Bird Flu Symptoms in Humans – How to Spot Them?

In order to identify the Bird Flu symptoms in humans, you first need to learn what it is?

Bird Flu, also called Avian Influenza, is the illness which affects wild and domesticated birds and has little or no symptoms unless the population is susceptible, for which it leads to death of birds in just 48 hours. The Influenza A virus affects birds and rarely affects human.

But in 1990’s, a new strain of bird flu came to the global scene for its ability to cause severe diseases and death in domesticated birds including ducks, turkey and chicken. The strain for this reason is called highly pathogenic.

The first human case of illness was recorded in 1990 and about 622 have been identified by March 2013. Most subjects were infected by H5N1 strain.

The human infection of bird flu is rare but fatal, more than half of the people who were infected with this lost their lives. The current mortality rate of subjects who have died from it remains 60% of the infected people.

The fact is, this ailment leads to pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome which is a lung problem that can be deadly. Moreover, the average time between people getting affected and being dead is within 10 days of visible symptoms.

Bird Flu Symptoms in Humans

Humans can get effected with bird flu if they come in close contact with a sick or dead specimen. This disease is severe in Asian Countries.

There are lots of avian influenza symptoms to look for. To get started, this can be eye infection. Moreover, you may notice your children or other pets developing it. This infection tends to progress to pneumonia and respiratory failure.

The fact is, this ailment is more fatal to human, even critical as compared to Human Influenza.

Bird Flu is responsible for causing aggressive form of a respiratory flue which quickly progresses to become Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and lethal viral pneumonia. Basically the symptoms depend on strain of virus. Every strain has its own effects and signs.

Therefore, you should mind the strain before you come to a conclusion.

The fact is, if you are exposed to bird flu, you have to notify people around you. You should let them know ahead of time so they can take the necessary steps to prevent this ailment from spreading. If they manage to keep themselves safe, they will be able to take proper care of you.

The symptoms of avian influenza in humans in people may vary. Symptoms may start out as normal flu symptoms. These can get worse and become a severe respiratory problem.

Back in February 2005, researchers in Vietnam reported human cases of bird flu in which the virus infects the brain and digestive tract of two children. These cases make sure that the bird flu in humans always doesn’t look like typical case of flu.

The symptoms of this flu occur in two to eight days after exposure on average. The fact is, most people face normal flu like symptoms at first. What’s surprising is children get similar symptoms. The viral infection progress to pneumonia and even leads to respiratory failure.

• Muscle Aches

• Vomiting

• Joint Pain

• Nausea

• Eye Infections

• Lethargy

• Malaise

• Cough

• Trouble Breathing

• Diarrhea

• Headache

• General Ill Feeling

• Sore Throat

• Runny Nose

• Fever Greater than 100 Degree F

• Respiratory Issues

In case you are experiencing any bird flu symptoms in humans, you need to notify your physician.

Try to alert them ahead of time in order to take precautions to protect the flu from spreading. While most forms of the virus are restricted to birds, there are a few types of bird flu in human which you need to keep an eye for.

Preventing the Symptoms

To help you stay away from symptoms of bird flu in humans, we are giving you a few bird flu prevention insights which will help you stay safe.

There are no commercially available vaccine made to fight bird flu. The vaccine against H5N1 has been sequestered and H7N9 is under development at present.

You should practice safe food handling with meat including poultry when handling and cooking. Afterwards wash hands with soap and water to disinfect all surfaces including cutting boards and counter tops.

You need to clean the surfaces that came in contact with raw meats. The fact is viruses remain active in raw meat and cooking kills the virus strain.

Prevention also counters for poultry safety measures including destroying flocks when sick birds are identified as sick and vaccinating healthy flocks.

These are combined with import bans. The culling has been effective for limiting the spread of this ailment. The H5N1 outbreak has negative effects on poultry and egg industry.

For better protection, get informed about travelling to foreign countries. Health authorizes are advising travelers visiting countries with outbreaks to take safety measures for their own protection.

This includes a number of things such as bird flu mask. Moreover, they are advised to avoid visiting poultry farms or contact with live animals in food markets.

In the affected countries, try avoiding foods which have been made by using raw eggs. Never come in contact with any surface which seems contaminated with feces from poultry. Even if you do, you should wash hands with soap and water or use some alcohol based hand sanitizes.

If there is an outbreak of bird flu in people, you also need to contact your physician as early as possible. There are high chances that antiviral medications prove helpful for you. If you are careful with early treatments, you can also help to prevent the infection from spreading.

The fact is WHO stockpiled millions of doses of antiviral medicine. Therefore if there is an outbreak, the organization will supply the necessary medicine and take protective measures.

The Epidemics or pandemics of bird flu in people result in closure of schools or respective business in affected areas as public health authorizes to restrict the spread of this diseases. Moreover, most communities’ hospitals have panels in place to respond to these pandemics.

Now that you know about the bird flu symptoms in humans and how to prevent them, it is time for you to implement these in your daily life. After all, it is always better to be prepared than sorry.

Further Reading:

• Avian Influenza A Virus Infections in Humans

• Bird Flu Symptoms and Prevention

• FAQ on Human Infection of Avian Influenza Virus

Image Credit: Garron Nicholls from Flickr