What is the Bird flu ? How can prevent this disease!?Bird flu", or avian influenza, is an infectious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect birds and, less commonly, pigs. While all bird species are thought to be susceptible to infection, domestic poultry flocks are especially vulnerable to infections that can rapidly reach epidemic proportions.
The disease in birds has two forms. The first causes mild illness, sometimes expressed only as ruffled feathers or reduced egg production. Of greater concern is the second form, known as 鈥渉ighly pathogenic avian influenza鈥? This form is highly infectious in birds and is rapidly fatal, with a mortality approaching 100%. Birds can die on the same day that symptoms first appear.
The reported symptoms of avian influenza in humans have ranged from typical influenza-like symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications.
Most influenza viruses cause no symptoms, or only mild ones in wild birds; however, the range of symptoms in birds vary greatly depending on the strain of virus and the type of bird. Infection with certain avian influenza A viruses (for example, some H5 and H7 strains) can cause widespread disease and death among some species of wild and especially domesticated birds such as chickens and turkeys.
Certain water birds act as hosts of influenza viruses by carrying the virus in their intestines and shedding it. Infected birds shed virus in saliva, nasal secretions and faeces. Avian influenza viruses spread among susceptible birds when they have contact with contaminated nasal, respiratory and faecal material from infected birds; however, faecal-to-oral transmission is the most common mode of spread.
Although there's no vaccine to prevent bird flu, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of becoming ill.
Stay healthy: It's impossible to know how a flu pandemic might take shape, but being in good health can help protect you. A healthy body means a strong immune system that fights off infection. Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting adequate sleep are all things you can do to maintain good health.
Avoid contact with birds and bird-related material in areas where bird flu is occurring: Whether feeding ducks at a park or walking through an open-air market, touching or being close to birds or bird droppings can lead to bird flu transmission if birds in that area are infected.
Use proper respiratory hygiene: Cover your mouth and nose with tissue when you cough or sneeze. Discard used tissues immediately. If no tissue is available, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve.
Wash your hands frequently: Use soap and water or, when travelling or when water is scarce, an alcohol-based (60 percent to 95 percent) hand sanitiser to help prevent the spread of infection. It's especially important to wash your hands after likely exposure, and before handling food or touching your nose, mouth or eyelids.
Wear gloves: Consider wearing latex gloves when caring for someone with flu, as gloves may reduce the risk of direct contact with influenza viruses (but still wash your hands).
Consider wearing a mask: A respiratory mask may prevent you from inhaling airborne particles from an infected person's coughs or sneezes.
Keep your home and work areas clean: Use disinfecting wipes or cleanser to clean such common surfaces as door handles, phones, computer keyboards, countertops and tools.
Be careful about the food you eat: Don't eat undercooked poultry or raw eggs. Thoroughly cooking poultry and eggs and other types of meat kills bacteria and viruses within these products.
Get a seasonal flu shot: Although your yearly flu shot won't protect you from the bird flu, it's still protective against the more common seasonal flu viruses. It's also a precaution against the possibility of getting simultaneous infections with both the common flu and bird flu. This is important because simultaneous infections are the main way that viruses swap genes and create new strains that potentially can cause flu pandemics.
Keep your distance: In the event of a pandemic, avoid public areas, work from home, avoid unnecessary travel, stay three to six feet away from people who are coughing or sneezing, and avoid shaking hands, hugging or kissing. Bird flu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_flu Bird Flu is also known as Avian Flu, Avian Influenza or H5N1
Bird flu viruses infect birds, including chickens, other poultry and wild birds such as ducks. Most bird flu viruses can only infect other birds. However, bird flu can pose health risks to people.
Human infection is still very rare, but the virus that causes the infection in birds might change, or mutate, to more easily infect humans. This could lead to a pandemic, or a worldwide outbreak of the illness.
During an outbreak of bird flu, people who have contact with infected birds can become sick. It may also be possible to catch bird flu by eating poultry that is not well cooked or through contact with a person who has it. Bird flu can make people very sick or even cause death.
There is currently no vaccine for its prevention. (To be more precise, It has been approved but is not yet available to the public.)
PREVENTION:
Personal Hygiene and Healthcare - Frequently wash hands with soap and water and avoid contact with sick animals and people. Maintain general health by updating routine vaccinations, getting a seasonal flu shot, eating right and exercising. Receive medical care if bird flu symptoms are detected. Treatment with antiviral drugs can reduce the severity of the flu if taken within 24-48 hours of the onset of symptoms. Nevertheless, antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu, have not been very successful in preventing death from avian flu so far. More studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of antiviral drugs in treating avian flu.
Food Safety - Follow the tips to cooking poultry safely. Well cooked poultry and eggs are perfectly safe to eat. Avoid cross contamination of raw meat with cooked meat. Always disinfect cutting boards with 4 teaspoons of chlorine bleach to one gallon of water before re-using them. Do not eat uncooked blood from poultry. |
