Current Swine Flu Fears Mirror Earlier Bird Flu Concerns
Caltech virologist and former first lady Alice Huang explains issues of an influenza in a 2007 interview on Bird flu.
Current concerns over the swine flu outbreak in North America mirror those that arose three years ago regarding bird flu in Asia.
Alice Huang, Caltech virologist and president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed swine flu's close cousin bird flu in a wide-ranging interview in a 2007 article in Caltech News.
Although the two strains of the virus are not the same, both are created when a strain of animal flu mutates into a variety that can infect humans and, as seems to be the case with swine flu, transmitted from person to person.
What is it about the biology of influenza that makes it so prone to mutation, how do these new strains of flu arise, and what are some of the public health implications? An associate in biology, Huang, Caltech's first lady from 1997 to 2006 and internationally known for her research in virology, had spoken to Caltech News in 2007 about the origin and spread of the bird flu, the history and biology of the influenza virus, and the public-health and biomedical implications of the emergence of new strains of flu.
While it's true that "eating pork" isn't the cause of swine flu, many experts believe producing pork is, and that swine flu and avian flu are both direct products of intensive factory farming.
The warehousing of billions of chickens and pigs in cramped quarters, feeding them massive doses of antibiotics and hormones - a perfect breeding ground for these deadly viruses.
Current concerns over the swine flu outbreak in North America mirror those that arose three years ago regarding bird flu in Asia.
Alice Huang, Caltech virologist and president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed swine flu's close cousin bird flu in a wide-ranging interview in a 2007 article in Caltech News.
Although the two strains of the virus are not the same, both are created when a strain of animal flu mutates into a variety that can infect humans and, as seems to be the case with swine flu, transmitted from person to person.
What is it about the biology of influenza that makes it so prone to mutation, how do these new strains of flu arise, and what are some of the public health implications? An associate in biology, Huang, Caltech's first lady from 1997 to 2006 and internationally known for her research in virology, had spoken to Caltech News in 2007 about the origin and spread of the bird flu, the history and biology of the influenza virus, and the public-health and biomedical implications of the emergence of new strains of flu.
While it's true that "eating pork" isn't the cause of swine flu, many experts believe producing pork is, and that swine flu and avian flu are both direct products of intensive factory farming.
The warehousing of billions of chickens and pigs in cramped quarters, feeding them massive doses of antibiotics and hormones - a perfect breeding ground for these deadly viruses.
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