Avian Flu and Robert Deniro

There has been a lot of talk about the avian flu virus lately. Most discussion is centred around the outbreaks in Asia and the possibility (and severity) of an outbreak over here. I just read in THIS magazine (Feb 06) a great article about world government reaction to avian flu. The author acknowledges the potential danger of the virus, but is disheartened to note how quickly and strongly governments have worked to contain the virus and acquire the proper vaccines for their citizens. Disheartened, you ask? How can that be? Well, the author works in Africa trying to stem the AIDS epidemic over there. And while governments are doing what they can to stop virus that has only killed a few hundred people, they are completely ignorant to any attempt to stop a virus killing millions. "The double standard is so obvious it slaps you in the face: the lightning-speed response by governments; the billions of dollars immediately available to fight a flu pandemic that doesn't yet exist, when the one that we can see right in front of us has been allowed to mushroom out of control" (THIS Feb 2006:26).

Western nations have forgotten about what's going on in Africa, what with Katrina and oil price hikes and wars being fought in the Middle East. We are talking about a substantial chunk of the world's population succumbing to a disease that crosses all boundaries. Even in Canada and the States, AIDS is becoming a forgotten disease, which makes me fearful of what the younger generation is coming into contact with and not even realizing.

For an alternative perspective on the avian flu, I turn to Robert Deniro. A few days ago I caught the film 'Awakenings', starring Robin Williams and Bobby "I'll wack you" Deniro. For those who haven't seen it, the 1992 film depicts patients afflicted with Encephalitis Lethargica. The only epidemic of this disease occured from 1917 to 1928. From my understanding it is a form of Parkinson's disease. See this link for more info: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_lethargica/encephalitis_lethargica.htm

Curious about treatment of this disease since the movie, I did some research and came across some startling things. Firstly, researchers suggest that in some instances Parkinson's may be caused by the flu. The Encephalitis epidemic noted above occurred just after the great Influenza epidemic at the turn of the century. There is real evidence for this, check it out: http://www.parkinson.org/site/pp.asp?c=9dJFJLPwB&b=100122

In an editorial for the New York Times, Oliver Sacks compares the avian flu to Spanish Influenza of 1917. Sacks is the man who wrote the book that 'Awakenings' is based on. He is worried that an avian flu epidemic could result in an even stranger epidemic afterwards. Read it yourself: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/16/opinion/edsacks.php

Also of interest, but a little weird, is Laurie Winn Carlson's book A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials. She connects Encephalitis Lethargica to the Salem witch trials. http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=21859936999005

To sum up, maybe it is a good idea to keep the avian flu at the forefront of our thoughts. But at the same time we can't forget about the diseases and situations ravaging the world population at the present. AIDS has killed more people than any disease in human history, and yet we let it just march on. I'm too exhausted to get into what I think about the pharmacutical industry right now, but I'm sure it will come out later.