Bird Flu

With all the hullabaloo over the potential spread of this terrible virus, I decided to read up on it a little more to gain a greater understanding of the threat. We know that it spreads quickly, and kills quickly. And its potential to spread worldwide via bird migratory routes is evident. There are effective vaccines being developed, but the ingredients to make them are scarce and you must come back for a second dose.

Okay, so what else is there to know? What I didn't initially understand is that what has the potential to kill humans is the bird flu virus mixing with an active flu virus in our own bodies. In other words, if we don't already have the flu, we aren't likely to sicken and die from a flu that a bird might have because the bird flu virus doesn't yet know how to operate efficiently in a human's body. But because of how many people get the flu every year, chances of someone having an active case of the flu and coming in contact with a bird flu virus is the problem.

So the best protection we have is to get vaccinated against any kind of flu (to lessen our changes of being a host) and be extremely conscientous of not spreading the regular flu if we have it. Take cough suppressants. Cover your mouth. Take decongestants so your nose doesn't run. Keep contact with others to a minimum. Don't laugh, I may be one of the people you see wearing a mask and gloves.