Avian Flu Threatens to Become Pandemic
By Necie Green, 10.27.05
Avian influenza, better known as “bird flu,” is an infection caused by viruses that normally occur in wild birds. It can even be found in pigs. The disease is highly contagious for domesticated birds such as turkeys, ducks, and chickens.
The two main subtypes of the virus are H5 and H7. H5N1 is the most severe and dangerous for human beings. The virus can be spread through feces, saliva, and nasal secretions. Humans become infected through direct contact with contaminated surfaces or birds.
“People could contact it if they, say, sat on a bench with bird secretions and touched the bench with their hand,” said Dr. Lori Jones of the Animal Care Center in Virginia Beach, Va. “If they then put their hand on their face, that’s how they would get it.”
Where’s the outbreak?
Affected countries, since the recent outbreak began in December 2003, include Vietnam, Korea, China, Cambodia, and Japan. Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Russia have also reported outbreaks.
On Oct. 24, 2005 British health officials confirmed that a parrot died from the strain while quarantined. The parrot was being held with other imported birds from Surinam (South America). This was the first case to show up in Britain.
“I haven’t had a lot of that [avian flu questions] cropping up and affecting my day-to-day practice,” said Jones. “And my colleagues haven’t mentioned any cases.”
Are we at risk?
To date, there are few reports of human to human spread of the virus. Times when the transmission was from human to human did not result in death. Symptoms of the human version are similar to normal flu-like symptoms. These include fever, body aches, coughing and more severely, respiratory infections and pneumonia.
Over 60 human avian flu-related deaths were reported to The World Health Organization (WHO) since late 2003. The deaths occurred in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Most human cases occurred in rural areas where people own poultry flocks.
The World Health Organizatio n website explained, “Exposure is considered most likely during slaughter, defeathering, butchering, and preparation of poultry for cooking. There is no evidence that properly cooked poultry or eggs can be a source of infection.”
Because humans do not regularly come into contact with the virus, there is no antidote to cure it. Scientists fear that the strain might genetically mutate over time, making it even more difficult to cure in affected humans. This could cause a pandemic, or worldwide outbreak.
Since the bird flu is mostly contained in Asia, Americans are at a low-risk of being affected by the outbreak. There are no reported bird or human avian flu cases in the United States.
How can we protect ourselves?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not issued travel restrictions to countries that reported cases of bird flu. In a statement posted on the CDC website, the organization advised that travelers in infected countries “avoid poultry farms, contact with animals in live food markets, and any surfaces that appear to be contaminated with feces from poultry or other animals.”
Report compiled from information Center for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization reports.
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