If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Bird flu is the street name for the Influenza A virus, which is the virus that causes Avian flu. The name says it all, as Bird flu is a virus that is hosted by birds. With that said though it may infect several other species of mammals. First identified in Italy in around 1905 the virus is now known to exist worldwide. One strain of the H5N1 virus of avian influenza that first surfaced in 1997 has been identified as the most likely source of a future influenza pandemic around the world.

Different strains of the virus may infect various type of animals. These animals include including birds, pigs, horses, seals, whales. It is even known that the virus could reach humans in mass. Avian influenza quickly spreads in the air and in manure. Contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing can also increase transmission. There is no proof at the moment that the virus can survive in well cooked meat.

The incubation period for Bird Flu is 3 to 5 days. Symptoms vary among animals. Virulent strains of the H5N1 virus can cause death within a few days.
Humans are affected with similar symptoms as other types of flu. Symptoms such as:
 - Fever
 - Cough
 - Sore throat
 - Muscle aches
 - Conjunctivitis

In extreme cases, severe breathing problems and pneumonia can result which can be fatal. The result and the extremity of the infection will depend on the state of the infected person’s immune system. Somtimes a victim will have been exposed to the strain before, and will be in part immune to the virus.

It’s important to Note that victims will not experience the flu like symptoms all of the time. An example is a boy who experienced diarrhea and then rapidly went into a coma without developing the respiratory or flu-like symptoms. This situation suggests non-standard symptoms.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Leukemia is a form of cancer that occurs at the level of the spinal marrow. Inside the spinal marrow there is a type of immature blood cells that are called stem cells. These cells have a neutral initial state and later develop into different types of blood cells (white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets). Leukemia interferes in the normal process of cell maturation, leading to an accumulation of partially developed blood cells in the marrow, blood and later in body organs. Most of these resulted cells are inefficient inside the organism, as they can’t carry out the activity of normal blood cells.

Depending on to the rate of development, the disease can either be acute leukemia (developing very rapidly), or chronic leukemia (slow developing).  

Particular to acute leukemia is the inability of stem cells (immature cells that can be found within the bone marrow) to reach the state of maturity. These immature blood cells tend to continuously divide and they accumulate in the bloodstream. Acute leukemia develops very rapidly and people who suffer from it need immediate treatment and specific therapy. If mistreated or ignored, acute leukemia causes the death of affected patients within a few months. While certain forms of acute leukemia are usually successfully treated, other forms don’t respond well to the specific treatment.

A characteristic of the chronic type of leukemia is that the diseased cells usually come from more mature cells, but in most cases they aren’t developed normally. The leukemia cells have long periods of life and they tend to accumulate within the bloodstream. Although normal people have between 5000 and 10000 white blood cells in their body, people who suffer from chronic leukemia may have more than 100000.

Lymphocytic and myelogenous types of leukemia are developed from different types of cells:  the lymphocytic type of leukemia develops from cells called lymphoblasts or lymphocytes in the spongious tissue of the bones, while the myelogenous type of leukemia (sometimes refered to as myeloid and myelocytic leukemia) develops from myeloid cells. Judging by the types of cells involved in the development of leukemia and by the rate of cellular division specific to each form of the disease, the main types of leukemia are: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

In addition to the common forms of chronic leukemia, there are also some rare types. Hairy cell leukemia (HCL), just like chronic lymphocytic leukemia, has a slow progression. The cells of hairy cell leukemia are different from other diseased cells mainly through their aspect. Hairy cell leukemia doesn’t usually respond well to treatment.  Prolymphocytic leukemia is a very rare and unusual form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Some cancers, called lymphomas, are caused by abnormal blood cells that are present in the lymph nodes, liver, spleen or other organs. These particular types of cancer don’t occur at the levels of the bone marrow and have a development that is not characteristic to most forms of lymphocytic leukemia.

Popularity: 2% [?]