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There is a vaccine though. https://news.sky.com/story/uk-prepares-five-million-vaccine-doses-in-case-of-bird-flu-pandemic-13265880 https://news.sky.com/story/u

There is a vaccine though. https://news.sky.com/story/uk-prepares-five-million-vaccine-doses-in-case-of-bird-flu-pandemic-13265880 https://news.sky.com/story/uk-prepares-five-million-vaccine-...

gerdesj 11mo ago
That's a vaccine for one strain: H5N1. I'm sure birds have many more strains and variants of virus. I'm sure a proper virologist can dive in here ... I think people assume that a fever is caused by an infection but my understanding is that a fever is a response to the infection. The body raises its temperature deliberately to destroy a viral infection, even though it is unpleasant, as well as deploying the other defenses. It seems, according to this article, that these bird 'flu infections are resistant to being cooked by a fever and that makes them more dangerous - we've lost a defense strategy.
- goalieca 11mo ago
  Everyone pops a Tylenol/advil when they get a fever. Can’t be that bad.
  - anonymouskimmer 11mo ago
    Importantly everyone is popping a fever reducer only after the fever has already started. Here, with the avian flus, the fever effectively never gets a chance to start. And it's one thing to pop a fever reducer when you already have antibodies from prior exposure or immunization (which vulnerable groups tend to be in large enough numbers). It's another thing to pop it when you don't.
- chasil 11mo ago
  Kurzgesagt's fever video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZOUcpiOxY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZOUcpiOxY Edit: This video asserts that the heat shock protein excess is what reveals an infected cell to the immune system.
- anonymouskimmer 11mo ago
  Not a proper virologist, but H5N5 killed a person in Washington state recently. There will likely be some cross protection on the H5 antigen, just as some regular flu shots provide cross protection against the N1 antigen of H5N1. (The H5 and N1 subtypes won't be completely matched, respectively, but you don't always need complete matching for some protection.)

There is a vaccine though. https://news.sky.com/story/uk-prepares-five-million-vaccine-doses-in-case-of-bird-flu-pandemic-13265880 https://news.sky.com/story/uk-prepares-five-million-vaccine-...

gerdesj 11mo ago

That's a vaccine for one strain: H5N1. I'm sure birds have many more strains and variants of virus. I'm sure a proper virologist can dive in here ... I think people assume that a fever is caused by an infection but my understanding is that a fever is a response to the infection. The body raises its temperature deliberately to destroy a viral infection, even though it is unpleasant, as well as deploying the other defenses. It seems, according to this article, that these bird 'flu infections are resistant to being cooked by a fever and that makes them more dangerous - we've lost a defense strategy.

goalieca 11mo ago
Everyone pops a Tylenol/advil when they get a fever. Can’t be that bad.
- anonymouskimmer 11mo ago
  Importantly everyone is popping a fever reducer only after the fever has already started. Here, with the avian flus, the fever effectively never gets a chance to start. And it's one thing to pop a fever reducer when you already have antibodies from prior exposure or immunization (which vulnerable groups tend to be in large enough numbers). It's another thing to pop it when you don't.
chasil 11mo ago
Kurzgesagt's fever video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZOUcpiOxY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZOUcpiOxY Edit: This video asserts that the heat shock protein excess is what reveals an infected cell to the immune system.
anonymouskimmer 11mo ago
Not a proper virologist, but H5N5 killed a person in Washington state recently. There will likely be some cross protection on the H5 antigen, just as some regular flu shots provide cross protection against the N1 antigen of H5N1. (The H5 and N1 subtypes won't be completely matched, respectively, but you don't always need complete matching for some protection.)