(In response to “Clock Ticking on Vaccine Options”)
Sam Jaffe brings up a great but disturbing point. His take on the much needed vaccine preparation for a pandemic avian flu should not be heeded lightly. The disturbing aspect of his point, which he mentions in his article, is the government’s slow movement toward a vaccine for this ultimately deadly virus.

According to PandemicFlu.gov, a strain of the avian influenza, once naturally occurring in birds, was first found in humans in 1997, as 18 people from Hong Kong were infected. 6 of the 18 people infected died due to the human H5N1 influenza or “bird flu”. The virus has since spread. Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have experienced cases of human H5N1, with approximately half resulting in death. As I already mentioned, this is just one strain of avian influenza. There are various subtypes of avian influenza A and strains within the subtypes that can be potentially harmful. (Visit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information on different subtypes and strains of avian influenza A.)

In North America, particularly Canada, two persons were infected with avian influenza A (H7) and experienced conjunctivitis and other flu like symptoms. Others also experienced flu like symptoms, but were not laboratory-confirmed cases of avian influenza A (H7). It is rare that transmit avian influenza through human-human contact. Instead, the virus is contracted by coming in contact with poultry, etc., but the theory of evolution allows us to believe that these various subtypes and strains will adapt to invade humans via human-human contact. With this being a high possibility and outbreaks hitting so close to home, it is a wonder why the government hasn’t stepped up its game to prepare for a pandemic.