Chinese Bird Flu Claims More Victims
Summary
A new bird flu has begun in China called H7N9, that has infected and killed many people and is continuing to infect daily. The first victim was a 4-year-old Beijing boy who did not show all the symptoms, which raised the question to officials that there are more unidentified carriers of the disease. In addition, the virus has been found in poultry and pigeons in numerous markets. But the virus in the birds are different from the ones in humans raising the question if people caught the virus from the birds or another animal, possibly a pig.
Relevance To Class:
H7N9 is a virus that was originally contracted from birds, meaning it is a foreign substance in our bodies. This brings the immune system into action, as we learned in class many cells come into place that help fight this virus, B-cells, T-cells, antibodies, and white blood cells. But as discussed in class, since the virus comes from a bird which is different from humans, it takes a longer period of time than normal to create a resistance to the virus,
Sources:
Url: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349701/description/News_in_Brief_New_bird_flu_claims_more_victims
Date Accessed: May 20, 2013
how did the 4 year old not show all symptoms of the bird flu? His immune system wouldn't be strong when he is this young, so how did he not get the symptoms?
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