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Immune system still fighting the 1918 flu pandemic?
Is it possible that a 90 year old has greater immunity to the flu than a younger person?
90 years ago in 1918, an outbreak of flu swept through the world killing at least 50 million people.
Surprisingly, research out of Vanderbilt University, shows people who lived through the pandemic as children are still producing antibodies to the virus today, even though they are 91 to 101-years-old.
Researchers have determined that the immune system has a long-term memory, particularly to the first flu strain you are exposed to in your lifetime.
Among the 32 elderly people studied, all were born before or during 1915, making them old enough to have developed some antibodies during the pandemic.
The 32 people studied still had antibodies to the 1918 flu virus and some were still producing antibodies.
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It's not that hard to believe. The older generations were exposed to a lot more than things that we were. Maybe we can find better vaccines from studying the blood of the elderly rather than just trying to experiment? Is it possible that a 90 year old has greater immunity to the flu than a younger person? ... more -
'Inevitable' UK disease pandemic: 75,000 could be killed
Britain faces an "inevitable" disease pandemic which will kill up to 75,000 people, says a powerful Lords Committee. Changes in lifestyle are leading to new infections and providing them with opportunities to spread rapidly, the report warns. An outbreak in Britain will cause "massive" disruption, it concludes.
"Estimates are that the next pandemic will kill between two million and 50 million people worldwide and between 50,000 and 75,000 in the UK. Socio-economic disruption will be massive." The committee says that with three quarters of newly emerging human infections originating from animals, more stringent ways of detecting diseases are needed.
Lord Soley, the chairman of the committee, said: "The last 100 years have seen great advances in public health and disease control through the world, but globalisation and changes in lifestyles are giving rise to new infections and providing opportunities for them to spread rapidly. "We are particularly concerned about the link with animal health."
Peers are calling for new international disease surveillance systems in developing countries, so the West is alerted to the threat. The Government should consider "urgently" how it funds aid projects with developing countries so the money is spent most effectively to help "Britain's own defences" against pandemics.
The last two pandemics – in 1958 and 1968 – were caused by relatively mild strains of influenza. But the report warns that the next one could have more serious consequences, especially if it comes from the H5N1 variety, which is found in birds and poultry, and which has already jumped the species barrier to infect some humans. The report says that bird flu "at some point in the near future" could become capable of "human to human transmission".
(Excerpts / Andrew Porter, Telegraph) Britain faces an "inevitable" disease pandemic which will kill up to 75,000 people, says a powerful Lords Committee. Changes... more -
National embarassment: Canada not ready to handle a deadly epidemic
In an editorial released Thursday, the Canadian Medical Association Journal says a massive epidemic or pandemic "could kill tens, or hundreds of thousands of Canadians within weeks or months." Yet the federal government and provinces can't agree on how they would share crucial information, a situation the journal says has reached a "ridiculous, potentially tragic, level." In an editorial released Thursday, the Canadian Medical Association Journal says a massive epidemic or pandemic "could kill tens,... more
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Who should Doctors let die in a pandemic?
Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die. Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma wi... more
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Pandemic response plan: let the elderly, the sick, and the poor die
The Bush-Cheney administration’s Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have collectively set guidelines that recommend—in the event of a “pandemic” or mass crisis—that the elderly, the sick, the severely injured, and the poor will be denied life-saving medical treatment. The Bush-Cheney administration’s Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Depart... more
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Modern Transportation and Infectious Disease – MWV15
From your local bus route to international air travel, infectious diseases can spread across the globe in a matter of hours. In this video podcast episode filmed at the Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., Stephen Eubank from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech and Daniel Lucey from Georgetown University discuss the role of transportation in the spread of disease and examine the effectiveness of various measures to curb transmission.
Stephen Eubank, Ph.D., is a project director at the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech. His research focuses on modeling and simulating the spread of disease and regional transportation, and the analysis of complex systems.
Daniel Lucey, M.D., M.P.H., is an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University, where he is co-director of the master of science program in biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases. In recent years, his teaching focus has been on SARS, avian flu, and the threat of pandemic human influenza.
Resources:
Learn more about infectious diseases at
http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhib_infectious...
Transportation Research Board of the National Academies
http://www.trb.org/default.asp
Pandemic Flu and Travel
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/travel/index.html From your local bus route to international air travel, infectious diseases can spread across the globe in a matter of hours. In this v... more -
Woman dies in Southern China; tested positive for bird flu
Scientists are still concerned that this virus could mutate to become transferable between humans because then we would have a global pandemic on our hands.The last pandemic we had was in 1918 that started right here in the United States and is estimated to have killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide. It is said we have one about every 100 years. Are we due? Will our own environmental degradation actually bring it on? Scientists even stated that a virus could be what is causing bees to disappear as as well as birds. Just how much of an effect is our own behavior having on creating and mutating these viruses? Scientists are still concerned that this virus could mutate to become transferable between humans because then we would have a global ... more
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Emerging Infectious Diseases On The Rise
By analyzing 335 incidents of previous disease emergence beginning in 1940, the study has determined that zoonoses - diseases that originate in animals - are the current and most important threat in causing new diseases to emerge. And most of these, including SARS and the Ebola virus, originated in wildlife. Antibiotic drug resistance has been cited as another culprit, leading to diseases such as extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB).
The scientists also found that more new diseases emerged in the 1980s than any other decade, "likely due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which led to a range of other new diseases in people," said Mark Levy, deputy director of the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESN) at Columbia University.
But this team did not stop with determining the causes and origins of emerging infectious diseases; they took it a step further. To help predict and prevent future attacks, sophisticated computer models were used to help design a global map of emerging disease hotspots.
"This is a seminal moment in how we study emerging diseases," said Gittleman, dean of the Odum School of Ecology, who developed the approach used in analyzing the global database. "Our study has shown that bringing ecological sciences and public health together can advance the field in a dramatic way."//////////end of excerpt.////////The more we develop without the proper safeguards, the more at risk we place our own species. By analyzing 335 incidents of previous disease emergence beginning in 1940, the study has determined that zoonoses - diseases that ori... more -
wanna buy some drugs?
Do you need to get your pandemic plan in place or is a drug company trying to sell you something?
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Pandemic
