The Pandemic Perfect Storm

With Bird Flu H7N9 smoldering in China and MERS killing people in Saudi Arabia one wonders what the impact of two simultaneous pandemics would be.

 

H7N9 strain has been confirmed in 131 people and has caused 36 deaths since it was first detected. Now we have reports that three patients infected with H7N9 have developed resistance to antiviral drug treatment. According to a new study H7N9 has rapidly developed this resistance to antiviral drug treatment making treatment almost impossible. This has caused great concern among the medical community.

 

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia it is reported that three more people have died from a new respiratory virus called MERS. The World Health Organization said Saturday that it was informed of 51 confirmed cases of the new virus since September and 30 cases were fatal.

One pandemic would be bad. Two pandemics at the same time could be devastating. 

The Pandemic Perfect Storm.

H7N9

H7N9 is capable of spreading from human-to-human.

Scientists have found that the bird flu virus H7N9 is capable of spreading from human-to-human.


Ferrets experimentally infected with the new H7N9 strain passed it to other ferrets occupying the same cage, indicating the virus has the ability to spread via direct contact.

This highlights H7N9 pandemic potential.

H7N9 is on the way.

 

H7N9 is a nasty virus worth worrying about and it is spreading

H7N9 is spreading.

The number of confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases in China increased by four to 108 yesterday. The number of dead rose by one and is now at 22. To defend against this flu that is rapidly spreading in China, the government will be authorizing health authorities to “strongly advise” people who are sick or suspected of being infected with the disease to be hospitalized and to restrict their working. In Taiwan health authorities confirmed the island's first human infection of H7N9 avian flu on Wednesday, involving a 53-year-old Taiwanese man who is believed to have been infected outside Taiwan as he showed symptoms three days after returning from Suzhou City in Mainland China. So far, extensive monitoring of contacts has found little evidence that the virus has spread efficiently between people. Some person-to-person transmission may have occurred but this does not necessarily represent the early stages of a pandemic.

China kills birds as new flu strain death toll hits 6

Workers dispose of dead birds in China

Authorities in China halted the sale of live fowl and slaughtered all of the poultry at a Shanghai market where the new virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. The H7N9 strain of bird flu, has sickened 16 people, many critically, and killed 6.

So far health officials believe people are contracting the virus through direct contact with infected birds and say there has been no evidence that the virus is spreading easily between people. However, scientists are watching closely to see if this new flu poses a substantial risk to public health or could start a global pandemic.