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"Oh dear! First, it's the mad cow disease. Now it's the
bird flu. What's the world coming to?" moaned Dad as he
flipped the pages of the newspaper. "Hey! Tell us more
about it. Are we in danger of being infected? Look at
the number of birds you have here," Mum responded
anxiously. I was also eager to know what bird flu was
all about. "Another topic to impress my friends in
school," I thought to myself.
Apparently, bird flu is caused by a strain of virus
yet to be identified by the World Health Organisation.
The organisation has undertaken to carry out research
and investigation into this disease. There are to date
only four cases in the world and nobody knows the
characteristics of the virus which first appeared in May
and killed a three-year-old boy. A two-year-old boy was
also infected but managed to survive. There are two new
suspected victims in Hong Kong. One has died. He was a
54-year-old man. The other victim is a 13-year-old girl
who is still in hospital. It was discovered that the
first two victims lived near a chicken market.
The strain is named H5N1 or Hong Kong 1997. It was
previously found only in birds. Investigations have
shown that about 4,500 chickens have died from the
disease which is now attacking man. The flu affects the
central nervous system and the liver resulting in Reye
Syndrome.
Health authorities urge people to maintain a good
diet and exercise regularly to improve their
resistance to influenza. |
