News Bird Flu - Is it Time for Vaccines?

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Concerns about the potential threat of bird flu, particularly the H5N1 strain, have sparked fears of a pandemic, especially regarding vaccine availability in poorer countries. While Italy may have sufficient resources to manage a crisis, the lack of rapid vaccine production capabilities elsewhere raises significant worries. Discussions highlight the historical context of health scares, with skepticism about the severity of predictions based on past false alarms. The conversation also touches on the implications of unsanitary farming practices and antibiotic resistance, although some argue that intensive farming may actually be more sanitary than traditional methods. Overall, the need for improved vaccine production and awareness of zoonotic diseases remains a critical topic.
  • #51
Wash your hands when in public, especially before eating in public.

Stay healthy - eat right, get plenty of rest, especially in cold winter months, take vitamin supplements if necessary, stay warm . . . the usual stuff mom and dad tolds us as kids.

Maybe wear a face mask too! . . . . especially when flying.

I remember from the various times I was in Asia that people with colds would where face masks out of consideration for the public around them. I don't see that at all in the US.
 
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  • #52
he wanted to stockpile enough vaccine to protect 20 million Americans against the current strain of bird flu as a first wave of protection.

Ahaha that's freaking awesome! Wait a minute, isn't that the population of Texas? (20,851,820) :rolleyes:

Hi freaking larious
 
  • #53
The Smoking Man said:
It goes deeper than that, Evo.
Vaccines are strain specific.
If you take the vaccine for Swine Flu, you can still get HK Flu.
Most vaccines are a cocktail of whatever is going around that year.
A mutation in the current year can make the whole thing worthless.
Correct, and a vaccine for the current bird flu, if it mutated to become transmisible bewtween humans, would not be effective.
 
  • #54
Bush outlined a strategy that would cost $7.1 billion including:

-$1.2 billion for the government to buy enough doses of the vaccine against the current strain of bird flu to protect 20 million Americans; the administration wants to have sufficient vaccine for front-line emergency personnel and at-risk populations, including military personnel;

-$1 billion to stockpile more anti-viral drugs that lessen the severity of the flu symptoms;

-$2.8 billion to speed the development of vaccines as new strains emerge, a process that now takes months. The goal is to have the manufacturing capability by 2010 to brew enough vaccine for every American within six months' of a pandemic's start.

-$583 million for states and local governments to prepare emergency plans to respond to an outbreak.
AP

It is troubling that health experts say the money, especially the $2.8 billion for pharmaceuticals companies, could be better spent shoring up the public health infrastructure, which has declined as state and local governments cut spending.
 
  • #55
Astronuc said:
AP
It is troubling that health experts say the money, especially the $2.8 billion for pharmaceuticals companies, could be better spent shoring up the public health infrastructure, which has declined as state and local governments cut spending.
Ironically, we are seeing a form of corporate welfare on a level not seen since 'aid to Africa' where, to receive the aid, they had to give up the purchase of generics and go to the American developer of the brand name.

You remember when the World court decided against the Pharmaceuticals in reference to Genetics ... the above offer was Bush's countermeasure.

When the countries did the math however, they found that they could purchase more generics at current levels of aid from other countries combined than they could the number of Brand Name items with American Aid.

Generics are 20-30 times cheaper.

I know the medicine I take here in China Rinatadine costs me 3RMB for 30 75 Mg capsules. When I buy it in the UK or the USA as Zantag, that same number of pills runs $30. ... 3RMB is a bit less than $.50. That's only a 600X mark-up.

That is the level of corporate 'welfare' you are seeing in the USA. Then figure in the fact that hospitals have been tagged for charging $18 for dispensing aspirin and what do you have?

Bird Flu is the biggest business opportunity to hit the states since Iraq and ... Rumsfeld has stock ... Go Figure.
 
  • #56
More news from http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051102/ts_nm/birdflu_usa_dc&printer=1" :

INCENTIVES FOR DRUG COMPANIES

The plan relies on private industry to do this and so far companies have been reluctant to commit to making more vaccine unless they are guaranteed reduced liability and can count on selling any vaccine they produce.

The federal officials declined to give details of what incentives they have offered drug companies to ramp up vaccine production but Leavitt said the plan provided some government support to help them move from old-fashioned egg-based technology to newer methods, and to explore ways to make more efficient vaccines.

The plan will help the United States prepare for the annual influenza season as well as be ready for any kind of pandemic, such as bird flu, Leavitt said.

Some members of Congress, who must vote for the funds to pay for the plan, raised questions at the hearing. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee, complained that public health facilities had been allowed to deteriorate badly.

"But we need to find some better way to know what the hell's going on because the executive branch won't tell us," he said. "And we need some whistle-blowers, starting with the secretary.

"We have a very high regard for what you people do. But you've got to help us help you."

Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record) complained that the plan requires states to pay for 31 million treatment courses of Tamiflu and Relenza.

"How are you going to ask Louisiana right now to come up with money for that? Take Mississippi," he said, naming the two states hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in August.

"We very clearly believe the states should contribute to this," Leavitt replied. "The actual percentage that they contribute, we're open to discussing on how we do that."

Washington Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, said many people had lost trust in U.S. agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, which will have to quickly determine that new vaccines and drugs are safe.


That's right the Drug Companies are now BARGAINING with the US government to meet the demand on condition of reduced liability and to be able to sell any vaccine they want.

Are any of you Republicans taking this in?
 
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  • #57
Oh, geez, I'm watching C-SPAN right now, and they have on some Congressional meeting about bird flu. It's making me nauseous to hear all the fear-mongering and stupidity of the members of Congress. They're acting like a pandemic is going to happen tomorrow, and as if boosting production of vaccines against current strains are going to help at all in protecting against some future outbreak of a strain capable of resulting in a pandemic. This gross lack of scientific understanding is disgusting.

Oh, wait, those of you in VA, you can be proud of your representative, Tom Davis. He just rebutted the fear mongering by Ohio's Kucinich quite nicely. (Kucinich is trying to force Roche to give up their Tamiflu license without realizing the implications that would have on any company ever doing R&D on an antiviral again...if they risk losing any profits to Congress just giving away their license, they simply won't even bother doing the research, let along getting a product to market).

It seems the secretary of HHS is starting to get through to a few of the less bull-headed ones.
 
  • #58
Some bad news. It looks like the freqeuency of the cases of the H5N1 strain being reported in poultry around the world has increased this year. But there have not yet been any cases where the virus has spread from human to human.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/feb182006/update151132006218.asp"
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-birdflu18.html"
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1908372,00.html"
 
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  • #60
Some EU countries are starting to vaccinate their poultry stocks. The UK gov't is coming under fire from some domestic sources for opting not to.

EU to allow bird flu vaccination

Some EU members had opposed plans for vaccination
EU officials have approved plans by France and the Netherlands to vaccinate millions of poultry against bird flu.
The programme, initially opposed by several countries, will be limited to birds in specific high-risk regions.

It came as health officials in Austria said two chickens had the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus - the first time it has appeared among poultry in the EU.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4734748.stm

BTW How long does the flu bug survive after the host is dead? Presumably cooking destroys the virus but would handling the dead poultry prior to cooking be dangerous?
 

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