The Politics of Inuenza !

The following paper is on some of the many politics surrounding Inuenza A,

H5N1. It is a summary my research and an attempt to educate people who may be totally unaware of what is happening in the H5N1 world. In no way is it all inclusive of matters pertaining to the subject at hand. There are many different lenses through which to view the current H5N1 situation. Having said that, I believe the reader will nd it interesting to read some of nuances concerned with the current politics around avian inuenza. ! The chance that a major pandemic could sweep across the globe and cause total mayhem is the general concern surrounding this disease. The World Health Organization (WHO), governments, farmers, business owners, veterinarians, scientists and, almost for sure, the chickens are all in cahoots. What research should or should not be done and what are the best protocols to take for defense are questions being asked by numerous organizations and health ofcials. ! In 1918 the human inuenza pandemic killed at least 50-100 million people globally. Estimates for a future pandemic vary widely but most can agree it will be at least 3 times that number simply given the current global population. It is believed by many that an inuenza virus will happen- almost certainly, sometime, somewhere, and governments, drug companies and people want to be ready. But will it be the H5N1 that is to blame? Will the current protocols set in motion even sufce should such a pandemic occur? ! It has now been over a decade since the Hong Kong avian inuenza H5N1 outbreak in 1997 when 18 people were infected and 6 lost their lives. This of course raised the concern of a possible start to a new inuenza pandemic. In the last decade the H5N1 virus has spread from China, where it born, across most of Asia, Europe and parts of Africa. A 2008 study reported there had been 245 human deaths since 2003 from this virus. ! According to WHO a pandemic can start when 3 conditions have been met; the emergence of a disease new to the population; the agent infects humans and causes serious illness; the agent spreads easily and sustainably among humans. The current

H5N1 does not meet the last criteria, yet. A serious international movement has started in preparation for the chance of a human avian inuenza pandemic, backed by over 2 billion dollars of public money. WHO is now rolling out a global program to create international surveillance and a response to what many consider an impending catastrophe. ! Vaccine manufactures are in search of an elusive vaccine solution- one that would deal with seasonal inuenza as well as potential pandemic strains at least until a more targeted one can be developed. Detailed contingency and preparedness plans have been developed for the possible ensuing pandemic. There have been huge numbers of poultry that has been culled and markets that have been totally reconstructed. The livelihoods and businesses for millions of people have been effected by the efforts put forth.! ! Complex trade-offs involved in poultry processes around the avian u are intensely political. Public image; business interests and poor peoples income and public safety are all combined in a complex mix. The science behind the possible pandemic is so uncertain that rm decisions based on exact predictions and precise measurements are virtually impossible. Media pressure, political effectiveness, implementation capacity and geological positioning all come into the picture. ! Recently matters have become even more heated. In September of 2011, the threat of the H5N1 pandemic became more real. Ron Fouchier, a Dutch virologist, reported that simply transferring H5N1 from one ferret to another had made it highly contagious. Fouchier explained that he and his colleagues had altered the genetic sequence of the virus in a variety of ways. Fouchier later put it, someone nally convinced me to do something really, really stupid. He spread the virus by squirting the mutated H5N1 into the nose of a ferret and then implanting nasal uid from that ferret into the nose of another. Ten manipulations later the virus began to spread rapidly around the ferret cages on its own in his lab. ! Scientists now have new fears, for obvious reasons, of a natural pandemic, not to mention the biological-weapons experts who believe that Fouchiers bird u poses a threat to hundreds of millions of people. In December of 2011 the National Science Advisory Board for Bio-security defense and public-health experts were asked by the

Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate Fouchiers research. For the rst time since the anthrax attacks in 2001, the Advisory Board requested that the two principal scientic journals, Science and Nature, reconsider plans to publish information about the methods used to create the H5N1 virus. Both postponed publication due to widespread panic about the spread of the H5N1 virus and the possibility that publication may also help terrorists in their attempts for biological warfare. The experiment was eventually published in Nature magazine. ! Everybody in intelligence communities, military communities, biological communities, legal ethic and international law area are all extremely nervous and concerned about all this. The inuenza world is very divided and contentious. There is no data point about the pandemic potential of inuenza that one could say theres a consensus among scientists. This makes it extremely difcult for policy makers. ! Early in January 2012 a voluntary pause in lab research of H5N1 was put into effect due to the controversies and public outcry that arose from the publication of the Fouchier experiment. However the experiments could resume very shortly as the leading inuenza researchers worldwide have called off the moratorium that has lasted more than a year. In an attempt to understand mutations that will make the virus contagious in humans and allow for preparation for the potential pandemic it is now thought by the worlds leading experts that the research benets outweigh the risks. The U.S government is currently nalizing its guidelines for what kinds of H5N1 experiments can be done with federal money. ! The H5N1 story appears to be a practice run for a major pandemic emerging from a zoonotic disease, whereby a combination of viral genetic change and ecological circumstance results in transmission of a new disease among humans with devastating consequences. Of course the media, in its many forms, has a major role to play in constructing these bio politics and so framing the narratives and practices of response. ! So what can we do? Not everyone agrees that the world is on the brink of a catastrophic inuenza pandemic. There are other places to look for answers to this predicament as well. Chinese medicine may have some promising tactics with which to address the inuenza problem. Some anti-inuenza agents such as polyphenols, avonoids, saponins, glucosides and alkaloids, have been isolated from plants as a

result of chemical and pharmacological studies. In these studies Chinese medicine has shown to be very useful, through the focus on the use of herbs, and has potential in the treatment of inuenza, as well as other hazardous infectious diseases. ! Should you, or someone you know, want more information on the prevention of inuenza or possible herbal treatment protocols from a Chinese medical viewpoint, feel free to e-mail me at naturalrising@gmail.com, or consult a licensed acupuncturist neat you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Kneier is currently attaining her Masters at World Medicine Institute in Taoist medicine, including acupuncture and herbology. She is originally from Canada where her previous studies, at Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, earned her a diploma as a Clinical Herbalist. Kimberly understands we are all inuenced by our lifestyle, diet, thoughts, emotions, attitude and environment. She believes each individual is a unique expression of the whole and weaves what she has learned into helping others re-align and unify mind, body and spirit. With acupuncture, herbs, essences and a genuine concern for peoples wellbeing she facilitates an inner journey to health and wellness, unique for each individual.

References: Greenfidboyce, Nell. Scientists Put An End to Moratorium On Bird Flu. N.p.: n.p., 2012. Print. Pappas, G. Preparation for Avian Influenza: What is missing? Vol. 6. N.p.: The Internet Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2008. 2 vols. Print. Scoones, Ian, and Peter Forster. The International Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: Science, Policy and Politics. Brighton: STEPS Centre, 2008. Print. Specter, Michael. The Deadliest Virus. New York: The New Yorker, 2012. Print.