Some info on the Avian virus:
- The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 killed 30 to 40 million people worldwide, including 675,000 Americans.
It was an Avian virus.
So fast did the 1918 strain overwhelm the body's natural defenses, that the usual cause of death in influenza patients---a secondary infection of lethal pneumonia---oftentimes never had a chance to establish itself. Instead, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients would drown in their own body fluids.
Not only was the Spanish Flu strikingly virulent, but it displayed an unusual preference in its choice of victims---tending to select young healthy adults over those with weakened immune systems, as in the very young, the very old, and the infirm. The normal age distribution for flu mortality was completely reversed, and had the effect of gouging from society's infrastructure the bulk of those responsible for its day to day maintenance. No wonder people thought the social order was breaking down. It very nearly did.
- The fatality rate so far for the current Avian virus is the same as for the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918...right at 50%.
That's about the same fatality rate for people who are shot point blank in the chest.
Ron's right...don't panic over what ain't happened yet.
But be aware that if it does go human to human...it ain't gonna be pretty.
I'm not as confident as Ron as far as our vaccine technology.
If it's extremely virulent, young, healthy adults can go from "no symptoms" to "dead" in 24 to 36 hours.
|