Bird Flu May Over-Stimulate Immune System

Science Daily ^ | 11-11-2005

[blam]

Bird flu may over-stimulate immune system

HONG KONG, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Researchers in Hong Kong say the H5N1 bird flu virus may provoke an excessive immune reaction, explaining why it is deadly even to the young and healthy.

Laboratory tests on human cells showed that the virus caused the immune system to send proteins called cytokines to infected lung cells, a reaction that would end up damaging or destroying the tissues the immune system is meant to defend.

The tests were carried out by scientists at the University of Hong Kong, working with samples from patients who died in Vietnam. The results were published in the online medical journal Respiratory Research.

The research suggested that patients who contract bird flu may need drugs that suppress the immune response in addition to anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu. It also indicated that healthy people with strong immune systems could fare worse than others if they became infected.

The virus has killed flocks of poultry and migratory birds, particularly in Asia, in recent months, but only 124 people have been infected, through direct contact with birds. Sixty-four of them have died.

The new research may affect preparations by health officials worldwide, who fear a pandemic may occur if the virus mutates to become passed from human to human.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

[raygun]

I will too. But you ARE a moron. YOU are a "moron"

[PissAndVinegar]

Have you ever looked into colloidal silver?

Some swear by it others think it's bunk...

[RipSawyer]

anaesthetist once as I was going into surgery that I had lots of allergies and he looked at my chart and said "you probably will never have cancer". Has anyone else ever heard this?

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My mother suffered terribly from asthma and hay fever and was subject to bronchitis flareups. She died of cancer but she was 78 when she died.

[RipSawyer]

I believe The Lord will take us when he is ready and not a moment before.

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Well, I believe that falls into the category of unfalsifiable theories. When someone dies how do you know if the Lord took them, how about suicides?

[RipSawyer]

Fevers of 102 to 104 are a healthy response to the flu, and the body's primary defense mechanism. One should not suppress that.

I nearly died from Flu in 1968, my fever went to 105 and was stopped from going higher by ice water baths. My recovery began after the fever went so high. Since then I have had very few viral infections.

[ThePythonicCow]

I can't tell if you are agreeing or disagreeing. First it sounds like you think 105 was too high and nearly killed you, and then you attribute your recovery to your fever going so high.

... I'm confused ...

[RipSawyer]

I'm confused ...

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105 IS too high for an adult (I was 23 at the time). As you say, the high fever is what killed the virus and allowed me to recover, but in my case it almost killed the host. Had I been alone I probably would be dead. Sometimes the fever can go high enough to kill a person, I reached the stage of having strange hallucinations and I felt as if my mind was split in two. On the one side was a crazy person and on the other side was a clearheaded person being amazed by all the hallucinations but aware that they were hallucinations. It is hard to explain if you have never experienced it.

[Dead Dog]

I'd heard that about hte 1918 flu, typically killed the healty.

Eat Donuts, and eat them fast!

[patton]

pass.

[ThePythonicCow]

Sometimes the fever can go high enough to kill a person

Absolutely. Something like 102-104 helps kill the virus, but something like 106-108 can kill the host. At 105, you were on the edge, and have good reason to be grateful for your caretakers with the ice.