Bird flu

A brief overview

Bird flu, also referred to as avian flu, may be simply described as any sort of influenza caused by viruses that are adapted to birds. One of the most common known types of these viruses is the Influenza Virus A. All subtypes of this group are adapted to birds. The subtype H5N1 is the most common causes of the avian flu that out broke recently in 2006. One very peculiar trait of this group of viruses is the infection it causes in birds does not result in any illness within the birds but on the contrary; being highly contagious they pose a great threat to humans when domesticated birds like turkey, chicken, and ducks are infected. The transmission of the viruses from the infected birds usually takes place through the saliva, nasal secretions and the feces.

Origin & common causes and symptoms of bird flu

The Influenza A virus is one of the most prominent causes of the bird flu in humans. Till date this subtype has caused major out breaks of highly pathogenic form causing severe diseases in humans. Scientific researches carried out reveals that sometimes this subtype which generally causes mild disease in birds may also mutate into viruses that can cause serious and pathogenic diseases. The migratory water fowls and swans in particular acts as good vectors and carriers for the viruses. The exact incubation period for the viruses is yet to be revealed but it has been observed that the illness and the symptoms start developing within 1 to 5 days of exposure to the virus. A relative mild eye infection medically termed as conjunctivitis may be the only indication of the disease in some cases. Where as usually the symptoms bear resemblance to those of a conventional influenza some of which are cough, fever, frequent chills, headaches, a sore throat and pain in the muscles.                  

Prevention & control

The most effective steps involved in the prevention & control of the bird influenza would be to fight it at its origin before it turns out to be a human flu pandemic. These can be done by checking the transmission of the viruses form the sites of its occurrences in poultry especially in free range chickens and wet land dwelling ducks which may also prove of great help in curbing the virus in the region of its origin before it starts to the other parts of the world.