Comments on: Chip to Detect Avian Flu in Humans in Development http://www.realtechnews.com/2006/01/20/2538/ Independent Tech Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:26:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Patrick Corrao http://www.realtechnews.com/2006/01/20/2538/comment-page-1/#comment-249194 Patrick Corrao Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:39:28 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/2538#comment-249194 I have put a Public Health website for Bourbon Co., Kansas. It contains many resources and research about H5N1. I would like to know more information about this chip. Thank you. I have put a Public Health website for Bourbon Co., Kansas. It contains many resources and research about H5N1.
I would like to know more information about this chip.

Thank you.

]]> By: Michael Santo http://www.realtechnews.com/2006/01/20/2538/comment-page-1/#comment-9988 Michael Santo Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:00:52 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/2538#comment-9988 Thanks for the great info, Dawn. That's why I was asking why they would care when the flu season started. Avian flu doesn't have a season, per se. Thanks for the great info, Dawn. That’s why I was asking why they would care when the flu season started. Avian flu doesn’t have a season, per se.

]]> By: Dawn http://www.realtechnews.com/2006/01/20/2538/comment-page-1/#comment-9987 Dawn Fri, 20 Jan 2006 14:51:28 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/2538#comment-9987 Seasonal flu is considered different to pandemic flu by the health profession because they behave quite differently. * pandemic influenza may occur during any season seasonal epidemics usually occur in winter * pandemic influenza may affect any age group - including young healthy adults (who usually make up the bulk of a nation's workforce) seasonal epidemics usually affect the young, elderly and immunocompromised predominantly * pandemic influenza virulence (ability to infect and cause severe illness) can vary and is difficult to predict prior to significant numbers of clinical cases * pandemic influenza usually occurs worldwide once every few decades seasonal influenza is usually annual and outbreaks are usually limited to smaller geographical areas * because a number of adaptations need to occur for an influenza strain to become a pandemic strain, there is an inevitable delay in being able to produce vaccine to combat pandemic flu a seasonal influenza vaccine is usually available prior to significant numbers of clinical cases In other words, the virus has to mutate to become human to human transmission and then a few people have to catch it before we can get something we can reliably develop a vaccine for. Happily, it hasn't mutated to pass between people. And while initial transmissions normally carries a high mortality rate (50% or greater; about 50% of people who've caught H5N1 have died) once the strain adapts to humans, mortality tends to drop to at most 2.5% Source: http://www.publichealthy.com/flupandemic.htm which is about the NHS's (UK public health service) flu pandemic planning Seasonal flu is considered different to pandemic flu by the health profession because they behave quite differently.

* pandemic influenza may occur during any season
seasonal epidemics usually occur in winter
* pandemic influenza may affect any age group – including young healthy adults (who usually make up the bulk of a nation’s workforce)
seasonal epidemics usually affect the young, elderly and immunocompromised predominantly
* pandemic influenza virulence (ability to infect and cause severe illness) can vary and is difficult to predict prior to significant numbers of clinical cases
* pandemic influenza usually occurs worldwide once every few decades
seasonal influenza is usually annual and outbreaks are usually limited to smaller geographical areas
* because a number of adaptations need to occur for an influenza strain to become a pandemic strain, there is an inevitable delay in being able to produce vaccine to combat pandemic flu
a seasonal influenza vaccine is usually available prior to significant numbers of clinical cases

In other words, the virus has to mutate to become human to human transmission and then a few people have to catch it before we can get something we can reliably develop a vaccine for. Happily, it hasn’t mutated to pass between people.

And while initial transmissions normally carries a high mortality rate (50% or greater; about 50% of people who’ve caught H5N1 have died) once the strain adapts to humans, mortality tends to drop to at most 2.5%

Source: http://www.publichealthy.com/flupandemic.htm which is about the NHS’s (UK public health service) flu pandemic planning

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