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SARS
In 2003, there were concerns that SARS, a new, highly contagious
form of atypical pneumonia caused by a coronavirus dubbed SARS-
CoV, might become pandemic. Rapid action by national and
international health authorities such as the World Health
Organization helped slow transmission and eventually broke the
chain of transmission, ending the localized epidemics before they
could become a pandemic. The disease has not been eradicated,
however, and could re-emerge unexpectedly, warranting monitoring
and case reporting of suspicious cases of atypical pneumonia.
Influenza
Wild aquatic birds are the natural hosts for a range of influenza A
viruses. Occasionally viruses are transmitted from these species to
other species and may then cause outbreaks in domestic poultry or
(rarely) give rise to a human pandemic.
H5N1
In February 2004, avian influenza virus was detected in birds in
Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains. It
is feared that if the avian influenza virus combines with a human
influenza virus (in a bird or a human), the new subtype created
could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in humans. Such a
subtype could cause a global influenza pandemic, similar to the
Spanish Flu, or the lower mortality pandemics such as the Asian Flu
and the Hong Kong Flu.
From October 2004 to February 2005, some 3,700 test kits of the 1957
Asian Flu virus were accidentally spread around the world from a lab in
the US.
In May 2005, scientists urgently call nations to prepare for a global
influenza pandemic that could strike as much as 20% of the world's
population.
In October 2005, cases of the avian flu (the deadly strain H5N1) were
identified in Turkey. EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said:
"We have received now confirmation that the virus found in Turkey is
an avian flu H5N1 virus. There is a direct relationship with viruses
found in Russia, Mongolia and China." Cases of bird flu were also
identified shortly thereafter in Romania, and then Greece. Possible
cases of the virus have also been found in Croatia, Bulgaria and in the
United Kingdom.
By November 2007 numerous confirmed cases of the H5N1 strain had
been identified across Europe. However, by the end of October only 59
people had died as a result of H5N1 which was atypical of previous
influenza pandemics.
Despite sensational media reporting, avian flu cannot yet be
categorized as a "pandemic" because the virus cannot yet cause
sustained and efficient human-to-human transmission. Cases so far
are recognized to have been transmitted from bird to human, but as of
December 2006 there have been very few (if any) cases of proven
human-to-human transmission. Regular influenza viruses establish
infection by attaching to receptors in the throat and lungs, but the avian
influenza virus can only attach to receptors located deep in the lungs of
humans, requiring close, prolonged contact with infected patients and
thus limiting person-to-person transmission. The current WHO phase of
pandemic alert is level 3, described as "no or very limited human-to-
human transmission." according to the WHO website.
WHO: "Prepare Now for Influenza Pandemic”
Studies show that H5N1 has become both more pathogenic in poultry
and hardier than in the past, with an ability to survive several days
longer. It has also expanded its host range to include cat species and
other mammals: last October, the virus sickened 147 captive tigers in
Thailand that had been fed infected chicken carcasses.
Also alarming is the recent detection of highly pathogenic H5N1 in
dead migratory birds. "Wild waterfowl are the natural reservoir of all
influenza A viruses and have historically carried low-pathogenic
viruses," the report notes. This suggests "the role of migratory
waterfowl in the evolution and maintenance of highly pathogenic H5N1
may be changing."
At the same time, domestic ducks, which generally fall ill when infected
with H5N1, have been found recently to be secreting large amounts of
lethal virus without showing any symptoms of disease. This suggests
that healthy ducks "play a role in maintaining transmission by silently
seeding outbreaks in other poultry." It may also explain why some
recent human cases cannot be linked to contact with diseased poultry.
During 2004, a number of large bird flu outbreaks on commercial
poultry farms were successfully contained through culling and
vaccination.
A greater concern now, says the report, is with outbreaks in rural areas
of Asia, where most families keep free-ranging ducks and chickens.
Outbreaks on these small family farms "may escape detection, are
difficult to control, and increase the likelihood of human exposures,
which may occur when children play in areas shared by poultry or when
families slaughter or prepare birds for consumption."
H5N1's potential to ignite a pandemic depends, however, on its
acquiring the ability to pass easily between humans. There are two
ways this could occur. H5N1 could infect someone who also is infected
with a human form of influenza A, and the two viruses could exchange
genes (re-assortment). Or, the virus could adapt in an evolutionary
fashion during subsequent human infections, acquiring the ability to
transmit itself efficiently from one person to another (adaptive
mutation). The deadly 1918 Spanish flu pandemic is believed to have
been caused by a virus that mutated in this way.
The report notes that opportunities for either of these events to occur
continue to increase and appear more likely.
The WHO report also notes that a virus that gradually acquires an
improved ability to pass between humans would be harder to detect
through surveillance than a fully transmissible pandemic virus that
emerged from a re-assortment event. "The resulting explosion of cases
would be difficult for any surveillance system to miss."
Past pandemics may hold some important lessons about how to
prepare for and cope with any new pandemic. The report highlights
several conclusions:
Although more trials are needed, the new findings reconfirm the
feasibility of developing an H5N1-specific vaccine.
H5N1 is presently considered the most likely virus to ignite the next
pandemic. The increasing spread and evolution of H5N1 viruses in
Asia have brought the world closer to another pandemic than at any
time since 1968, when the last of the previous century’s three
pandemics began.
Vaccines are the principal medical intervention for protecting
individuals against pandemic influenza. If available rapidly and in
sufficient quantities, they can reduce the morbidity and mortality that
have traditionally made pandemics such socially disruptive as well as
deadly events.