QuestionHi Robert,
I have a few questions regarding Avian Influenza:
1. Once a person is infected, what's the actual cause of death? Is it the high fever, the respiratory difficulties or other?
2. I understand that, currently, there's no effective treatment for the H5N1 virus. My question is, and following question 1: are drugs used for treating the symptoms (such as, for example, paracetamol or aspirin) useful in the treatment of an infected person? Again, I understand that they will do absolutely nothing to the virus itself but will they help regarding the symptoms and may help the person overcome the disease?
3. Out of the people who died from the illness - was there a large proportion of any population group? Children? Elderly?
Appreciate your answers,
Thks,
Gad
AnswerThe cause of death is usually multi-organ failure as a result of the high fevers and of the extensive lung damage, which ultimately causes respiratory failure and then damage to the other organs.
We don't cure any virus', but we can slow down reproduction in some, like using acyclovir for herpes. And yes, treating some of the symptoms, like the high fever... a low fever is beneficial... it is the body's attempt to damage the virus, since these virus' grow better at 98 or 99, instead of 101 degrees, but sometimes the body overshoots and when the temp gets above 103, the body starts damaging itself and many processes can't continue at those temps, so lowering it with Tyl/ASA/and others is beneficial and can be life saving.
There are so few that got the virus (bird flu) that we don't have good epidemiology on it... usually it is the very young and very old that succumb to these types of diseases, but this virus when it makes the jump to a human is so devastating to the respiratory system that it can kill just about anyone.
It is a scary situation; fortunately, it is very unlikely that this will become anything more than several cases.
