Christmas Trees Could Become Bird Flu Drug
An article on CNN.com attracted my attention today. Scientists have discovered that "the needles of pine, spruce and fir trees contain the main ingredient in Tamiflu, the drug used to treat bird flu" - CNN.com. Since it has been predicted that the bird flu will become a pandemic, countries all over the world are stockpilling shikimic acid, which is the main ingredient in Tamiflu. Most of this acid is obtained from a cooking spice called star anise that is tree-grown in China. Two Canadian medical companies are now "processing thousands of discarded trees to retrieve the acid", and many other countires are beginning to follow. The government and the industry have been warned several times now about the severity of this possible pandemic and that it could become chaotic if it is not prepared for, so already the European Union has pledged $120 million to fight the bird flu, and The Swiss pharmaceutical company, Roche, that holds the patent on Tamiflu, has donated 20 million doses of Tamiflu, and since 2004, has treated over 5 million people.
My question: What has the United States done in preparing for this pandemic? Ever since I first heard about the bird flu coming to America a couple of months ago, I have heard nothing about our country attempting to prevent it or help to find a treatment for it. Although at the moment the disease is most prominent throughout Asia, there are still many victims in the United States and it is continuing to kill, let alone spread to, thousands of people throughout the country. Why is this crisis being overlooked?
For more information about the article, go to CNN.com - Health.
Thanks,
Lauren
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re: bird flu
CNN, like every other media outlet, is looking for quick sound / visual "grabs" that will help it get attention and sell advertising. Accurate reporting often suffers in the process, as much by omission as commission.
I find it worthwhile, when such issues arise, to check out the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. They have a pretty decent page on the bird flu and what they're doing about it:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/
Shikimic acid is produced by just about all plants, bacteria and fungi, but it is not present in animals. As the CNN article states, it is being stockpiled. The focus on Christmas trees is because their needles have a relatively high shikimic acid content, a lot of them are at hand right now, and enough people know what a Christmas tree is to make this a headline grabber for CNN. At need, lots of other sources are available.
Reminds me of another infection scare of a few years ago:
ANTHRAX, n. Pernicious but generally treatable ailment caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, a potential biological warfare agent capable of inducing Congressional evacuations and panicky (not to mention highly profitable) media coverage. Responsible for as many deaths annually in the United States (tainted mail included) as occur, on average, in one hour on the nation's highways, or in one minute from all causes.