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Flu -viral infections

Modern day pest is caused by viral infections which spread more rapidly over the world than ever, helped by human travel, migrating birds and the increasingly high concentrations of animals held as livestock.
The first documented viral epidemic of the 20-th century was the Spanish flu in 1918, with a death toll of more than 40 million people. Such epidemics are caused by a virus of animal origin that crosses the species border by infecting people that are especially prone to it or live in surroundings with a high concentration of the virus population. Influenza and SARS virus are of avian origin, the HIV-virus causing AIDS has almost certainly been transmitted by apes.

This animal to human transmission is fostered by our modern way of living, traveling and keeping animal stock. Epidemics that happened once every 50 years now are on a 10 years time scale and the chance of getting infected is proportional to the increased number of contacts we have. Air traffic has augmented enormously in the last decades and the possibility of contamination has grown with it. Quarantine has become nearly impossible.
As a last resort some governments have now stocked anti-viral medication for a very limited number of people working in hot spots. For the population in general no provisions have been made for two reasons: the cost would be horrendous and the availability problematic.

How should you as an individual react to this threat?
Vaccination is only a possibility in the case of influenza, but you have to realize that you always have to rely on last years choice of viral components. There is never a guarantee the vaccine protects against the most recent viral mutant that is causing this years infections.
For the other infections like SARS (with a death rate of 10%) and chickenpox no vaccine exists and virologists worry that a combination between SARS or chickenpox viral material with influenza virus will result in an uncontrollable epidemic outbreak as happened in 1918.

In that case only an anti-viral like Tamiflu can help you. But, in case of a rapidly spreading epidemic your chance of getting in time any anti viral medication at all will be nil.
Therefore, if you are traveling a lot or live in a big city you are at risk and would be well advised to stock some Tamiflu, just in case. Think also of your family and the people in your company. In this matter of life or death somebody must take responsibility. You can do it now!

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