Avian influenza refers to an infectious disease that originates from wild birds and can be transmitted to humans through contact with domesticated birds. The avian flu virus initially originated from wild birds, and I have noted that they are not usually affected by this illness but spread the virus to birds that are domesticated or raised for food like ducks, turkey, chicken, and pigeons. Avian influenza is highly pathogenic and has led to severe outbreaks in birds that are domesticated mostly in the Asian and Middle East region. There are several types of avian flu, but the most common type is the H5N1, which has continued to raise concerns among governments, health agencies and health workers alike. As a member of the committee responsible for formulating health laws, I have proposed various guidelines and policies on how to deal with such a problem if it arises.
Usually, the virus does not spread from birds to people, but when wild birds infect the domesticated birds, the virus spreads quickly among the birds and humans who come into close contact with the infected birds like ducks, chicken and turkey are more likely to be infected. I have also observed that the most efficient way of preventing the virus from spreading is to get rid of all the infected birds, and they should be killed to ensure complete suppression of the virus. The problem has become of great concern because a few cases of bird flu passing from one person to another have been reported.
In the case of Mid-Atlantic University, the players were found to be having the H3N3 or A/Victoria virus which causes flu and can also affect birds and mammals alike. As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on health, I also noted that two months before the outbreak of influenza among the team players, health officials in the Asian country of Vietnam ordered the destruction a 12 million chicken after some 20 cases had been linked to bird flu of which 12 were fatal. It is imperative to note that shortly before the outbreak at the Mid-Atlantic University; the local health officials had ordered a temporary closure of a factory that supplied meat products to the university after suspecting that their poultry had been found with traces of the virus. They should have been keener on the unfolding case and implement measures that could curb the spread of the disease or prevent the death of a team player.
I noted that these cases are enough proof that the avian influenza virus has become a world concern because it cuts across national boundaries and every country is at risk of experiencing this kind of infection as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, the other players such as the vaccine manufacturers and health officials should take responsibility of the fatality that was experienced at the Mid- Atlantic University. Avian flu can proof fatal and can even lead to death as observed in the Mid-Atlantic University case, any isolated incident must be timely reported and should be treated with a lot of care and urgency because this will help prevent any imminent spread of the infectious virus.
Stakeholders including health workers, manufacturers of vaccines and health professionals should be at the forefront in the awareness and fight against this issue before it can become a national disaster because as the legislators we have done enough to formulate laws governing how such epidemics should be managed. The death case of a student is a very unfortunate event, and timely tests could have been able to discover the strain that had killed over half million people in the United States many decades ago. Moreover, I observed that the strains often weaken the immunity of the body, and it makes it susceptible to attack by other illnesses, and it becomes difficult to diagnose when a patient presents symptoms that are related to the influenza virus.
In the advent of technology and advancements in the medical field, I think there should be a vaccine that helps prevent such pandemics that have caused untold damage to humans. At the legislation level, I have taken many steps to ensure unlimited access to proper medical care that will provide universal attention in case one is suspected to be exhibiting symptoms of such kind of flu. The control of avian influenza is often laid down in various legislations which provide guidelines for the safety of the public should an outbreak of the epidemic occur.
With the experience that has been gained about avian influenza outbreaks in Asia, Middle East and even in Europe, there has been a constant update of legislation that we have undertaken to tackle the issue. For instance, in Europe the law has been recently updated to control the introduction of avian influenza relies on timely disease detection, restricting movements, killing all the infected birds and carrying out cleaning, disinfection, and vaccination (Pittman & Laddomada 2008). However, health professionals, scientists, health officials and vaccine manufacturers have not done enough in detecting the impending outbreak to take precautionary measures that will curb the problem that I have identified.
The local health authorities should have taken quick action and respond promptly to this issue that might cause panic among the university and the community as well. As the legislation sets out for immediate action to any threat to the health of the public by a timely and judicious response, other stakeholders should also do their part by providing the necessary services in averting a serious outbreak of the problem. The vaccine manufacturers should also stockpile their supplies to ensure that they are available in the shortest time from the time of an epidemic. Any readiness and promptness in responding to an outbreak will be very crucial in curbing the spread of the virus that may claim millions of lives.
Initiating a mass immunization campaign should be a priority that all health quarters should consider. Governmental agencies, health workers and facilities should be ready to kick start this program as soon as the first case has been reported. To avert a disaster like the spread of avian influenza which is a global threat to health, we should all embrace the principle of due care and caution when treating such epidemics that may have large scale damages. Since it has been detected that there may be a new strain that has not been observed before, the vaccine manufacturers should also come up with new and advanced vaccines which will be distributed to counter the new strain that may come up before the new flu season sets in. In the case of an immunization program should be settled at, all the entire of the United States population should be targeted because it provides for that every citizen is entitled to medical care.
So it is with the providers of these services to be ready at any time to deal with the epidemic when the need arises as we have stipulated in the legislation that has been formulated. The law has set out for the way medical care should be provided, and it has empowered the necessary agencies and authorities to take appropriate and decisive actions to ensure the safety and health status of all the entire population is upheld. Although there is a perceived notion that a pandemic might not occur, the authorities and all levels of government should be alert with necessary outlines of how such a catastrophe should be managed should it occur and its occurrence should not be entirely ruled out. The epidemic of 1918 may take place again giving rise to disastrous outcomes and so suppliers of vaccines and the health sector should also carry out awareness campaigns to the public on the best action that should be taken to ensure minimal costs and absolute safety of the population.
The problem at hand should be treated with a high level of priority, but the medical authorities that are responsible for handling the issues are faced with a myriad of decisions in that they don’t come up with a fast solution that will be effective to ensure no fatalities are experienced. They are split between stockpiling the vaccines and in case there is no pandemic then there will be massive wastage of federal resources or they should announce to the public about the loss of one life and trigger a panic. It is clear that the governmental agency directors responsible for health are at a crossroad when it comes to making a clear decision about the best course of action to take in case there is an outbreak of a pandemic. The vaccine manufacturers also are not well prepared to provide an immunization supplies that will be enough for the entire population at the same time and in case there is an outbreak of avian flu then it will pose a challenge in administering the available vaccines.
References
Pittman, M. & Laddomada, A. (2008). Legislation for the Control of Avian Influenza in the European Union. Zoonoses and Public Health, 55(1), 29-36.
