[wonder_taitai]

what are the health effects of bird flu?

[redunicorn]

How are avian, pandemic, and seasonal flu different?
Avian flu is caused by avian influenza viruses, which occur naturally among birds.
Pandemic flu is flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness that spreads easily from person to person. Currently there is no pandemic flu.
Seasonal flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses.

[cremedelacreme04]

The effects of H5N1 bird flu have been severe with 50 per cent of those who have caught the disease dying of it. Fortunately, it has not easily spread between infected birds and humans but scientists fear a pandemic with tens of millions if it does spread. According to the World Health Organisation, as at 20 February 2006, there had been 170 cases confirmed cases of H5N1 bird flu with 92 deaths.

The Spanish influenza of 1918-19 an earlier form of bird flu was a pandemic killing more people than World War I.

Clinical trials into a vaccine are underway having commenced in April 2005.

[rosweed]

If you're a bird - really nasty. For you - not so bad.

rosweed www.rosweed.com

[High Jack]

Influenza A viruses contain their genome in eight separate linear segments of negative-sense RNA, which code for ten proteins (eleven for type A if including the novel PB1-F1 protein) [7]. Each segment contains a single gene, but some can be read twice at different starting points to create two distinct proteins. The segmented nature of the genome also allows for the exchange of entire genes between different viral strains when they cohabitate the same cell. The 8 genes are:

HA gene encoding hemagglutinin which produces about 500 copies
NA gene encoding neuraminidase which produces about 100 copies
NP gene encoding nucleoprotein. Influenza A, B, and C are distinguished by their nucleoproteins
M gene encoding two matrix proteins (the M1 and the M2) by using different reading frames from the same RNA segment
NS gene encoding two distinct non-structural proteins by using different reading frames from the same RNA segment
PA gene encoding an RNA polymerase
PB1 gene encoding an RNA polymerase and PB1-F2 protein (induces apoptosis) by using different reading frames from the same RNA segment
PB2 gene encoding an RNA polymerase
The genome segments have common terminal sequences, and the ends of the RNA strands are partially complementary, allowing them to bond to each other by hydrogen bonds. After transcription from negative-sense to positive-sense RNA the +RNA strands get the cellular 5' cap added, allowing its processing as messenger RNA by ribosomes. The +RNA strands also serve for synthesis of -RNA strands for new virions.