Various countries taking precautions
EUROPE, October 13 – The avian flu outbreak amongst poultry in Turkey has been tested positive for the H5N1 strain, the most worrisome of all strains. It is very likely that this strain can evolve into a human disease and thus create a global pandemic with catastrophic consequences.
Last week it was reported that one farm in Turkey was affected by the virus and another area in Romania also suffered the dreaded virus. Tests in Romania have not been conclusive as to the type of strain, laboratories have not been able to narrow it down further than the H5 type so the samples are being transferred to Britain for further research. It is however very likely that it is the H51N strain.
Measures are being taken all over the world, the infected farm in Turkey has been quarantined and the Turkey government has ordered one million boxes of anti-influenza medication from manufacturer Roche. The European Union has banned import of poultry meat, live birds and feathers from Turkey and Romania to prevent any further infections.
There is no vaccine against this specific virus yet, it is believed that it won’t be possible to create an effective vaccine until an actual outbreak among humans has begun. When an human influenza strain combines with the avian flu it is expected that a global outbreak is only a matter of weeks, such an outbreak would cost millions of lives all over the world, similar to the Spanish influenza in 1918 only with increased casualties due to the higher world population.
