Saturday, May 18, 2013
What Is Bird Flu?
Bird flu is also known as Avian influenza. It is lethal to poultry and is quite fatal in humans. Bird flu spreads between domesticated and wild birds. It has also been passed from birds to humans who are in close contact with poultry or other birds.
There is not a clear evidence that the bird flu can be transmitted/spread from human to another human. However this might happenin such cases, when a person becomes ill after caring for a family member that is sick.
Scientists are concerned that the bird flu virus may combine with a human flu virus and mutate, which may make transmission between humans possible.
This has killed more than lots and lots of people in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Eygpt, China, and Iraq since 2003.
Apparently, there are no news/reports or evidences of the current bird flu strain in our country, Australia, either in birds or people. Although previously, there have been five bird flu outbreaks in Australia, and surprisingly they are all eradicated. The last outbreak was in 1997 in Tamworth in New South Wales.
Where Does It Originally Come From?
It emerged in southern China in 1996/7 and caused a large outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997 that killed six people.
Although bird flu kills more than half the people it infects, the number of fatalities is still low because there are not many people who had bird flu. According to the World Health Organization, only hundreds people have died of bird flu since 2003.
Spreading Of The Virus
Wild ducks are believed to be the carriers of all avian influenza type A viruses. The viruses are carried inside the bird's intestines and are brought into the environment through their poo (sorry bad language). Migratory birds infected with the virus spread the bird flu to any of the countries they visit.
Wild birds don’t usually show symptoms of bird flu, but the current H5N1 circulation strain has caused illness and death in some birds. The avian influenza virus can kill domesticated birds, such as chickens and turkeys more frequent.
Humans who have close contact with birds should be careful because they might have been at risk of infection with bird flu. For example a person may handle a sick bird, spoil their hands with chicken poo (sorry bad language), and forget to wash their hands before eating foods. They will then ingest the infected birds poo. This is a common way for a person to catch the virus.
How Do Humans Get Bird Flu?
People catch bird flu by having close contact with birds or the droppings. Close contact means differs from culture to culture.
Some people have caught H5N1 from cleaning or plucking infected birds. In China, there have been some reports of infection because of the inhalation of aerosolized materials in bird markets. It is also possible that people can be infected after bathing or swimming in water contaminated with the droppings of infected birds. People who do cockfights can also get infected.
Apparently you don’t get bird flu just from eating KFC chickens. Hahaha!
Can I Catch Bird Flu From Another Person?
There have been rare cases where an infected person caught the virus from another person, but only after a really close contact.
As long as the bird flu virus doesn't change into a human flu virus, it won't spread far in people.
But sometimes, after close personal contact, a person who gets bird flu does infect another person.
In 2006, bird flu spread to eight members of one family in Indonesia. Seven of them died. Although it's not clear about how this exactly happened.
Symptoms Of Bird Flu
Symptoms and signs of bird flu usually begin within two to five days of infection. In lots of cases, they resemble those of conventional influenza, including:
• Muscle Aches
• Fever
• Sore Throat
• Cough
• Headache
Some people also experience vomitting, nausea or diarrhea. And in some cases, a mild eye infection, which is called conjunctivitis, is the only indication of the disease.
Complications Of Bird Flu
Bird Flu May Cause :
- Pneumonia, including viral pneumonia
- Acute respiratory distress
- Inflammation of the brain and heart.
- Kidney disfunctions.
- Eye infections
What are the implications of avian influenza to human health?
1) the risk of direct infection when the virus passes from the infected bird to humans, sometimes resulting in severe disease.
2) the risk that the virus, if given enough opportunities, will change into a form that is highly infectious for humans and spreads easily from person to person.
Treatments For Bird Flu
There has been a saying and some evidence that taking antiviral medications can be quite effective to prevent the complications and to help calm the symptoms of it. Fortunately, human vaccination for preventing bird flu works pretty well.
The vaccination can be used if a person shows symptoms after exposure to bird flu, or to prevent illness in a person who is in contact with the disease.
The Australian Government two drugs called Relenza and Tamiflu, which could be used in the treatment. In the case of an outbreak in humans, these drugs would be used to provide treatment and prevent transmissions.A real vaccination against bird flu is in the making, and not available right now. The current influenza vaccines will not fully protect humans against bird flu.
Scientists trying to make the "real" vaccinations for bird flu.
People with suspected symptoms of bird flu better stay at home or will be taken to hospital. Depending on the type of flu they have, the patient may be kept in isolation for about ten days. The things you should do (recommended) :
- Drinking plenty of fluids with good nutritions
- Rest
- medications to help treat fever and pain, such as aspirin and paracetamol (aspirin should not be taken by children under the age of 16)
How Does The Body Immune System Respond To The Disease?
A human immune system is made to fight most infections and viruses such as influenza. This is because of the body’s natural super ability to recognize a random virus and develop an immune response. This natural ability to develop immune response takes time.
The H5N1 virus is a a new bird flu virus to the human body, so the body still cannot develop the ability to fight the virus. The human body needs the help of medication and drugs. Anti-viral drugs are being developed that will destroy the bird flu or speed up the natural immune response to the virus.
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