Mutating Virus's and Useless Vaccines
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Mutating Virus's and Useless Vaccines
| Fri, 12-19-2008 - 12:17pm |
I can't help but comment. If everyone remembers reading the article about trying to now give the bird flu vaccine alongside with the flu vaccine the below article represents nicely why this is such idioticy. It is completely baffling where the common sense is as it relates to mutating virus's. (not to worry though, we got a huge supply in the national stockpile (oh wait, it's mutating
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The strain of bird flu found in American fowl is different from the Asian strain of bird flu and is far less virulent than the Chinese strain of bird flu. The same influenza vaccine is not used around the world, because influenza is different in different regions / hemispheres.
Additionally -- who is to say that farmers were using the vaccine properly -- vaccinating all birds and at the proper intervals -- if some birds are vaccinated and others are not the copies of the virus that are able to "survive" and reproduce in birds is the copy that will continue to multiply .. we already know viruses are capable of mutating, some at a very fast rate (HIV?). A poor Chinese chicken farmer might not be able to vaccinate all of his birds .. and is likely not ensuring his chickens don't have contact with other birds (ducks / geese ,etc.) who can also contract and spread a mutating virus.
Rands
I felt obligated to find this given I mentioned it - I knew I remembered reading this somewhere.
Rands
The flu vaccine is developed, new, each year .. it does not take 7 years .. it takes several months .. the strain that is believed to be the one circulating (based on epidemiological research) is identified, and the information is sent to the vaccine manufacturers, who get to work growing it in chicken eggs .. H1,2,3 and even 1 H5 (I believe) have been approved for vaccines .. its just a matter of altering the make-up slightly (in a nutshell). Of course a flu vaccine made 7 years ago would be useless, the chances of that strain of influenza being the one circulating now is probably slim to none.
Rands