The Symptoms of Avian Human Influenza

Avian is another word for bird. When flu bugs first infect one species and then later infect humans, they are often called by a name that reflects the original animal that carried the virus. Swine and now avian human influenza are examples. Whether it is called bird flu or avian influenza, efforts to fight it are the same. In order to fight avian influenza in humans, the public must be aware of the threat and practice good health habits to avoid contamination. Although wild birds carry the viruses, they do not usually have symptoms. It is domesticated birds (chickens, ducks and turkeys) in which avian influenza symptoms cause sickness and sometimes death. The symptoms in domesticated poultry may be mild causing ruffled feathers and low egg production or severe causing disease that affects multiple organs and death in 90-100% of flocks in as little as 48 hours. It is believed that the degree of difference in the symptoms is related to the strain of the virus infecting the birds.Avian human influenza cases are rare. However, 253 confirmed cases have been reported since 2003, according to statistics compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO). 148 deaths worldwide have been attributed to the H5N1 virus, which is why there is a major effort to control and fight avian influenza outbreaks and inform the public about safe handling practices. Avian human influenza symptoms have been reported in many countries in Asia and the Middle East, but most have occurred in small villages and outlying areas of Indonesia and Vietnam. Most confirmed cases have resulted from contact with infected domesticated birds or contact with surfaces contaminated by the feces and fluids from infected birds. The symptoms of avian human influenza are typical flu-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, cough and muscle aches. But, in some confirmed cases the symptoms have included eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases, acute respiratory distress and other severe and life-threatening complications. As with poultry, The Center for Disease Control (CDC) believes that the wide range of avian flu symptoms in humans may depend on which strain of avian human influenza virus the person was infected with.In order to confirm a case of avian human influenza, the patient must have a positive swab from the throat or nose. Or, two separate blood tests most be performed. While highly contagious among birds, avian flu symptoms are not easily transmitted by human to human contact. The only confirmed cases of avian flu caused by contact with an infected person have been among family members who remained in close contact with the person suffering from the symptoms of the bird flu. This is unlike seasonal flu and SARS which are highly contagious viruses among humans. Government officials hope that efforts to control and fight avian influenza will prevent the likelihood that it will mutate into a form that spreads as easily among humans as other forms of the virus, but experts are not sure why viruses like this mutate and are unable to predict what the outcome of avian human influenza will be. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.

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