What You Need to Know About Bird Flu

Medical Video: Bird Flu - Causes, Symptoms, Treatments & More…

Avian influenza is a bird virus infectious disease (especially from waterfowl animals, such as ducks and geese), which usually do not have clear signs. The bird flu virus (AI virus) sometimes spreads to domestic birds and causes large-scale outbreaks of serious diseases. Some of these viruses have also been reported to enter the body's defenses of other species, so that they can cause diseases or subclinical infections in humans and other mammals.

AI viruses are divided into 2 groups based on their ability to cause disease in poultry, namely high pathogenicity and low pathogenicity. High pathogenic viruses can result in high mortality rates (up to 100% of mortality rates within 48 hours) in some poultry species. Low pathogenic viruses also cause outbreaks in poultry, but generally do not cause severe disease.

Background for bird flu A (H5N1) and A (H7N9)

Virus A (H5N1) subtype is a high pathogenic virus. This virus first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong SAR, China. Since its widespread reappearance in 2003 and 2004, this virus has caused infections in millions of birds, as well as several hundred cases and human deaths.

The virus A (H7N9) subtype is a low pathogenic virus, which first infected 3 humans (2 residents of the city of Shanghai and 1 resident of Anhui province) in March 2013. However, no reported A (H7N9) cases outside of China.

The ongoing circulation of A (H5N1) and A (H7N9) in poultry continues to be a threat to public health, because this virus has both the potential to cause serious illness in humans and may also have the potential to turn into a more contagious form among humans .

Transmission of bird flu virus to humans

The bird flu virus can infect humans when the virus enters a person's eyes, nose or mouth. This can occur when the virus is in the air (in grain or dust) and inhaled, or when someone touches something that has a virus and touches the mouth, eyes, or nose.

Therefore, the main risk factors for bird flu in humans can be obtained from direct and indirect exposure. Controlling the circulation of viruses A (H5N1) and A (H7N9) in poultry is very important to do to reduce the risk of infection in humans. In addition, there is no evidence to suggest that viruses A (H5N1) and A (H7N9) can be transmitted to humans through well-cooked meat or eggs. However, slaughtering poultry, handling infected poultry carcasses, and preparing poultry for consumption, especially in the household environment tends to be a risk factor.

Symptoms of bird flu

Bird flu in humans ranges from mild to severe. Signs and symptoms of AI virus infection in humans can include:

Fever (body temperature above 37.8 ° C)
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Muscle ache
Fatigue
Headache
Red eye (conjunctivitis)
Difficulty breathing

Other symptoms can include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Just like seasonal flu, some people can be at high risk of becoming sick due to AI virus infections, including pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems, and the elderly (over 65 years). Human infection with bird flu can usually be treated with prescription drugs similar to those used to treat seasonal human viruses.

Potential for human pandemics

Viruses A (H5N1) and A (H7N9) are two of several influenza viruses with potential pandemics (global outbreaks), because they continue to circulate widely in several poultry populations. Most humans tend not to have immunity to the virus. This virus can cause severe illness and death in humans.

In addition to A (H5N1) and A (H7N9), other subtype animal influenza viruses have been reported to have infected humans, including the avian H9, H1, H3 viruses. Furthermore, the H2 virus can also pose a pandemic threat. Therefore, pandemic planning must consider the risk of the emergence of various types of influenza from various sources.

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