The Task

Groups working on this task are reminded that they must first offer an abstract or summary to introduce / induct the reader to the topic before offering their answers to the questions.

Questions

1. What are the problems that may arise together with a bird flu pandemic?

2. How can we deal with these problems?

3. In what ways is the pandemic "the scariest thing in the world"?

WHAT DOES AVIAN FLU HAVE TO DO WITH HUMAN HEALTH?

Rarely is an avian flu transmitted from birds to other kinds of animals. But the new Asian strain has infected more than 250 people, mostly in Southeast Asia.

Almost all of them caught it directly from domestic poultry. More than 50 percent have died—a very high mortality rate for any flu. By comparison, a few million Americans get the “normal” flu every winter, and an average of 36,000 die each year.
In nearly every case studied, people infected with the Asian bird flu have lived and worked in close contact with domestic poultry where they shared the same air, soil, and water. This degree of exposure is highly unusual in developed countries where poultry are generally raised in large sanitary “factories.”

There have been at least three instances where the virus has been transferred from human to human within families. But even though in its present form the virus infects humans only with difficulty, additional mutations could allow it to spread more easily from human to human, eventually becoming widespread in people.
This situation would be called a pandemic.Even if such a genetic change were to occur, the mutated virus might be less virulent in people in its new form.
Or, it could be just as deadly as the current form, and that’s why human health authorities are so concerned. They must prepare for the worst-case scenario because the consequences of failing to do so could be severe.

That’s why we see bird flu in the news so much. International agreements have dedicated several billion dollars to everything from vaccine development to trade restrictions and surveillance of wild birds. These actions carry significant political and economic implications and are thus big news.

reflections on bird flu/ flu hunter

Bird Flu is a very dangerous disease. It may be passed on by human to human, even for some animals. It is well-known for its ability to kill people in an instance and is one of the deadliest disease in the world now. Doctors are still trying to find the cure for the disease.This disease is spread within the country or some, country to country. As bird flu had killed a huge amount of human lives, it is the point of attention in the media at that time.

Q1. the problems are poultry farmers finding difficulty to sell their chickens, tourists unable to travel to those country that have the bird flu disease, the rise in the number of people dieing because of this disease etc.

Q2. Those with the disease mus be responsible and go for further observations in the hospital, to prevent the disease from spreading, prevent intense contact with birds, clean the farms more often or sterilize it, and as doctors to work out the cure as soon as possible.

Q3. The pandemic is the ''scariest thing in the world'' as it has taken a lot of people's lives. It may be easily spread among humans, and as there are a lot of birds in the world, it makes the disease more easily to be spread out. Without a cure, and with the rate of human dieing kept increasing, how can it be not the ''scariest thing in the world'' ?


07S16 group two