Avian flu or bird flu is a relatively new strain of the influenza type A virus that affects both domesticated and wild birds.  There have been a number of cases of bird flu virus in humans, some resulting in fatalities.  To-date, the H5N1 strain of influenza found in infected birds has NOT been shown to be transmissible between humans.  Those humans infected with H5N1 flu (bird flu) strain have apparently been exposed to it through their close contact with infected birds. 

The transfer factors used in 4Life products are obtained, in part, from chicken egg yolks. 

The chickens that we use have been held in strict quarantine for several years now.  We follow a strict biocontrol protocol with all of our flocks.  Workers wear isolation suits to protect the birds.  Any new birds added to an existing flock are kept in quarantine until it is certain that they will not introduce any harmful organisms into the flock. 

All of our birds are routinely checked by highly qualified veterinarians, and any sick or dying birds are immediately removed and the cause illness or death determined. 

Influenza type A affects all animals to one extent or another.  As such both cows and chickens are exposed to some form of the virus several times during their lives.  This also means that they have formed transfer factors specific to the strains to which they have been exposed.  All influenza viruses have some physical characteristics in common. 

Typically an animal will produce 2-5 transfer factor molecules specific to a given virus upon exposure.  Some of these molecules will also offer a level of protection against viruses of the same class. 

Therefore, while our birds and cows have not been and will not be exposed to Avian influenza they may still carry transfer factors which could help protect against infection with the H5N1 influenza strain. 

In addition, supplementation with transfer factors alone or especially in combination with the other immune modulating compounds like those found in 4Life Transfer Factor Plus Advanced formula will help strengthen your immune system, better enabling it to ward off infection from most any source, including avian influenza. 

For further information on avian influenza we suggest you visit the web page set up by the World Health Organization.  http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/

4Life Product Support (February 2006)

What is Bird Flu

There are at least 15 different types of avian influenza that routinely infect birds around the world. The current outbreak is caused by a strain known as H5N1, which is highly contagious among birds and rapidly fatal. Unlike many other strains of avian influenza, it can be transmitted to humans, causing severe illness and death.

Bird flu is not the same as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Although their symptoms are similar, SARS is caused by completely different viruses. Influenza viruses also are more contagious and cannot be as readily contained as SARS by isolating people who have the infection.

Influenza viruses are highly unstable and have the ability to mutate rapidly, potentially jumping from one animal species to another. Scientists fear the bird flu virus could evolve into a form that is easily spread between people, resulting in an extremely contagious and lethal disease. This could happen if someone already infected with the human flu virus catches the bird flu. The two viruses could recombine inside the victim's body, producing a hybrid that could readily spread from person to person.

The resulting virus likely would be something humans have never been exposed to before. With no immune defenses, the infection could cause devastating illness, such as occurred in the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed an estimated 40 million to 50 million worldwide.

Symptoms of Bird Flu

Bird flu can cause a range of symptoms in human bodies. Some bird flu patients report fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches. Others suffer from eye infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress and other severe and life-threatening complications.

Transmission of Bird Flu

In rural areas, the H5N1 virus is easily spread from farm to farm among domestic poultry through the feces of wild birds. The bird flu virus can survive for up to four days at 71 F (22 C) and more than 30 days at 32 F (0 C). If frozen, it can survive indefinitely.

So far in this outbreak, human cases of bird flu have been blamed on direct contact with infected chickens and their droppings.

If the virus mutates and combines with a human influenza virus, it could be spread through person-to-person transmission in the same way the ordinary human flu virus is spread.

For any type of influenza your immune system is your best defense force.  Strengthen your immune system with Transfer Factor.

The current outbreak of bird flu is different from earlier ones in that officials have been unable to contain its spread. An outbreak in 1997 in Hong Kong was the first time the virus had spread to people, but it was much more quickly contained. A total of 18 people were hospitalized with six reported deaths. About 1.5 million chickens were killed in an effort to remove the source of the virus.

Unlike the 1997 scare, this outbreak has spread more rapidly to other countries, increasing its exposure to people in varied locations and raising the likelihood that the strain will combine with a human influenza virus.

Confirmed instances of avian influenza viruses infecting humans since 1997 include:

• 1997: In Hong Kong, avian influenza A (H5N1) infected both chickens and humans. This was the first time an avian influenza virus had ever been found to transmit directly from birds to humans. During this outbreak, 18 people were hospitalized and 6 of them died. To control the outbreak, authorities killed about 1.5 million chickens to remove the source of the virus. Scientists determined that the virus spread primarily from birds to humans, though rare person-to-person infection was noted.
  
   

• 1999: In Hong Kong, cases of avian influenza A H9N2 were confirmed in 2 children. Both patients recovered, and no additional cases were confirmed. The evidence suggested that poultry was the source of infection and the main mode of transmission was from bird to human. However, the possibility of person-to-person transmission remained open. Several additional human H9N2 infections were reported from mainland China in 1998-99.

• 2003: Two cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) infection occurred among members of a Hong Kong family that had traveled to China. One person recovered, the other died. How or where these 2 family members were infected was not determined. Another family member died of a respiratory illness in China, but no testing was done. No additional cases were reported.

• 2003: Avian influenza A (H7N7) infections among poultry workers and their families were confirmed in the Netherlands during an outbreak of avian flu among poultry. More than 80 cases of H7N7 illness were reported (the symptoms were mostly confined to eye infections, with some respiratory symptoms), and 1 patient died (in a veterinarian who had visited an affected farm). There was evidence of some human-to-human transmission.
  
   

• 2003: Avian influenza H9N2 infection was confirmed in a child in Hong Kong. The child was hospitalized but recovered

For any type of influenza your immune system is your best defense force.  Strengthen your immune system with Transfer Factor.

• Written by Stephen Jones, an Australian Biologist
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