The Study of Avian Influenza - Essay Example

Transmission is the spread or passing of a contagious infection from one person to another or from a contaminated surface or animal to humans. Contamination is very likely to occur in Asia due to poor hygiene amongst Asians, contributed by the high population. Therefore, a pandemic is most likely to happen in these areas when birds are infected. In layman's terms, a pandemic is an outbreak.

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the mortality or death rate as a result of a Bird Flu infection is between 90-100 per cent in most cases in forty-eight hours (par. 3). This virus can pose a global threat if it changes to a form that can enhance or enable its transmission from one human being to another (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, par. 15). Bird Flu replicates through a lytic cycle. The lytic cycle is whereby the virus invades the genetic material of the host animal and subsequently exploits the host cells to reproduce till the cells rupture, killing them. In comparison, the virus in a lysogenic cycle replicates without killing the cell (Brooker 379).

Once a pathogen, in this case, the virus, attacks the human, the body reacts through adaptive immunity whereby it can identify the virus in case of re-infection and immediately produces antibodies that start to attack the virus to destroy or kill it. The cells responsible for this process are B-cells and T-cells. T-cells kill the cells infected with the virus and trigger the production of cells referred to as interferon that slows down its reproduction (Nathanson 88). Antiviral drugs to prevent virus replication can be administered to treat viral infections or drugs to kill the infected cells without killing the host (Nathanson 238). Flu vaccines are made using dead viruses. These deadly viruses are made up of proteins that activate the production of antibodies to kill the virus (Stooker n.p). These, in other words, are referred to as antigens for their ability to start the production of antibodies.

In conclusion, we are not doing enough to address the threat of Bird Flu in terms of public health. Hygiene is still an issue, particularly in developing countries in Africa and Asia. There is a need, therefore, to implement strategies aimed at promoting hygiene in designed and highly populated countries to avoid the spread of the flu in case of an epidemic.