Avian influenza
From Wikinfo
Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) is a type of influenza virulent in birds. It was first identified in Italy in the early 1900s and is now known to exist worldwide.
Wild fowl often act as resistant carriers to the disease, spreading it to more suspectible domestic stocks. Avian influenza spreads in the air and in manure. It can also be transmitted by contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing. The incubation period is 3 to 5 days. Symptoms in animals vary, but virulent strains can cause death within several days.
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Avian Influenza in Humans
While avian influenza spreads rapidly among birds, it does not infect humans easily. Of the 15 subtypes known, only subtypes H5 and H7 are known to be capable of crossing the species barrier. Human deaths from avian influenza were unknown until 1997, when six people in Hong Kong died from the particularly virulent H5N1 strain. In January 2004, avian influenza surfaced again in Vietnam and Thailand's poultry industry, killing 5 people in Vietnam and infecting several in Thailand.
The symptoms of avian influenza in humans are akin to those of human influenza, ie. fever, sore throat, cough and in severe cases pneumonia.
It is feared that if the avian influenza virus undergoes antigenic shift with a human influenza virus, the new subtype created could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in humans. Such a subtype could cause a global influenza pandemic.
Prevention and Treatment
Avian influenza in humans can be detected reliably with standard influenza tests. Antiviral drugs are clinically effective in both preventing and treating the disease. Vaccines, however, must be prepared for each subtype and take at least four months to produce.
External Link
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Avian_influenza" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian_influenza, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
