Calvin Professor Watches Avian Flu Discussions

November 2, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

A Calvin College biology professor is watching international reactions to
avian influenza with interest.

Already U.S. President George W. Bush has asked for over $7 billion in
emergency funding to fight an outbreak of the bird flu virus.

"There is no pandemic flu in our country, or in the world, at this time," Bush
said in a speech at the US government-funded National Institutes of Health.
"But if we wait for a pandemic to appear, it will be too late to prepare, and
one day many lives could be needlessly lost because we failed to act today."

Calvin's Kathryn Jacobsen is an expert on international health and infectious
disease epidemiology. She says government officials around the world are right
to be worried about avian flu and a worldwide flu pandemic.

But, she notes, governments and individuals need to be smart about how they
talk about the different kinds of bird flus currently in circulation and what
those flus might mean to humans.

"There is no vaccine presently available for the current avian influenza," she
says, "the influenza known as H5N1. Although vaccines against H5N1 influenza
virus are in clinical trials, they are not yet commercially available and will
not be ready for this flu season."

Also, says Jacobsen, the nature of flu viruses makes developing vaccines a
tough task.

"Influenza viruses are constantly changing, which is why people need to get a
new flu shot every year," she says. "Subtypes of influenza viruses differ in
the way that their surface proteins - hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) -
appear. Most strains in recent decades have been H3N2. The current avian
influenza is H5N1, and because this is a relatively new strain few people have
natural immunity to it."

Jacobsen says that although the likelihood of a major pandemic within the next
several years is very high, the probability of the current H5N1 strain mutating
to become person-to-person transmissible this year is relatively small. If a
pandemic does not occur for several years she says there may be time to
develop, test, and produce an influenza vaccine effective against "bird flu."

But because there is no vaccine available now, Jacobsen says it makes sense to
stockpile antivirals like Tamiflu and Relenza that can ease symptoms and
shorten the duration of illness.

"Mathematical models of influenza spread have predicted that the use of
targeted antivirals could make a significant contribution to containing an
emerging influenza epidemic," she notes.

Indeed President Bush has proposed purchasing $1 billion worth of antiviral
drugs like Relenza (zanamivir) and Tamiflu (oseltamivir) that can relieve
symptoms of influenza.

But many media reports have misidentified the role of such drugs.

"These drugs are not vaccines," says Jacobsen, "although they may reduce the
chance of becoming infected if the drug is taken when a person has a known
exposure to influenza. The stockpile proposed by the President would be used
to treat first responders and high-risk populations."

Jacobsen notes that everyone can take steps to prevent the spread of
influenza, no matter what strain is circulating.

"Get a flu vaccine, wash your hands often, and, if you do get sick, stay home
to avoid passing the virus on to classmates or co-workers," she says.

Contact Jacobsen at 526-7532 or kj23@calvin.edu

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Received on Wed Nov 2 11:01:41 2005