Bird Flu Facts

How Serious is the Bird Flu?

Right now it’s not very serious because the bird flu virus can’t be transmitted from one human to another and it’s very rare for humans to contract the virus at all. How serious it becomes in the future will depend on whether or not the virus mutates into a transmittable disease and how easily the Bird Flu virus will be transmitted from one person to another if that happens.

If the bird flu virus does become transmittable from one person to another, how quickly it spreads throughout a region and how many people are affected by it will largely be determined by where it starts. If the bird flu starts in a rural area, it probably won’t spread as quickly as it would if it starts in a crowded city.

Right now only 225 people have been infected with bird flu worldwide. The reason this type of flu is so scary is because, of those 225 people, 128 died. Not many viruses kill more than half of their victims.

Why Isn’t There a Vaccine?

Vaccines don’t get created overnight. While there is no approved vaccine as of yet, there is a vaccine currently undergoing clinical trials. No one knows for sure if this vaccine will ever make it to market, but so far it looks promising. If it becomes possible to get this vaccine approved, produced and distributed before the bird flu mutates and becomes harmful to humans, the situation would be much less severe. Unfortunately, no one really knows whether or not that’s possible.

Should I Take Precautions?

While it’s not certain whether or not the bird flu will turn into a pandemic, it is definitely wise to take at least some measure of precaution. Make sure you stay in the best health possible. By remaining healthy and keeping your immune system up, you’ll be better able to fend off the virus should a bird flu pandemic break out. Also keep some standard supplies on hand at home, such as food and water, in case you find the need to seclude yourself for a couple of weeks.