Avian Flu - Can Tamiflu Cure The Deadly Bird Flu Virus?

Discovery of Bird Flu

A question posed by most people: For going into this aspect of Tamiflu, I would like to open the doors to the discussion on avian flu or the bird flu. Starting with the discovery of Bird Flu, the discovery of bird flu can be traced back to as early as 1918. But the recorded facts are of quite recent years when a kind of respiratory disease was detected in poultry by farmers in the year 1983. This was rather discovered by the farmers of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is considered as the leading producer of the country’s (United States) poultry products. Quarantine was imposed on the valley which was not lifted for more than a year. This resulted in the culling of more than a million birds in terms of turkeys and chickens.

The estimated losses faced by the farmers of the valley were to a tune of about 40 million dollars. After this mass culling of the birds, the United States was able to contain the disease. This led the United States to pass some regulations on how poultry products should be handled and what should be done by poultry farmers. The United States was aware that the world was sitting on a ticking time bomb. With passage of time, the strains of the flu resurfaced in Hong Kong. A few people lost their lives to the flu. This later on surfaced in different countries in different forms of the viral strain, taking its toll wherever it goes.

Symptoms of Bird Flu

The symptoms of the flu are like any other flu. The reason it is called bird flu is that the flu spreads from the birds to the human beings. One used to suffer from a sore throat and then followed by body pains. This was followed by a feeling of nausea and dizziness. Now the flu has fully taken over. It is very important to recognize the symptoms of the flu at a very early stage. Once the symptoms have been recognized you should follow it up with medication. This being a viral infection, antibiotics cannot play a role. Antibiotics can only cure bacterial infections. Tamiflu is the only drug available in the market to fight viral infections. But as an advice do not take Tamiflu without a discussion with your doctor.

Advantages of Tamiflu

This medicine Tamiflu is advertised as a medicine to cure influenza. Tamiflu is the only medicine that attacks the source of the viral infection and prevents the flu from spreading throughout the body. It is advertised as a medication for adults, adults with flu like symptoms, which has shown up within the last couple of days. However the medication can be taken by children below the age of thirteen also.

Another advantage of Tamiflu is that you can take this medicine as a preventive measure. If you had been exposed to persons who have contacted the flu, you should also take the medicine. But the dosage will vary. Here as a preventive measure you will take only one pill a day. In the case of affected patients, they will go in for to pills a day.

Flu of the type influenza A and influenza B is the only flu that has shown to readily respond to the drug Tami flu. Bird flu is covered under the flu of influenza A. So this type of flu will respond to Tami flu.

In a case you do not respond to the medication Tamiflu contact your doctor or your health case practitioner and ask him as to what could be the problem.