The CASE fatality rate for bird flu strains in the past had been 50%. (The infection fatality rate would have been lower because less severe cases were less likely to be diagnosed.) However, we've now had over 50 cases of bird flu in the US and only one death, for a fatality rate under 2%.
Caveats: 1. This is a rich country, most victims aren't malnourished. 2. Many cases seem to be people who got it by splashed milk from infected cows or airborne virus contacting the eyes rather than being inhaled, so they got mostly conjunctivitis. If it started spreading human to human by breathing it would be getting into the lungs and might be more dangerous. 3. Most cases have been people working with animals, so not children or the elderly; a Canadian child spent weeks in the ICU.
Still, it's clear that this strain is not as dangerous so far as past strains.
As a matter of historical information, a large clinical trial was published that compared a European elderberry and echinacea product to Tamiflu in influenza patients and found that the former was as good, and much safer.
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branchandroot
Re: What about Bird Flu N5N1, really?
Date: 2025-02-12 02:13 pm (UTC)Caveats: 1. This is a rich country, most victims aren't malnourished. 2. Many cases seem to be people who got it by splashed milk from infected cows or airborne virus contacting the eyes rather than being inhaled, so they got mostly conjunctivitis. If it started spreading human to human by breathing it would be getting into the lungs and might be more dangerous. 3. Most cases have been people working with animals, so not children or the elderly; a Canadian child spent weeks in the ICU.
Still, it's clear that this strain is not as dangerous so far as past strains.
As a matter of historical information, a large clinical trial was published that compared a European elderberry and echinacea product to Tamiflu in influenza patients and found that the former was as good, and much safer.