Kolata to speak

[Guest guest]

U. prepares for flu epidemic

By ez

Published: 10/26/05

1918. In one year, a flu epidemic sickened and killed more people

than any other disease in world history.

Now almost forgotten 90 years later, scientists, public health

officials, journalists and government officials have spoken out about

the potential dangers of a deadly worldwide outbreak of the avian

flu, in the past two years.

So how scared should we be?

" We are not ready, not only in regard to health issues but for social

and political issues that would emerge in a flu pandemic, " said

Felissa R. Lashley, dean and professor at the Rutgers College of

Nursing.

That's why tomorrow the College of Nursing will be hosting a

conference on pandemic flu and avian influenza.

The conference will be headlined by New York Times science journalist

and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kolata. Also in attendance will be

Mark Katz, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who

will be speaking about infectious diseases and their emergence in

international countries.

The two speakers will also be joined by faculty from various

universities, who will speak on some other issues that can result if

an influenza virus spread through the country or on campus.

Kolata will speak about reporting on bioterrorism, avian influenza

and a pandemic. She has written a book on the topic titled, " Flu: The

Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the

Virus That Caused It. "

The book chronicles the spread of the flu virus, from its murky

origins in China to its final stop in a body preserved in ice in the

Alaskan Tundra.

Kolata said she had not been very adept on the topic of the flu until

she wrote an article in The New York Times about an ongoing effort to

try and resurrect some of the genes of a flu victim from 1918 that

were being maintained in a government warehouse.

While conducting her research, she began to ask questions about what

this " epidemic " really was. Influenza is a viral infection that fills

one's lungs with fluid.

In dire instances, it can result in death, when a person drowns in

his or her own secretions.

In the past few months, Kolata hasn't been the only one asking about

this disease. Since recent outbreaks of bird flu in Turkey and other

previously unaffected area, finding answers to researchers' questions

is becoming increasingly important.

If a plague similar to the flu of 1918 were to strike in the United

States, it could kill close to 1.5 million Americans.

Just two weeks ago President W. Bush spoke for the first time

on the options available to us if an epidemic occurred on American

soil.

He mentioned troops will be used to enforce quarantines, and he also

recommended people pick up a book by Barry on the 1918 pandemic.

The U.S. government is trying to put together a pandemic response

plan, according to the World Health Organization. From the looks of

it though, it will probably be some time before the United States has

an adequate plan, because work on the plan started back in 1993, and

is still not done.

" Due to the increasing incidences occurring around the world, the

Rutgers College of Nursing is hosting the conference in hopes of

educating nurses and other health officials further about prevention

of infectious diseases, as well as the threats of biological or

chemical terrorisms, " Lashley said.

The avian flu originates in birds and usually that's where it

remains, but on occasion the virus mutates, invading human cells

where it can become potentially lethal. An even deadlier strain of

the influenza virus has mutated and is infecting humans.

According to an article in Time magazine, since 1997, the new strain

of avian flu has steadily traveled west across Asia, with the current

outbreak beginning in December 2003.

Kolata will not only be speaking about what the influenza virus is

and what can be done to make people aware of it but will also be

joined by Mark Simmerman of the CDC, who can probably provide some

further information as to how prepared the United States. really is

for a pandemic or epidemic.

Kolata said what is really amazing about the 1918 flu is its social

impact.

Based on information from the World Book Encyclopedia, panic broke

out in 1918 when the influenza virus killed 675,000 people, during a

time when the U.S. population was only 100 million.

The massive amount of death left children parentless, and some

civilizations like the Eskimos and Samoans were almost completely

decimated.

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