The Student Room Group

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Reply 20
Cellardore
from what i've heard, i thought that you could only catch it if you have been exposed to 'birds' alot. So i'm not really that worried tbh


At the moment, the strain that is sometimes hopping from birds to humans is only doing that and not transmitting human-human, which is fine (unless you get it.) However, if a reassortment occurs (possibly in e.g. a pig host) that makes this H5N1 (or any other combination) transmissible between humans, then we are screwed. Vaccination won't help as these events are random and can't be predicted, and even if the current high levels of mortality are somewhat attenuated in order to achieve better infectivity, there'll still be a lot of people dying. It's not a pretty thought.

I don't know as much as Foolfy on this one, but I've just had a lecture on this as one of my special options courses.
Helenia
At the moment, the strain that is sometimes hopping from birds to humans is only doing that and not transmitting human-human, which is fine (unless you get it.) However, if a reassortment occurs (possibly in e.g. a pig host) that makes this H5N1 (or any other combination) transmissible between humans, then we are screwed. Vaccination won't help as these events are random and can't be predicted, and even if the current high levels of mortality are somewhat attenuated in order to achieve better infectivity, there'll still be a lot of people dying. It's not a pretty thought.

I don't know as much as Foolfy on this one, but I've just had a lecture on this as one of my special options courses.

you just had the pandemic influenza lecture in virology?
Reply 22
foolfarian
you just had the pandemic influenza lecture in virology?


Yes. It's not part of the BOD course, but I'm doing "Infectious Diseases and Host-Pathogen Interactions" for one of my options. Basically means I carry on going to the NatSci Path lectures.
Reply 23
Yes im as scared of this as much as:

The supervolcano
The ice cap meltings
The sea rising
Asteriod hitting earth
Conservatives getting into government.

Hell, i may not go outside anymore.........
I guess I'm a little concerned about it but at the end of the day, what am I gonna do? Lock myself in the house and not come out till everyone has stopped talking about it? If it's gonna happen then it's gonna happen!

(On a side note, I'm hating clinical immunology this year ...)
Helenia
Yes. It's not part of the BOD course, but I'm doing "Infectious Diseases and Host-Pathogen Interactions" for one of my options. Basically means I carry on going to the NatSci Path lectures.

ahhh, yeh i did that too. Could talk your head off about rabies and borna virus lol. Poss cos they were the first lectures...
Reply 26
foolfarian
ahhh, yeh i did that too. Could talk your head off about rabies and borna virus lol. Poss cos they were the first lectures...


Yeah, I missed those two for rowing. Bloody bumps :rolleyes:
Reply 27
lessthanthree
symptoms in humans:

fever
cough
sore throat
muscle aches
conjunctivitis
-possibly pneumonia

-basically just like your average flu, but hella deadlier.

sometimes people have actually died symptomless, which is v worrying.


mmm maybe I have it... :wink: