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Avian flu or Avian Influenza is a condition where the virus from an infected bird is passed to the humans. People are not totally aware of what is Avian Flu or Avian Influenza. It is a viral respiratory infection that is found in some birds. It is more typical of poultry. It normally comes as a result of close contact with an infected bird. It could be poultry or it could be surfaces that have been contaminated with the secretions and the excreta of the infected birds. It does not occur due to eating birds or poultry or eggs.
How is Avian Flu or Avian Influenza caused?
Avian flu is an infection caused by the birds. These viruses are there naturally amongst the birds. Wild birds are found with intestinal infections, but these infections normally do not affect us. But there are viruses which are really contagious and life destructing. These are found even in certain domesticated birds like chicken, ducks, etc.
These viruses are normally found in the saliva, nasal secretions and feces of the birds. When the birds get in touch with these contaminated surfaces containing the secretions of the infected birds, then the process of spreading of the Avian Flu virus begins.
It is seen that Avian Flu virus infection has two main forms of disease:
The low pathogenic form: In this form very few symptoms are seen. Symptoms include feathers which are ruffled and a sudden drop in the production of eggs.
The high pathogenic form: This spreads through poultry. This spreads very fast. This virus also called the H5N1 virus is a virus that is restricted to birds. This has caused the most number of detected Avian Flu cases. This is also called the “HPA1 H5N1 virus”.
Results of Avian Flu
This contagious virus results in causing severe illness. This virus mutates and has the capacity to produce variety of strains. People should be protected against new strains so they take frequent vaccinations.
Symptoms of Avian Flu Infection
While the recent spread of bird flu was seen, many people began to really ask themselves what is avian Flu or Avian Influenza. They understood that the following symptoms revealed a case of Avian Flu:
- A runny nose
- A sore throat
- A body with muscles which ache and pain
- Headache
- Cough
- Nasal congestion
- Fever
- Watery eyes
- Joints which ache
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Red eyes
- Red nose
- Red throat
- Loss of appetite
- Weakness
Detection of the Avian Flu Virus
Avian flu is normally detected only through a laboratory test. A swab is collected from the nose or throat in the initial days of the sickness. This swab is taken to the laboratory for a test for the presence of Avian Influenza virus. If the test is being done at a later stage, then it would be difficult to find an Avian Flu virus by this method. Both the blood specimens are equally important in diagnosing the sickness: The one taken in the initial stage and the one taken in the later stage.
Care and Caution against the Virus
It is always advisable to maintain hygiene to avoid diseases like Avian Flu or Avian Influenza. The following things could be practiced:
- Washing hands with warm water and soap each time after touching raw poultry and eggs.
- Cutting boards should be cleaned with hot water. This would ensure that raw poultry is prevented from contaminating other foods.
- It is good to use a food thermometer. This cooks poultry to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- It is good to cook eggs and yolk till they are firm.
Treatment of Avian Influenza Infection
It has been seen that antiviral drugs manage to bring about a reduction in the severity of the disease. Besides this, the duration of the illness is also reduced. The best treatment is to have a lot of rest and consume as much fluids as possible. One could take regular vaccines of flu to prevent the virus from affecting us .Laboratory studies reveal that normal influenza virus work in treating Avian Influenza. But there are chances that these viruses could get resistant to these kinds of drugs. So there are chances that these medications may not really work sometimes. How is Avian Influenza in humans treated? It is seen that influenza vaccine does not protect against Avian Influenza.
