Full Coverages>China>Bird Flu>Backgrounder
   
 

Worried about bird flu? Wash your hands
(cri)
Updated: 2005-10-26 16:13

Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of bird flu if it comes in the next year or so before vaccine production can get started, health experts caution, but they say common sense measures can help individuals protect themselves.

Number one is hand-washing, they say -- a surprisingly effective way to prevent all sorts of diseases, including ordinary influenza and the H5N1 virus that everyone now fears may jump into humans and cause a catastrophic pandemic.

Number two -- do not try to buy your own personal supplies of Tamiflu, one of two drugs shown to work against avian influenza.

And number three, stay home if you do get sick.

Old-fashioned hygiene works very well, experts agreed.

"You wash your hands and you cut the transmission of a bunch of diseases," said Dr. Jeffrey Griffiths of Tufts University School of Medicine in Massachusetts.

This is because any type of influenza is mostly passed hand to mouth. People sneeze and wipe their noses, then touch a microwave button. Or particles from a cough land on a tabletop, only to be picked up on someone else's finger.

While viruses can be suspended in the air in droplets, doctors agree they are much more commonly spread on the hands. Alcohol-based gel or foam hand sanitizers also work well to destroy viruses and bacteria.

Once someone is infected, two drugs are effective -- Roche and Gilead Sciences' Tamiflu, and GlaxoSmithKline's inhaled powder Relenza. Countries are stockpiling them now.

But Dr. D.A. Henderson, who helped lead the effort that wiped out smallpox and who founded the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh, said it would be a mistake for individuals to try to buy the drugs now.

NOT A PANACEA

"I think Tamiflu is being regarded now as the panacea of all panaceas," Henderson said in a telephone interview.

Henderson and other experts say while Tamiflu might help cope with an outbreak of H5N1, it is not going to offer outright protection.

For one thing, stocks are limited and it will take years for Roche to ramp up production -- even if, as is being discussed now, it licenses generic versions to be made by other companies.

Plus, the more widely any drug is used, the more likely the virus or bacteria it targets is to develop what is known as resistance, meaning the drug becomes less effective.

Both Tamiflu and Relenza treat a flu infection, making it less serious and perhaps making the illness last fewer days. But they must be taken within 48 hours of the first symptoms to do any good.

They can also prevent infection with garden-variety flu if taken, for example, by a family member caring for a sick relative. No one knows if they will do the same with H5N1.

"If you were to take it as a preventative you'd have to take it for probably weeks, a pill a day, 75 milligrams a day is what they recommend," Henderson said.

And the average person is not going to know when, precisely, to begin taking the drug. Many infections look like flu, said pediatrician and immunologist Dr. Anne Moscona of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

"If you have Tamiflu at home and you take it for a cold or give it for a respiratory virus that is not influenza, we will be unable to use these drugs when we encounter a lethal strain of flu," Moscona said in a telephone interview.

If people do get sick, they must be careful to stay home from work and not spread viruses.

"Not exposing yourself to others is the best thing you can do for public health," said Dr. Chris Woods of Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina.

But if people are forced to go out while ill, wearing a face mask would be a responsible thing to do, although it is unlikely to protect against infection.

"People have asked, 'Should we wear masks?'," Henderson said. Studies show that people usually breathe in so forcefully when they wear a mask that they end up sucking in unfiltered air from around the sides, he said.

 
  Story Tools  
   
 
     
主站蜘蛛池模板: 久久久久久亚洲精品中文字幕 | 欧美疯狂性受xxxxx另类| 国产A√精品区二区三区四区| 中文乱码字幕午夜无线观看| 在线观看亚洲一区| 一二三四在线播放免费视频中国| 日产精品久久久久久久性色| 久久精品国产自在一线| 欧美xxxx狂喷水| 亚洲成在人线中文字幕| 激情小说视频在线观看| 免费大片黄在线观看| 精品无码国产污污污免费网站国产 | 四虎永久在线精品影院| 里番本子侵犯肉全彩3d| 国产性生交xxxxx免费| 亚洲欧美校园春色| 国产精品国产三级国产专播| 97大香伊在人人线色| 大战bbw丰满肥女tub| japanesehd日本护士色| 好男人资源网在线看片| 与子的性关系在线播放中文版| 无码日韩精品一区二区免费| 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区体验| 日韩国产欧美在线观看| 九九全国免费视频| 李老汉在船上大战雨婷| 亚洲人成人一区二区三区| 欧美大片在线观看完整版| 亚洲日韩久久综合中文字幕| 欧美黑人两根巨大挤入| 亚洲精品国产v片在线观看| 热re99久久精品国99热| 人人添人人澡人人澡人人人人 | 污污视频网站免费在线观看| 人人妻人人爽人人澡人人| 狠狠噜天天噜日日噜视频麻豆| 免费在线看黄网站| 看看黄色一级片| 你懂的在线免费观看|