasting Company (BBC) news :
The British Broadcasting was created in October 1922 by a group of leading wireless manufacturers including Guglielmo Marconi. Marconi was a great radio pioneer. This British public radio, television and online media company is well-known for its objective vision of information.
IV. Summaries :
1. Bird flu preparation urged :
Disaster News Network.
Baltimore, October 18, 2005
http://www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=2909
European Union officials have called bird flu a “global threat”. Human cases of the disease have been confirmed, all localized in Asia. In the USA the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are “working hard” to finalize bird flu plans.
David Daigle, spokesperson for the CDC, said that Americans should not panic while the CDC is preparing for a possible pandemic. He has talked about the religions community and has said that the pastors and the health workers must protect themselves. Moreover, he underlined the importance for those who became sick to stay away from public areas.
The United States does not import poultry from affected countries. But even then, you can eat poultry if you cook it thoroughly. For people traveling to the affected countries, the recommendation is “to stay away from poultry farms and areas where poultry is sold”.
Daigle added that people would be much interested in the regular flu season: “36,000 Americans die from the flu every year”.
2. Bird flu preparation goes global :
International Herald Tribune
Washington, October 6, 2005
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/06/news/flu.php
This article refers to the meeting having taken place, in Washington, between the health experts and other officials from around the world, to discuss a coordinated response to the bird flu epidemic. The gathering is intended to develop ways to share information and resources in case the avian flu virus mutates and begins to cause a human pandemic, which experts believe could kill millions within months. The meeting comes a day after two teams of scientists announced that they had reproduced the 1918 Spanish flu virus, and after the increasing criticism of the administration under President George W. Bush for the way it has prepared for a possible influenza pandemic.
Protection measures against the bird flu have thus been set up by the United States. First of all, the democrats in the U.S. Congress called for the creation of a White House office to oversee the nation’s readiness and response. The secretary of health and human services, also has said that if a bird flu outbreak occurred anywhere in the world, U.S. health officials would go there and work with local officials to try to contain it. Some international organizations have also called on the United States and other countries to step up their investment in the fight against the disease. Bush, too, has asked the leaders of the world’s top flu vaccine manufacturers to intensify their efforts in the production of vaccines. The announcement by federal and university scientists that they had reconstructed the 1918 influenza virus was immediately described as a major breakthrough in efforts to understand the behaviour of bird flu, the 1918 virus being considered as a bird flu that jumped directly to humans.
3. Bird flu: Country preparations
BBC news
November 3, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4380014.stm#top
“The spread of bird flu has forced countries around the world to look at how they would tackle an outbreak”.
Furthermore, many of them have considered the case of a spread between humans.
The recommendations of the World Health Organization are to stockpile anti-viral drugs at least for twenty five percent (25%) of the population.
If Russia has sufficient stocks of anti-virals for each of its 150 million citizens, Spain has enough stocks only for five percent (5%) of the population.
In France, fourteen million antiviral doses will be available at the end of the year. This country has also sent fifty million masks to hospitals. Furthermore a contingency plan is being prepared and a simulation of an outbreak among animals is to be held. Concerning vaccine research, in France, clinical trials are made for a “pre-pandemic” vaccine.
Romania says that it is ready to manufacture vaccine, but it wants World Health Organization approval.
In China, a vaccine to prevent bird flu in humans has been produced after four years of research.
V. Conclusion :
Even if the bird flu virus, which is transmitted for the moment only between animals and humans, must adapt to cause a human pandemic, the catastrophe scenarios exist. For us, if it is necessary to take the threat of a pandemic seriously, it is also very important to inform the population of the real situation in order to avoid a mass panic. Not only must the citizens be informed, but they must also participate in the decisions about contingency plans. According to professor Lucien Abenhaim: “It would be criminal not to prepare for a pandemic”. We are in a totally new historical situation, because it is the first time in humanity’s history that we have been able to get prepared for a plague before it arrives.
VI. Vocabulary :
- Spread: propagation
- Contingency plan: plan d’urgence
- Psychosis : psychose
- Poultry : volaille
- Strain : souche (biologie)
- World Health Organization : Organisation Mondiale de la Santé
- Threat : menace
- Disease : maladie
- Bird flu : grippe aviaire
- Sick : malade
- Thoroughly: absolument, complètement
- Outbreak: irruption, apparition
- Stockpile: reserves, stock
- Gathering: réunion
MEIRONE Nicolas
GRIMALDI Xavier
MAP