Avian Flu -- 1918 and Today -- Protein Enhances Lethality Of Virus

ScienceDaily: Avian Flu -- 1918 and Today -- Protein Enhances Lethality Of Virus
2007.10.10
"Often called the most devastating epidemic in the recorded history of the world, the 1918 influenza virus pandemic was responsible for more than 40 million deaths across the globe. The incredible lethality of the 1918 flu strain is not well understood, despite having been under intense scrutiny for many years. Now, a new study published by Cell Press in the October issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe unravels some of the mystery surrounding the devastating 1918 pandemic and provides key information that will help prepare for future pandemics...The researchers found that expression of PB1-F2 increased the incidence of and exacerbated secondary bacterial pneumonia in a mouse model. Intranasal delivery of a synthetic peptide derived from a portion of PB1-F2 had the same effects. Further, an influenza virus engineered to express a version of PB1-F2 identical to that in the 1918 pandemic strain was more virulent in mice and led to more severe bacterial pneumonia, explaining in part both the unparalleled virulence of the 1918 strain and the high incidence of fatal pneumonia during the pandemic..."These findings also reinforce the recent suggestion of the American Society for Microbiology that nations should stockpile antibiotics for the next pandemic, since many of the deaths during this event are likely to be caused by bacterial super-infections."..."

"DogVitals dog supplement - helping dogs live a younger, healthier life

Keep your eye on infectious diseases

Click on the picture to make it larger.
WHO warns of global epidemic risk BBC NEWS 2007.08.23



"Infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, the World Health Organization annual report says...Since the 1970s, 39 new diseases have developed, and in the last five years alone, the WHO has identified more than 1,100 epidemics including cholera, polio and bird flu...These include bird flu, Sars, also Ebola, Marburg and Nipah viruses...
Flu pandemic could affect more than 1.5 billion people or 25% of world population...
Comeback by cholera, yellow fever and epidemic meningococcal disease in the last quarter of the 20th Century...
685 verified events of international public health concern from September 2003 to September 2006...Growth of anti-microbial resistance, notably drug-resistant TB..."

The Who Report

DogVitals dog supplement - helping dogs live a younger, healthier life

TB variety now totally resistant to antibiotics

TB breaks free of antibiotic control ($) NewScientist March 24th 2007 Edition

NewScientist has a good editorial about how the world has ignored diseases in the developing world esp. TB - with the result being that strains of this incredibly deadly disease is now mostly, or totally resistant to all medicine. The larger lesson as they make very clear is - ignore the poor countries and their welfare at your peril. Chances are if a pandemic hits, of any disease, it will mainly be the result of our profound stupidity... not a bolt from the blue.

Here are some key points.

"REMEMBER when lots of people died of ordinary bacterial infections? Probably not, unless you were around before the 1950s. That's when antibiotics stopped the rot, at least for the world's better-off...The bad news is those days are returning. Tuberculosis has broken free of antibiotic control, a fact that could affect us all...Last year it erupted in 9 million people and killed 1.6 million, putting it among the world's biggest causes of death...TB has thrived in the mushrooming urban slums of poor countries and grown among poor communities in rich countries as those nations dismantled public health systems designed to eradicate TB...Now, some strains - known as extremely drug-resistant, or XDR - have shrugged off many of the remaining anti-TB drugs. This week we report the arrival of CDR, or completely drug-resistant, TB (see "The white plague"). Doctors cannot hammer these bacteria with new drugs or vaccines because no companies have developed any. There are few profits in diseases of the poor...TB resistant to one or two drugs grew from a few cases in the 1990s to one-fifth of cases today. XDR-TB is likely to do the same. It is now poised to rip through the millions of African people who have HIV...We thought we had beaten TB. Now it is back and we are almost defenceless. On every level this is because the world neglects diseases of the poor."

We spend billions on bogus wars and waste hundreds of millions on bogus security but when it comes to potential pandemics we spend hardly a thing? Genius. Vote out any politician that doesn't understand.