Press Release Summary = What is the avian influenza (birdflu)?
Press Release Body = What is the avian influenza (birdflu)? Bird fluisan infection caused by avian influenza virus. Theses flu viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestine but usually do not get sick from them. Bird fluis very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds like chicken ducks and turkeys very sick and kill them
What are the symptoms of avian influenza, or bird flu?
The symptoms of avian fluin humans are similar to other strains of the flu and include fever ,fatigue, cough, soret hroat, eye infections and muscle aches.
What are the different kinds of avian influenza?
There are 15 different strains of bird flu. The mildest the low pathogenic form often goes unnoticed, except that hens may produce fewer eggs. More severe kinds spread rapidly and kill many of the birds they infect. T
Three sub types of the influenza A virus - H5N1, H9N2 and H7N7 - have jumped the species barrier between birds and humans.
How does bird flu spread?
Migratory waterfowl - especially wild ducks carry the virus, but aren\'t killed by it. They can spread the virus to farm birds through direct contact or through contaminating water supplies.
Domestic poultry, including chickens and turkeys, are particularly susceptible to the kinds of epidemics that spread rapidly and kill most infected birds.
Epidemics often follow direct or indirect contact of domestic flocks with wild migratory birds. Live bird markets - where alarge number of birds are in small spaces - have also played an important role in the spread of epidemics.
Officials from the World Health Organization attributed the spread of bird flu to humans to contact with the droppings of infected birds.
How many people have been affected?
The WHO said since bird flu first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997 through the end of January 2005, there had been 55 confirmed cases in people and 42 deaths in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. That\'s a death rate of more than 70 per cent, which is considered very high In comparison, SARS has killed around 800 people worldwide and infected at least 8,400 since it first emerged in November 2002.
New flus have appeared consistently over the . years So what makes this flu so scary?
Throughout history, every new flu strain has been scary because it catches the human immune system unprepared. The death toll from a new flu is always higher. But H5N1 is extra scary because it resembles the most infamous flu virus of all time, the 1918 Spanish flu strain, the one that infected half the world\'s population, killing more than 40 million people.
Another disturbing thing about H5N1 is that the virus provokes such a strong immune response that the body ends up killing itself by causing a collapse of the circulatory system In 1918, the highest number of deaths by far occurred in those 20 to 40 years of age.
Even in today\'s modern, intensive care units, these patients often have a very, very poor outcome.
Right now, H5N1 is not that good at infecting people. It has not yet figured out how to pass easily from person to person.
How do you catch the flu from birds?
In order to get it from birds, H5N1 has to be already in the bird population. The bird sheds the virus in its droppings, and then the human inhales it or ingests it, and every time that happens, the virus gets another chance to practice causing human disease.
Can we produce a vaccine to protect us from this flu? If we can, why don\'t we start producing this vaccine now?
Flu vaccines need to be updated every year because the viruses are always changing. As an experiment, U.S. scientists created a test vaccine against an old version of H5N1, and it does seem to work, but only when given in large amounts. If people were given that test vaccine, it might offer some protection against a future pandemic version of H5N1. But the bad news is that, at the moment, there is no way the world could make enough of the vaccine to go around.
How do average people protect themselves while maintaining a regular lifestyle?
There isn\'t much the average person could do in the midst of a pandemic because the virus will spread so fast.
There\'s not a lot that you can do once it happens.
There\'s no question, though, that the old adage about washing your hands, using cough etiquette, staying home if you\'re sick, staying away from people who are sick, will decrease the likelihood for transmission. This is not an airborne disease, at least not principally an airborne disease, so there are ways that you can protect yourself, but it\'s not going to work if you think I\'ll just head for the hills, I\'ll go to the cottage. We can\'t all go to the cottage for eight weeks. This is going to be something that is in our community for several months possibly, and we can\'t stop living.
We hear of the drug Tamiflu as a possible treatment for influenza. It\'s also reported to have an effect preventing the disease. How long does that preventive action last?
Tamiflu can be used two ways, as a treatment when someone is sick with the flu and as a preventive to keep you from getting infected in the first place.
One pill protects you for one day. Based on the history of other pandemic influenzas, experts believe the first wave in a given area would last up to 100 days. So if you were trying to protect yourself from infection, you would need to stockpile about 100 doses of Tamiflu and start taking them from the moment you hear the virus is circulating in your region.
Why are there more cases in the winter months?
Avian influenza viruses become more active in cooler temperatures. Poultry marketing, transportation and consumption also increases in places like Vietnam with the approach of the Lunar New Year in early February. Those factors combine to create ideal conditions for the virus to spread.
Are the avian flu and SARS related?
No. SARS is caused by a coronavirus similar to one of the types of virus that causes the common cold. Avian flu is caused by an influenza virus. However, both viruses originally occurred in animals and spread to humans.
Special groups precautions
Individuals Participating in Avian Influenza
Outbreak Control and Eradication Activities
Persons involved in outbreak control and eradication activities (e.g., euthanasia, carcass disposal, and cleaning and disinfection of premises affected by avian influenza) on poultry farms or live bird markets are at increased risk for exposure to avian influenza. Such persons often have prolonged, direct contact with infected birds and/or contaminated surfaces in an enclosed setting.
There are developed guidance to reduce these risks, including recommendations about personal protective equipment, vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccine, administration of antiviral drugs for prophylaxis, surveillance and monitoring of workers, and evaluation of workers who develop a febrile respiratory illness within 7 days of their last exposure
Other Individuals with Possible Exposure to Avian Influenza
The risks for exposure to avian influenza viruses and the possibility of viral re- assortment would be expected to be lower for persons with more routine (i.e., less intense and prolonged) occupational or other types of contact with poultry or contaminated surfaces or equipment on affected farms or in live bird markets.
Individuals who develop a febrile respiratory illness infected - within a week after their last exposure to avian or exposed birds or potentially contaminated surfaces provider care - should consult a health
Before visiting a health-care setting, tell the provider about symptoms and recent possible exposures to avian influenza.
Health-Care Professionals: Evaluation of Ill Persons
Health-care providers should be alert for respiratory illness among persons who may have been exposed to infected poultry. The following section provides recommendations for health-care professionals who may need to evaluate symptomatic persons with possible avian influenza exposure.
(1) Persons who develop a febrile respiratory illness should have a respiratory sample (e.g., nasopharyngeal swab or aspirate) collected.
(2) The respiratory sample should be tested by RT-PCR for influenza A, and if possible for H1 and H3. If such capacity is not available in the area , or if the result of local testing is positive, then the WHO regional office should be notified .
(3) Virus isolation should not be attempted unless a biosafety level 3+ facility is available to receive and culture specimens.
(4) Optimally, an acute- (within 1 week of illness onset) and convalescent-phase (after 3 weeks of illness onset) serum sample should be collected and stored locally in case testing for antibody to the avian influenza virus should be needed.
Consumers: Food Safety Guidance
There is no evidence that any human cases of avian influenza have been acquired by eating poultry products. Influenza viruses such as H5N2, H7N2, and H5N1 are destroyed by adequate heat, as are other food borne pathogens. Consumers are reminded to follow proper food preparation and handling practices, including:
(1) Cook all poultry and poultry products (including eggs) thoroughly before eating. (This means that chicken should be cooked until it Fahrenheit, degrees 180 reaches a temperature of throughout each piece of chicken.)
(2) Raw poultry always should be handled hygienically because it can be associated with many infections, including salmonella. Therefore, all utensils and surfaces (including hands) that come in contact with raw poultry should be cleaned carefully with water and soap immediately afterwards. The World Health Organization has developed food safety guidance for the current situation in Asia
CLINICAL PICTURE
The classic flu begins abruptly, with a fever in the 38 to 40 degree range, a flushed face, body aches, and marked lack of energy. Some people have other systemic symptoms such as dizziness or vomiting. The fever usually lasts for a day or two, but can last five days.
Somewhere between day 2 and day 4 of the illness, the \"whole body\" symptoms begin to subside, and respiratory symptoms begin to increase. The virus can settle anywhere in the respiratory tract, producing symptoms of a cold, croup, sore throat, bronchiolitis, ear infection, and/or pneumonia. The most prominent of the respiratory symptoms is usually a dry, hacking cough. Most people also develop a sore (red) throat and a headache. Nasal discharge and sneezing are not uncommon.
The most frequent complication of the flu is bacterial pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is a less common complication but has a high fatality rate.
Other complications include inflammation of the heart and worsening of such pulmonary diseases as bronchitis. The incubation period of the flu is usually two days but can range from one to five days. The incubation period is the time between the entry of the infection into your respiratory tract and the beginning of symptoms.
A person is most likely to pass on the virus during the period beginning one to two days before the onset of symptoms and ending four to five days after the onset. Because the flu can be transmitted before symptoms, it is difficult avoid. Inhaling droplets from coughs or sneezes is the most common way to catch the flu. Transmission may also occur through direct contact since flu viruses may persist for hours on cold surfaces and under conditions of low humidity
ANTI-VIRALS/ANTIBIOTICS
Each citizen must prepare for the likelihood of an Avian Flu pandemic in the very near future. Prudent preparation includes the advance purchase of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), Relenza (Zanamivir), and Zithromax in addition to Zithromax which is commonly prescribed for pneumonia which develops secondary to the flu.
Historically, death from the flu is commonly caused by pneumonia.
Death from the Avian Flu often occurs from complications related to pneumonia. Also referred to as \"Dry Land Drowning.\" For this reason, antibiotics to treat pneumonia (Zithromax), and antivirals (Tamiflu & Relenza) to treat the virus are both necessary
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