Bird Flu Pandemic H5n1

The impact of the H5N1 Avian Flu Pandemic will be more catastrophic in the region of South East Asia. History has proven that if we do not learn from our mistakes they will surely reappear to haunt us again. It has been said that approximately every 25 years an influenza pandemic killing large numbers of the population emerges. We are overdue for that pandemic. "A pandemic is a disease that affects a significant portion of the population at any given time" (National Geographic, 2005). According to Clark & Wallace 32 major pandemics have occurred in the past 400 years (Global Connections). The last recorded influenza pandemic occurred during the period of 1968-69, in which a hybrid bird virus emerged in China. This was the cause for the "Hong Kong flu" pandemic, which killed an estimated one million people worldwide (The Fourth Horseman, 1996). China, located in Asia, is a perfect breeding ground for such viruses. However, China is not the only culprit in this situation. Overpopulated, developing, and ill-prepared countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other South East Asian countries seem to be the best formula for the emergence of these pandemics. Without quick action against such viruses in these regions, this world will fall victim to another pandemic that has potential to kill more than any genocide or any war. In this paper I will discuss how and why the H5N1 flu pandemic will be more catastrophic in regions that are overpopulated, developing and are ill-prepared for such events.

It's commonsense; the more people living closer together will bring about more infected people. Overpopulation is a big concern for South East Asian Countries. With little amounts of land and large numbers of people something is bound to happen. Education, food, healthcare, housing and proper sewage treatment have become big problems which the governments of overpopulated nations face regularly. Out of those big problems stated, proper sewage treatment is possibly the most important in terms of spreading disease. Places in developing countries where there is large number of people living close together, already foster other diseases such as Malaria which has spread rampantly. With the existence of other pandemic type diseases, the emergence of this pandemic will definitely be more catastrophic. Currently, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, South East Asian countries have had the most death related incidents of H5N1 virus. Urban growth is also another issue that will affect the results of the pandemic. To use the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic as an example, people that were packed into a small section of land were being infected the most (Influenza 1918, 1999). In Philadelphia, out of a population of 2 million, approximately 13, 000 people were killed due to the virus. With the increased amount of mobility in the modern society and the growth of cities, the pandemic could kill an unimaginable number (Influenza 1918, 1999). If 13,000 were killed in one city alone in 1918, imagine the severity of this disease and the impact on the population on a developing overpopulated region today. A high population as stated before is a problem for governments. Not