US scientist handle a deadly virus to increase knowledge of the Bird Flu

In Washington, a scientist created an easier-to-spread version of the bird flu that would be used for testing. This scientist believes that people shouldn’t be as fearful of this experiment.

When the bird flu strikes it is deadly. However, this is very rare and usually only occurs when a human is in contact with infected poultry. Bird flu is deadly because of its ability to mutate and potentially cause a pandemic. “Researchers in the Netherlands and Wisconsin were studying how that might happen when they created bird flu strains that at least some mammals — ferrets — can spread by coughing or sneezing.” This means that the scientists are testing the virus and observing its mutations to further understand the virus.

This experiment caused a lot of controversy. Bioterrorism was one concern and U.S. health officials urged the details be kept secret. Critics also feared that there could be a lab accident where the virus could escape and possibly start an epidemic.

However, on Wednesday Dr. Ron Fouchier of the Netherlands' Erasmus University told a group of U.S. scientists that the virus did not kill the ferrets. Also, those ferrets that have previously been exposed to the flu virus were protected. This experiment gives scientist a better understanding of the bird flu.

This article is significant because the bird flu has the potential to cause an epidemic if it is not monitored by scientists. This kind of experiment may be controversial but it is crucial. We need to protect ourselves from this deadly virus and understand how it can mutate. This article directly relates to our class since we are studying the influenza epidemic that occurred in 1918. I think its interesting how epidemics of the past have the potential to reoccur. The outbreak of influenza in the past was horrific and scientists need to study the virus to make sure that will never happen again.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-health/20120229/US.MED.Bird.Flu/

Bird flu, pig flu, now bat flu? Human risk unclear.

Scientist recently have found evidence of a flu found in Bats. It is a never before seen strand of flu, and the risk to humans is still unclear. The Bats that the virus was found in was a kind of bat that only eats fruits, a little yellow-shouldered bat from Guatemala. They don't bite us so it can't spread that way. But it can spread by the bat leaving the virus on a piece of fruit and us humans eating it. But some people are still skeptical. Richard "Mick" Fulton said "In my mind, if you can't grow the virus, how do you know that the virus is there?” That is up to the scientist to decide with more research and more testing. So far, the virus hasn’t mutated and it still is unable to be transmitted from bat to human. If it stays that way, we will be safe. The next step is to try to find a way to keep the virus from ever being a threat to us. The scientists will do the necessary steps in order to find a way to keep it unthreatening.

With all the talk about swine flu in the past few years, I can only imagine what bat flu is. The Scientists say that they can't even grow the newly found flu virus on chicken eggs or a human cell culture. And they don't even know if it is going to be a risk to us yet. The risk is if the virus somehow got exposed to the more common influenza we know, and then mutate into something that can affect us and that we don't have a cure for yet. Just like the scenario in the recent movie Contagion, when the bird flu found a way to get transmitted human to human, and it caused massive amounts of deaths, in a short period of time. Hopefully that won’t happen!

In my opinion, I think this "Bat Flu" will be fully investigated by the scientists, and they will be able to keep it under control. It won't be a threat to humans, but that is just speculation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

To read more on this article go to:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/28/bird-flu-pig-flu-now-bat-flu-human-risk-unclear/