One of the greatest biological threats against mankind today is Avian Flu or Bird Flu, which may very easily take on pandemic proportions unless suitable precautions are taken by individuals and governments. The word “Flu” is merely a short form for Influenza. And, avian flu is really any variation of Influenza caused by a virus that adapts itself to birds. The only known virus that is adapted to avian physiology is the Influenza A virus. However, the most common reference is to the highly pathogenic H5N1, a subtype of the Influenza A virus that is endemic in many birds.

The H5N1 virus is spreading very rapidly among birds, especially in Southeast Asia, and only a large scale culling of birds, especially household poultry farms, in infected areas is preventing the dam from breaking. Commonly, it has been infecting only those people who have had extended contact with infected birds, but there is a very real likelihood of mutation in the virus, that would make it even more infectious and enable it to pass from person to person.

Avian Flu in human beings exhibits the usual respiratory symptoms, such as a fever, aching muscles, cough, sore throat, conjunctivitis. In extremely severe cases where the infected individual’s immunity is especially low, it causes severe breathing problems and leads to pneumonia which could turn fatal. Till a few years back, there was no effective way of treating Bird flu in human victims. In October 1999, FDA approved a prescription drug called Tamiflu, marketed by Roche Laboratories, to treat Influenza A and B virus infections. The active ingredient in Tamiflu is oseltamivir phosphate, and it used to treat flu symptoms that started within the last couple of days, no longer. Tamiflu has also seen to reduce the chances of contracting Flu, especially among children.

With fears of pandemic outbreaks of Bird Flu among humans, governments are stockpiling Tamiflu, whose production is already rather limited. It has been said that Tamiflu can be used to treat Bird Flu by increasing the dosage and duration of treatment. Oseltamivir was used very widely to treat Avian Flu in Southeast Asia in 2005. In spite of government and individual stockpiling, the current supplies are simply not enough to treat everyone if a pandemic was to break out. In response to growing concerns, the manufacture of generic oseltamivir (generic Tamiflu, as it could be called) has started in many Asian countries, like India, Vietnam, Thailand, and so on.

Eventually, the onus lies with governments and individuals to educate themselves follow directives and work together to protect humanity from a pandemic which could very well prove to be more than any of us is prepared for.