What Is The Bird Flu- Introducing You To Avian Flu

Bird Flu, also known as avian flu is a special type of influenza which strains among birds and in rare cases it affects human. If you have ever wondered what is the bird flu, you have come to the right place. In the following paragraphs, I will introduce you to this very special type of disease.

There are a lot of different strains of bird flu virus which doesn't infect humans. But there are two strains which caused the most troubles recently. These strains are:

• H5N1 (Since 1997)

• H7N9 (Since 2013)

The fact is, these viruses don’t infect people and are not usually transmitted from human to human. Many people have been infected with it and it lead to deaths.

Other viruses are H7N7 and H9N2. There are some recent additions which are H6N1, H10N8 and H6N6. These have also infected people but have been very rare to notice from the beginning.

Origin of Bird Flu

There is no definitive origin of bird flu but there have been some variations from time to time. The first known Bird Flu variation was discovered in 1878 in Italy and it was termed as a disease of chickens.

The H5N1 strain of Bird flu was documented for first time in 1997. It caused respiratory problems in 20 people in Hong Kong and killed 6 of them. It also led to culling of chickens and removal of their meat from market. The next break was in 2003 where it killed another person.

What Causes Bird Flu

According to Bird Flu facts, H5N1 is the first avian influenza virus to infect human. The first infection took place back in Hong Kong, 1997. This outbreak was linked to handling infected poultry.

H5N1 can occur naturally in wild waterfowl but how does bird flu spread?

It spreads easily in domestic poultry. It’s transmitted via human contact with infected bird feces, nasal secretions and secretions from mouth or eye.

However, consuming properly cooked eggs or poultry from infected birds do not transmit the ailment. But you should avoid half-boiled and raw eggs. Meat is somewhat safe if it is cooked at internal temperature of 165 Degree F.

Types of Bird Flu

There are many sub-types of bird flu, but only five of them are pathogenic for humans. These types are H5N1, H7N3, H7N7, H7N9 and H9N2.

There is a case of an elderly women in china who died of Pneumonia in December 2013 from H10N8 strain. This was the first human fatality confirmed from this specific strain. The woman belonged to Jiangxi Province.The incident proves the fact that humans can get bird flu too.

Bird Flu Facts and Stats

By May 2015, WHO confirmed that around 850 people were infected with H5N1 virus worldwide and 440 of them died. The most severe cases appeared in Egypt, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Since March 2012, there are have been many reports of people getting infected with H7N9 virus, mostly of southeastern part of mainland china. By May 2015, there were almost 665 confirmed cases and 230 deaths.

In most cases, the subjects were middle aged to elderly. A small number of cases were reported from travelers, most notably from Taiwan, Malaysia, Canada and Hong Kong.

For both viruses, there were some reports of limited human to human transition, which was a result of very close contact between family members. People having bird flu generally got the virus after they came in close and prolonged contact with infected birds.

Millions of birds died during outbreak just to prevent the ailment from spreading and being passed on to other people.

How does Bird Flu Spread?

In most cases, bird flu spreads as a result of handling infected birds or coming in contact with infected fluids. It can also spread via contaminated surfaces and droppings.

Most birds have only a mild form of H5N1 strain but once domesticated birds with the likes of chickens and turkeys are infected, it becomes deadly as these birds are generally close in contact. There is a large threat of this ailment in Asia as poultry here is kept in low hygiene conditions and close quarters.

It’s easy for humans to contract infection from birds, human to human transmission is more difficult if the contact is not for longer duration.

However, the public health officials are concerned that strains of this flu will eventually mutate and become easy to transmit between humans. Some of these strains are present in intestinal tract of shore birds and water birds but these rarely cause infection.

Bird Flu Treatment

Different types of bird flu has different symptoms, therefore treatment is different according to the type of bird flu.

In some cases, the treatment consists of antiviral medication including Oseltamivir or Zanamivir that helps to control the severity. However, you need to take the medication within the first 2 days of identifying your symptoms.

The virus responsible for causing human form of this flue also develops resistance to the common antiviral medications like Amantadine and Rimantadine. These medications should never be used to treat this disease.

The fact is, your relatives or friends can also be prescribed some bird flu vaccine as preventive measure, even if they are not sick. For your own betterment, you should be placed in isolation to avoid spreading the virus to others.

Diagnosing Bird Flu

There is an approved test which is designed to diagnose Bird Flu. The test is known as Influenza A/H5 (Asian Lineage) Virus Real Tim RT PCR Primer and Probe Set. It provides preliminary results in four hours. The only problem is it is not widely available.

Keeping up how is bird flu transmitted, your doctor can perform the following tests in order to look for the presence of virus responsible for causing this ailment:

• Auscultation

• White Blood Cell Differential

• Nasopharyngeal Culture

• Chest X-Ray

There are also some other tests which can be done to assess the functionality of your heart, kidney and liver. However, expert recommendation is required before conducting any of these tests. Only the physician will know which test will be ideal for the patient. As an ordinary people, it is your duty to know what is the bird flu and I hope this article helped you in that regard.

Let me know if you have any other question about bird flu.

Further Reading:

• Frequently Asked Questions About Bird Flu

• Avian influenza – WHO

• Information on Avian Influenza – CDC

• Bird Flu – Healthline

Image Credit: Health Same from Flickr