Bird influenza virus is obviously mutating but the source is known

Culling birds where the influenza virus H1N1 and it's genetic mutations has helped to prevent the spread of this deadly virus.

While the US is obsessed with a few people who have been unfortunate enough to contract the dangerous Ebola virus, the world is still being vigiliant about the potential for a bird flu influenza outbreak. Nevertheless, the etiology of bird flu can be "culled". We must find the same solution for Ebola.

Public health researchers could consider how to cull the source of the Ebola virus, but not enough is known about the disease's origins.  I've heard some physicians claim the virus began with infected fruit bats near the Ebola River in Africa. It seems impossible to cull bat populations, especially because these flying mammals probably eat Anopheles mosquitoes that carry malaria.

Therefore, epidemiologists, those who study the sources of disease outbreaks, must figure out how fruit bats carry the Ebola virus.  Right now, of course, the focus has been on preventing an even worse epedimic than currently exists in Western Africa, especially with thousands at risk in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Meanwhile, the world health monitoring organizations including the United Nations must be very diligent about another outbreak of deadly influenza, as reported in The Guardian.  

A cull is being carried out at a duck farm in Yorkshire England, after avian flu found there, but officials stress ‘very low’ risk to public health.

There were two confirmed outbreaks in western Europe on Sunday, first at a poultry farm in the Netherlands, then at duck breeders in northern England. The Dutch authorities have started slaughtering 150,000 chickens at the farm in central Netherlands where the disease was detected. 

Later, in the UK, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed at least one case of the virus at the farm in the Driffield area of East Yorkshire. It insisted the risk to public health was “very low”, and said it was culling all poultry at the farm. 

What are the most dangerous strains?

The H5N1 form has been the cause of most concern in recent years. The strain detected in the Netherlands was identified as H5N8. This strain has never been detected in humans. Defra confirmed that the outbreak in Yorkshire was H5, but not H5N1. Three versions of the milder H7 form have also spread to humans. Both H5N1 and H7 are referred to as “highly pathogenic”, which means they are extremely contagious among birds. The disease spreads both by air and contact with bird droppings. 

Where has it appeared?

An outbreak of the H5N8 strain in South Korea earlier this year meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain the outbreak. Cases have also been reported in China and Japan. The strain was first reported in Europe on a German farm in early November. In September, Russia reported the first cases of H5N1 in nearly two years.

If it just affects birds, why the panic?

World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show that from 2003 to October 2014, there were 668 confirmed cases of the H5N1 virus in humans. Of these cases, 393 people died.

So far, most of the human deaths have been in Asia, in communities in which people live in close proximity to poultry. Although it does not easily infect humans, every time it does it increases the chance that the virus could mutate into a form that could be passed from one infected human to another. The WHO says that would probably be how a flu pandemic would start. Pandemics have occurred every 20 to 30 years, but it has been almost 40 years since the last one happened. The most severe occurred in 1918-1919, and is estimated to have killed around 50 million people worldwide.

How does it spread?

WHO scientists believe it is likely that the virus is carried by migrating birds. Others, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Birdlife International, argue that there is strong evidence to suggest the poultry trade plays a large role in the spread of bird flu.

How do you catch bird flu?

It is very unlikely to catch the virus unless you have been in close contact with infected birds or someone with confirmed or suspected bird flu. The virus is found in secretions from the eyes and respiratory tract, and droppings of infected birds. Humans can catch the virus by inhaling droplets sneezed by infected birds or the dust from their bedding or droppings.

In my opinion, it appears the H1N1 virus has already mutated.  Consequently, it's doubtful humans will ever be completely ahead of the risk for a bird flu epidemic. Unfortunately, because the Ebola virus was not attacked with the same ferocity as H1N1, the world still can't destroy the source of this deadly disease, while it continues to spread.

Ebola is an infectious disease: American health care workers are front line experts

Although the etiology of the Ebola virus and longitudinal studies about the disease are ongoing, one aspect of treatment for the disease includes isolation of victims and strict infection control procedures to prevent the spread. America's health care workers are well trained to respond to an individual who presents with an infectious disease. Indeed, infection control procedures are included in all hospital personnel orientations, even among clerical staffs. Nevertheless, America's health care systems are not totally prepared to handle an epidemic of Ebola. One of the biggest problems isn't related to the causation of the disease, at all. Rather, the problem is ethical. Who will receive the most effective treatments?  Even worse, who will receive transport to a hospital for treatment?

America's health care workers are as much at risk for contracting Ebola as those who work with victims in developing countries in Africa. Most at risk are the emergency responders, who are likely the first ones called when a person becomes incapacitated by critical illness, like Ebola. Emergency providers are likely most at risk for being exposed to an Ebola outbreak, should one occur. 

Yet, there are a very limited number of ambulances available for transporting patients to a hospital or emergency treatment facility during an infectious disease outbreak, like Ebola.  

Transporting an Ebola patient puts the ambulance out of service until it's completely bathed in a chlorine disinfecting solution - twice. There are only a few transports any emergency medical transport will be able to accommodate, given the risk of Ebola exposure to the EMS responders. An additional risk of exposure includes the people cleaning the ambulance and equipment, following the transports.  

Therefore, when US public health officials are speaking confidently on national media about how Ebola will be managed, they're speaking about the disease process. They're not addressing the systems crises that will erupt as a result of the disease spreading. 

There's justifiable confidence in America's ability to respond to an isolated Ebola outbreak. Of course, the treatment of the victims will be expensive because of the intensity of the treatment of the isolated patient and the follow up "contact tracing" of those who are exposed.

It was just a matter of time before Ebola showed up in the USA. Indeed, it seems like our US health care system may have been victims of the "someplace else" delusion, like it would never happen to them. Now, it's here.  

The "someplace else" syndrome will be debunked. Health care systems will certainly pull out those pandemic policies from the years when H1N1 "bird flu" was supposed to cause a worldwide pandemic.

Meanwhile, in my opinion, the Ebola patient who traveled from Liberia to Texas before he exhibited symptoms of the illness, simply can't be an isolated incident. Not knowing who else may present as a result of the 21 day incubation time of the virus is, frankly, more dangerous than the disease itself.  

Health care workers can isolate, and treat the Ebola patient, and clean the transport and treatment equipment. 

What we can't do is predict who might be carrying the virus and where they might be located.  Therefore, the health care community isn't prepared to respond to an Ebola outbreak of more than a few people, unless a great deal of money is made available to pay for the training for a response to the disease. 

As with all infectious diseases, the most important response is prevention.  

Hand washing is the first line of defense for all infectious  diseases and more important than ever to help prevent Ebola.

America's health care providers are experts at handling infectious diseases and practicing infection control procedures. Nevertheless, the care givers and first responders are not systems analysts. 

In my opinion, our our US health care and emergency responder "systems" are not prepared to respond to an infectious Ebola outbreak.

Preventing Shootings -Tax Ammunition

Yet another, and another and another preventable shooting of innocent people. These tragedies are happening with rapid fire regularity. All of them preventable. If they were the result of H1N1 Bird flu, we'd hear about widespread pandemic panic. 

Instead, the dead and traumatized are now lined up in a queue of preventable incidents, all victims of unbridled Second Amendment rights. Today reports another in these horrible events:

Saturday January 25, three more people are dead as a result of another mall shooting in Columbia, Maryland. This isn't downtown Baltimore, folks, where people can shrug off street violence like a pesky mosquito. Oh no! This shooting is in upscale Columbia.

(CNN) -- Gunfire erupted in a Columbia, Maryland, shopping mall Saturday morning, leaving at least three people dead, according to the Howard County Police Department's Twitter account.

Just three days ago, another shooting homicide happened at Perdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

According to CBS Chicago, shots were fired after a fight took place in the parking lot of the electrical engineering building. Though the building has been cleared, the university has advised students and faculty to seek shelter in place. ABC News reported that one person was taken into custody.

Only  two days ago, a gunman in Gorham, Maine surrendered after a standoff at the University of Southern Maine. A USM student reportedly threatened to shoot people in a fraternity house before barricading himself inside. Fortunately, he surrendered before anyone was harmed but the incident spread community wide terror.

We're not living in Iraq or Afghanistan. Yet, if the location of these shootings were removed from the report, an unsuspecting reader might think the stories were about war zones. 

Since hundreds more innocent people this year are absolutely destined to be killed in gun violence incidents, I suggest Americans take action by demanding for all ammunition to be taxed at ten times its value. For exasmple, if one bullet cost $3, the actual taxed amount would be $30 per round of ammunition. A Saturday night special gun purchase might hold 6 to 8 rounds of ammunition (I assume). Therefore, the ammunition to fill one gun would be between about $200. All tax revenue from ammunition sales would be dedicated to improving mental health services. Money should be dedicated for the care of chronically and persistently mentally ill people, for veterans, and victims of post traumatic stress syndrome, or to education about critical incident stress, and for drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

Of course, there's one potential pitfall with taxing ammunition. When buying ammunition becomes more expensive than gun owners can afford, the tax revenue will be reduced to nearly nothing. Nevertheless, the incidence of gun violence deaths might well save hundreds of lives. Wow, just imagine that!

It makes perfect sense to tax ammunition. Each state can establish gun tax laws while Second Amendment rights will not be harmed.  

There must be a solution to the public health hazard of unregulated gun ownership. Taxing ammunition should be an opportunity to support the rights of innocent people who are unknowingly in harms way anytime a deranged person with a gun puts them or their family in danger. Unfortunately, the National Rifle Association gun lobby is so influential that even common sense possibilities are not allowed freedom of speech.  

But, for each gun violent incident in the growing queue, there should be an equal line up of attempts to stop this deadly public health menace. Tax ammunition. Please. Let's just do it.