|
What was reported at the beginning of 2005 about the transmission of the H5N1 virus (bird influenza or avian influenza) to other animals comes to mind again, particularly at the present time when our Minister of Health declares having already ordered 35 million doses of the vaccine (which is completely experimental and has never been tested on a large population).
It is crucial for the Minister, and each of us, to consider these aspects. The problem concerning the H5N1 virus, and the potential pandemic associated to it, relates to the fact that the virus may be transmitted from one animal species (birds) to other living organisms (man or other animal species).
So far, this transmission is, as it has always been, very slow and definitely not diffusive and, as a consequence, the danger to the Italian population seems to be fairly small.
In another section of the website you will find a long and detailed paper entitled ?Bird Flue: how to move among science, lies and perplexities? with the entire specific in-depth analysis of this topic; we invite you to read it so you can reflect on this theoretical threat.
But perhaps there is a more immediate impending threat for the population. In fact, 2 tigers and 2 leopards that died in a zoo in Thailand after eating infected poultry, probably got the infection due to the immune suppressive effect of the vaccine against other infective diseases that they had recently received. Other animals of the zoo that also ate infected meat but had not previously received the vaccine, did not give the avian virus a chance to mutate into a feline one and did not have any problems.
We think it is an important and wide-ranging issue and the Authorities should consider that the vaccine could cause a boomerang effect for everybody?s health.
Whilst respecting all scientific ideas, we - at Eurosalus - are not sure about the recommendation of the vaccine against the flu.
The vaccine may well be useful in reducing ?normal? flus, but it may even have a detrimental role in the current circumstances, since it may facilitate the transmission of the H5N1 avian virus to human beings.
It is difficult to know the truth and probably no one knows it at the moment, but we would rather be cautious and suggest to our readers, as we have already done in the past , to prevent influenza infection (any kind of influenza) using the fundamental tools of nutrition, mineral and vitamin supplementation.
|
