What Exactly Is Bird Flu?

by Sarah Jenkins

Bird Flu, also known as avian influenza, is a virus carried primarily by birds, as well as certain mammals. There are actually 144 different strands of the virus, with varying intensity in symptoms and contagiousness. However, one strand in particular, H5N1, has caused widespread panic, as it has not only been transmitted to humans, but caused a mortality rate of over 50%.

The details of bird flu are very technical and somewhat difficult to understand to the average person. More in-depth information is available in ebook 2 of “A Guide to Bird Flu and How to Avoid Catching It.” Influenza, in general, is grouped into one of three categories: A, B, and C. Avian influenza is considered type A. Under category A, there are 16 H subtypes and 9 N subtypes. There are basically two variations of the virus among all the subtypes, a low pathogenic form, which is rather mild, and a high pathogenic form, which is considerably more harsh. To date, only H5 and H7 variations of the virus are highly pathogenic.

What does all of that mean in English? Although there are numerous strands of the virus, only a couple have ever been known to seriously harm humans. Although bird flu was first identified in the early 1900’s, the strand to cause the most concern recently, H5N1, first came to pass in 1997 in Hong Kong. In the current outbreak, there have been 100 people infected with the virus in Asia, and over half did not survive.

Bird Flu has symptoms typical of regular flu strands. These include, fever, sore throat, cough, conjunctivitis, and possibly pneumonia, in severe cases. However, with H5N1, these symptoms become severe and often lead to death.

The major concern with H5N1 is the possibility of the virus starting a pandemic. This may occur when a new virus emerges, it causes serious illness in humans, and is easily spread among humans. With bird flu, the first two conditions have already been met. H5N1 is a new virus to humans, although it has previously been found in poultry; it also causes serious illness in humans, as it has led to the death of over half of the 100 people infected by it. However, at this point, the third criteria has not been met. Bird flu is predominantly passed from fowl to humans, not human to human. Many people believe it is just a matter of time before the virus mutates to the point human transmission is possible. At that point, it will spread like wildfire throughout the world.

About the Author
Sarah is an acclaimed writer on medical matters, and has written extensively on the subjects of Attention Deficit Disorder, Bird Flu and Crohn’s Disease . For more of her articles, go to http://www.imedicalvillage.com now. Click here now and read more of her articles.

Bird Flu - Information on Bird Flu

by Peter Hutch

Bird flu has led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of wild and domestic birds and to a small number of human deaths. Right now, however, bird flu remains difficult for humans to contract. Most people who have developed symptoms have had close contact with sick birds, though in a few cases, bird flu has passed from one person to another.
Flu viruses occur naturally in birds and have been recognized for more than 100 years. They are popularly known as bird flu, avian flu, bird influenza or avian influenza, and there are more than a dozen sub-types. They are often carried by wild birds, though it is usually domesticated birds that become sick. Generally, the viruses do not affect humans, or cause mild illness at worst.

Diarrhea and Abdominal Pain: Diarrhea and abdominal pain has been a symptom in some patients, but not all of them. Watery diarrhea may be a symptom in bird flu cases, but is not a common symptom in regular flu. Diarrhea comes before respiratory symptoms. Two young patients had encephalitis and diarrhea without any respiratory symptoms. The name H5N1 refers to the type of proteins found in the protein coat of the influenza virus - haemagglutinin 5(H5) and neuraminidase 1 (N1). There are dozens of different proteins that can be present, so that flu viruses called H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 etc are also known. Officials of the Kano state avian flu control committee detected the presence of Avian flu among 16,000 chickens on a farm a few days ago, a month after the area was declared free of the virus.

Avian influenza cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone, so a laboratory test is required. Avian influenza is usually diagnosed by collecting a swab from the nose or throat during the first few days of illness. This swab is then sent to a laboratory, where they will either look for avian influenza virus using a molecular test, or they will try to grow the virus. Growing avian influenza viruses should only be done in laboratories with high levels of protection. If it is late in the illness, it may be difficult to find an avian influenza virus directly using these methods.

The virus has been identified in 12 states, including the largest city, Lagos, as well as around the federal capital, Abuja, since it was first confirmed in Nigeria four months ago.

Avian influenza infection in domestic poultry causes two main forms of disease that are distinguished by low and high extremes of virulence. The "low pathogenic" form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms (such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production). However, the highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. It is the highly pathogenic form of H5N1 that concerns scientists.

Avian influenza (or bird flu) is a highly infectious disease affecting many species of birds, including chickens, duck, turkeys and geese. It can affect commercial, wild and pet birds. There are 15 types of bird flu, but the type that is causing concern at the moment is the deadly strain H5N1.

Avian flu passes from birds to other birds, but there have also been human cases. As of January 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) had confirmed 270 cases of H5N1 in humans in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, leading to 164 deaths.

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