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Bird Flu treatment options

There is no particular vaccine developed to prevent bird flu, however there are some options available to you that might help stave off the virus or simply lessen its symptoms. Regardless, since the bird flu appears to be a worldwide pandemic just waiting to happen, if you have treatment available to you then it is recommended you take it.

The main anti-viral treatment Tamiflu, which is specifically for human flu strains, stops the bird flu from replicating. The problem with this medication, and its role as one of the bird flu vaccine options, is that while it seems to lessen the severity of the bird flu, the virus is developing resistance to it. This could be a serious problem, since doctors and researchers hoped this drug would be enough to lessen the severity of the illness. The other bird flu vaccine options include a French vaccine that is still not quite ready to protect millions of people against this virus and Relenza. But while these drugs might be helpful against avian influenza there is no proof that they will protect individuals as hoped.

Antiviral drugs are used to ease bird flu symptoms and shorten the duration of a bout of bird flu, by stopping the spread of the virus within the body. So far, the strain of the Bird Flu virus that has been passed to several people from birds seems to be affected by these Bird Flu treatments.

So, while there is no flu shot specifically for bird flu it is thought that a regular flu shot might help individuals fight bird flu. Also, having a strong immune system is especially important if you want to survive bird flu. Because of this it is very important to eat healthy foods, workout, and do your very best to stay healthy. When you have a healthy immune system you will be more likely to survive bird flu than if you have a weak system. So, start preparing your body now to survive bird flu.

Boost your immune system

Glutathione is important in maintaining your overall good health and wellbeing since it neutralizes harmful free radicals, flushes away toxins, supports cell health and integrity, and strengthens immune system activity. L-Glutathione, a tripeptide made up of three amino acids called cysteine, glycine, and glutamic acid, is produced by the body. It is found in high concentrations in the liver, where it binds to heavy metals such as mercury and lead, as well as chemical pollutants, and transforms them into a form that can be easily flushed out of the body via enzymatic pathways.

Reduced L-Glutathione has been formulated to improve absorbability and activity and is the only active form that can react to foreign toxins and remove them from the body. Taken as directed, it can strengthen your immune system and make you less susceptible to catching the Bird Flu virus and may allow your body to fight off the virus.

Promising results on avian influenza vaccines

Experts meeting this week at the World Health Organization (WHO) on advances in pandemic influenza vaccine development reported encouraging progress.

Sixteen manufacturers from 10 countries are developing prototype pandemic influenza vaccines against H5N1 avian influenza virus. Five of them are also involved in the development of vaccines against other avian viruses (H9N2, H5N2, and H5N3).

At present, more then 40 clinical trials have been completed or are ongoing. Most of them have focused on healthy adults. Some companies, after completing safety analyses in adults, have initiated clinical trials in the elderly and in children. All vaccines were safe and well tolerated in all age groups tested.

For the first time, results presented at the meeting have convincingly demonstrated that vaccination with newly developed avian influenza vaccines can bring about a potentially protective immune response against strains of H5N1 virus found in a variety of geographical locations. Some of the vaccines work with low doses of antigen, which means that significantly more vaccine doses can be available in case of a pandemic.

These developments were discussed at the WHO meeting on the evaluation of pandemic influenza prototype vaccines in clinical trials that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 15-16 February 2007. This was a third such meeting in just two years and its objectives were to review progress in the development of candidate vaccines against pandemic influenza viruses and to reach consensus on future priority activities.

More than 100 influenza vaccine experts-from academia, national and regional public health institutions, the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory bodies throughout the world-attended the meeting convened by the WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research and the WHO Global Influenza Programme. Information on more than 20 projects was presented and discussed. Most manufacturers are using reference vaccine strains corresponding to H5N1 viruses provided from by WHO Collaborating Centres.

In spite of the encouraging progress noted at the WHO meeting, WHO stresses that the world still lacks the manufacturing capacity to meet potential global pandemic influenza vaccine demand as current capacity is estimated at less than 400 million doses per year of trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine.

In response to this challenge, WHO launched in 2006 the Global pandemic influenza action plan (GAP) to increase vaccine supply, a US$10 billion effort over 10 years. One of its aims is to enable developing countries to establish their own influenza vaccine production facilities through transfer of technology, providing them with the most sustainable and reliable response to the threat of pandemic influenza. WHO is currently working with several vaccine producers, mainly in developing countries affected by H5N1, to facilitate establishment of in-country influenza vaccine production.