Biology braniacs respond: home remedies for bird flu!

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If the cause of death is typically cytokine storm - should we not be pursueing immunosuppresant therapies? Perhaps large dose anti-histamines or even chemotherapy or immunosuppresant drugs?

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Saturday, 27 May 2006 09:22 (nineteen years ago)

Hot whisky with ginger, chilli lemon and honey should fix it.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 27 May 2006 09:40 (nineteen years ago)

i vote for lots'n'lots'n'LOTS of chocolate!

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Saturday, 27 May 2006 09:47 (nineteen years ago)

Chicken soup plus a mustard plaster.

― Sara Robinson-Coolidge (Sara R-C), Saturday, 27 May 2006 12:11 (nineteen years ago)

BEER.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Saturday, 27 May 2006 12:19 (nineteen years ago)

It's not 1918. The vast majority of us will feel shitty for a week or two and then be just fine. No immunosuppressive therapy necessary. Large doses of antihistamines and steroids have serious side effects, why the hell would you take them if you didn't have too (say, in the case of secondary bacterial infection or whatnot).

Me, I'm keeping a bunch of limes, garlic, jalapeno, and chicken stock on hand for the miraculous YUCATAN CHICKEN LIME SOUP. Liquids + nourishment + searing heat to open up the airways = BLISS, flu or no flu.

And yes, BOOZE is U&K.

― quincie (quincie), Saturday, 27 May 2006 12:22 (nineteen years ago)

who was the boxer who drank a barrel of whiskey to stave off spanish influenza? 1900-something... a white dude.

― Jimmy Mod: NOIZE BOARD GRIL COMPARISON ANALYST (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Saturday, 27 May 2006 14:36 (nineteen years ago)

You do know the death rates in humans so far, quincie, right?

― Crimea River (Mark C), Saturday, 27 May 2006 14:46 (nineteen years ago)

I think it will kill a lot of people and everyone will be like "What the!? How can this happpen when doctors are so smart!" Think of the response to hurricane katrina... you will be spruised how poorly our government handles the bird flu! Fear it! I warn ye!!

(hobbles back into cave)

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Sunday, 28 May 2006 02:07 (nineteen years ago)

If by 'biology braniac,' you mean a master of all things sexual, and if by 'bird flu,' you mean hot for the female form, then I would suggest trying to lure one of those birds into your home with a new pair of shoes.

― nicky lo-fi (nicky lo-fi), Sunday, 28 May 2006 05:48 (nineteen years ago)

I mean shriveled dead sex parts

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Sunday, 28 May 2006 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

You do know the death rates in humans so far, quincie, right?

I do know that I'm a virologist and that most of us aren't thinking the sky is falling. Although I'm biased because my bug is HIV, which has a far higher mortality rate than any silly influenza virus.

― quincie (quincie), Sunday, 28 May 2006 17:16 (nineteen years ago)

Also: death rates can't be calculated with any reliability whatsoever at this point.

― quincie (quincie), Sunday, 28 May 2006 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

Fair enough, just checking.

― Crimea River (Mark C), Sunday, 28 May 2006 18:10 (nineteen years ago)

Although there is the caveat that handling a lot of poultry in SE Asia might not be such a great idea. . .

― quincie (quincie), Sunday, 28 May 2006 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

Ounce of prevention, pound of cure, yada.

quincie, I'm not giving away any secrets when I say that influenza in general is easier to spread than HIV. Avian flu is like one of those bright-eyed eighteen-year-olds that Hollywood agents love to tout as "the next big star". Could be. Got the looks. Auditioned well. Might fizzle. Who knows?

― Aimless (Aimless), Sunday, 28 May 2006 18:31 (nineteen years ago)

The thing is, true avian flu (H2N1) doesn't spread from person to person at this point, so in fact it isn't easier to spread than HIV. And there's no telling if an H2N1 strain adapted to spread from human to human will be as pathogenic as those that have spread from bird to human. In some cases, viruses become LESS pathogenic when passaged through other species.

― quincie (quincie), Sunday, 28 May 2006 20:08 (nineteen years ago)

But yeah, I'm not trying to downplay the importance of preventive measures. I'm just saying that this thing ain't gonna be the end of the human race, is all.

― quincie (quincie), Sunday, 28 May 2006 20:10 (nineteen years ago)

And regardless, booze will be critically important.

― quincie (quincie), Sunday, 28 May 2006 20:10 (nineteen years ago)

I seem to remember something in the BBC a few months ago arguing that one reason avian flu hasn't yet "gone human" was that the virus attacks tissue deep in the lungs and hence, isn't readily transmittable through coughing. If it should mutate and hone in on tissue higher up in the airway, becoming more readily transmittable, it would also become far less of a treat, as residing so deep in the lungs is what makes it so deadly in the first place.

Don't know how true/likely this is, but I like to remind myself of it if I get too paranoid...

― xtof (xtof), Sunday, 28 May 2006 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

Thedre's a great typo in your post xtof :)

― Crimea River (Mark C), Sunday, 28 May 2006 21:51 (nineteen years ago)

Haha not that I can talk.

― Crimea River (Mark C), Sunday, 28 May 2006 21:52 (nineteen years ago)

Avian Flu, you are a treat!

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 28 May 2006 22:15 (nineteen years ago)

Ha! Retitle threat plz.

― xtof (xtof), Sunday, 28 May 2006 23:20 (nineteen years ago)

back to the point! I say we all stock up on benadryl and omega three fish oil and any other immunosuppresant we can get! its our only hope! dont be fools! we have to get into the basement!
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/artman/uploads/nightdead5.jpg

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Sunday, 28 May 2006 23:28 (nineteen years ago)

Wasn't there something about Tamiflu - the vaccine, being derived from star anise? If so, is there anything you can do with it?

― Treblekicker (treblekicker), Monday, 29 May 2006 16:42 (nineteen years ago)

Like use it in place of Pernod in a drink?

― Abbott (Abbott), Monday, 29 May 2006 16:55 (nineteen years ago)

...and it definitely improves roast chicken ironically enough.

― Treblekicker (treblekicker), Monday, 29 May 2006 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

Tamiflu Martini

I think it is unknown if tamiflu would actually work against the deadly birdflu

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Monday, 29 May 2006 17:48 (nineteen years ago)

Tamiflu does in fact involve star anise, and apparently star anise growers are making a killing these days as governments try to build up Tamiflu stockpiles. One difficulty with Tamiflu is that by the time you start to have true flu symptoms, it is probably too late for the medication to do you much good. I do some clinical trials work and have seen several H5N1 vaccine trials cross my desk; ultimately this will be the more effective way of dealing with the pandemic threat, methinks.

I also saw a report somewhere about kim chee as anti-viral. I love both star anise and kimchi and will use the bird flu excuse to up my consumption.

― quincie (quincie), Monday, 29 May 2006 18:30 (nineteen years ago)

kimchi would kill anything becuase it tastes like the devils vagina

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Monday, 29 May 2006 20:31 (nineteen years ago)

While kimchee and star anise might do the trick, as Welch's so helpfully points out, Welch's grape juice will not.

― xtof (xtof), Monday, 29 May 2006 21:25 (nineteen years ago)

Jesus, Welch's legal department has quite the trigger finger.

kimchi would kill anything becuase it tastes like the devils vagina

Yeah, I can see that it is not to everyones taste, but this particular simile has given me the roffles!

― quincie (quincie), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:15 (nineteen years ago)

Also: WANNA-BE BIOLOGY BRANIACS UNITE--Two part, four hour series on HIV on PBS's "Frontline" airs tonight. I have no idea if it's supposed to be any good or not, but at least it won't be narrated by Brad Pitt like the last PBS HIV shit I watched.

― quincie (quincie), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:18 (nineteen years ago)

You picked a good pet virus Quincie. I am always kind of shocked it's not getting more publicity. Did you read that HIV/AIDS article in the May Harper's? It seemed kind of conspiratorial to me, and it got back a broad array of letters to the editor. if you read it, what was your take on it?

― Abbott (Abbott), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:22 (nineteen years ago)

quincie i wuv yr not-so-dreary outlook on the bird fly!

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:24 (nineteen years ago)

That Harper's article raised quite a ruckus; I actually haven't read the article, just bits of it excerpted in commentary. I understand Peter Duesberg makes an appearance--that guy is a complete whack job as far as I can tell, but brilliant and once upon a time a respected member of the bioscience community. Anyhow, I will definitely track down a copy of the article to read today!

You picked a good pet virus

This made me laugh a bit because I spent all of my undergraduate and graduate studies trying to avoid HIV in favor of more "underdog" viruses--hepatitis C virus is my true love bug and was the focus of all my graduate research. Once I ditched the bench to sit in front of a computer all day I ended up involved with clinical HIV research! It is so true, though, that HIV has fallen out of favor with both the media and research funding agencies alike. Pharma companies are still interested, though.

Xpost Nathalie, I just try and keep things in perspective, which involves relative risk analysis, a skill I think should be taught in grade school! Like, I wonder how many people are freaked out about the bird flu, but don't bother to fasten their seat belts or quit smoking.

― quincie (quincie), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:33 (nineteen years ago)

Perhaps if you get AIDS it protects you from birdflu

― Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 19:53 (nineteen years ago)

Something like 30,000 people a year die of plain old influenza, and nobody gets very excited about that. But you bring out some special NAMED flu, and people go berserk!

― L@yn@ @. (L@yn@ @.), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 21:27 (nineteen years ago)

What we need is a NAMED diarrhea to bring attention to a disease that kills approximately a gazillion children every year!

My mom had the Hong Kong flu in I think '68? I've only had proper influenza once in my life, in 1994-95 season, with a bug that didn't get a cool name. I no longer use the phrase "eh, I have a touch of the flu" all casual-like any more. I was sick as a dog for two weeks, and at one point was literally crawling down the hall of my dorm to the bathroom, too weak and ill to walk! IT SUCKED!!! So when a relatively healthy twenty-something gets that sick with a relatively kind flu bug, it isn't hard to see how lots of kids and grannies don't make it.

― quincie (quincie), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 21:35 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

house-to-house in bangladesh tonight!! is BOOZE still urgent and key?

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 29 January 2008 03:59 (eighteen years ago)

whats your source??

― moonship journey to baja, Tuesday, 29 January 2008 05:00 (eighteen years ago)

google news

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 29 January 2008 07:32 (eighteen years ago)

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