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Avian_influenza.
Avian influenza
Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) is a type of influenza virulent in birds. It was first identified in Italy in the early 1900s and is now known to exist worldwide.
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1 Infection
2 Avian Influenza in Humans
3 Prevention and Treatment
4 External link
Infection
The causative agent is the avian influenza (AI) virus. AI viruses all belong to the influenza virus A genus of the Orthomyxoviridae family and are negative-stranded, segmented RNA viruses.
Avian influenza spreads in the air and in manure. Wild fowl often act as resistant carriers, spreading it to more susceptible domestic stocks. It can also be transmitted by contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing; however, there is no evidence that the virus can survive in well cooked meat.
The incubation period is 3 to 5 days. Symptoms in animals vary, but virulent strains can cause death within several days.
Avian Influenza in Humans
While avian influenza spreads rapidly among birds, it does not infect humans easily, and there is no confirmed evidence of human-to-human transmission. Of the 15 subtypes known, only subtypes H5 and H7 are known to be capable of crossing the species barrier.
The symptoms of avian influenza in humans are akin to those of human influenza, ie. fever, sore throat, cough and in severe cases pneumonia.
Human deaths from avian influenza were unknown until 1997, when six people in Hong Kong died from the particularly virulent H5N1 strain.
In January 2004, a major new outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza surfaced again in Vietnam and Thailand's poultry industry, and within weeks spread to ten countries and regions in Asia, including Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and China. Intensive efforts were undertaken to slaughter chickens, ducks and geese, and the outbreak was contained by March, but the total human death toll in Vietnam and Thailand was 23 people.
It is feared that if the avian influenza virus undergoes antigenic shift with a human influenza virus, the new subtype created could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in humans. Such a subtype could cause a global influenza pandemic, similar to the Spanish Flu that killed over 20 million people in 1918. In February 2004, avian influenza virus was detected in pigs in Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains.
In North America, the presence of avian influenza was confirmed at several poultry farms in British Columbia in February 2004. As of April 2004, 18 farms have been quarantined to halt the spread of the virus. Two cases of humans with avian influenza have been confirmed in that region.
Prevention and Treatment
Avian influenza in humans can be detected reliably with standard influenza tests. Antiviral drugs are clinically effective in both preventing and treating the disease. Vaccines, however, take at least four months to produce and must be prepared for each subtype.
External link
The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
Highly pathogenic avian influenza : a threat to U.S. poultry (SuDoc A 1.68:1704) by U.S. Dept of Agriculture
21st Century Complete Medical Guide to Avian Influenza and Bird Flu, Pandemic Risks, Authoritative CDC, NIH, and FDA Document by PM Medical Health News
Influenza aviar altamenta patógena : una amenaza para las aves de corral en EE.UU (SuDoc A 1.68:1704 S) by U.S. Dept of Agriculture
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Recent Avian_influenza related patents
From USPTO:
from PUBMED
1: Brooks MJ, Sasadeusz JJ, Tannock GA.
Antiviral chemotherapeutic agents against respiratory viruses: where are we now
and what's in the pipeline?
Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2004 May;10(3):197-203.
PMID: 15071371
2: Matrosovich MN, Matrosovich TY, Gray T, Roberts NA, Klenk HD.
Human and avian influenza viruses target different cell types in cultures of
human airway epithelium.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Mar 30;101(13):4620-4. Epub 2004 Mar 15.
PMID: 15070767
3: Johnston AM.
Avian influenza outbreak in south east Asia.
J R Soc Health. 2004 Mar;124(2):64-5.
PMID: 15067976
4: Trampuz A, Prabhu RM, Smith TF, Baddour LM.
Avian influenza: a new pandemic threat?
Mayo Clin Proc. 2004 Apr;79(4):523-30; quiz 530. Review.
PMID: 15065617
5: Lin JT.
[Strategies in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with avian influenza]
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2004 Mar;84(5):355-6. Chinese.
PMID: 15061981
6: Xu XY, Wang QH.
[Biology and epidemiology of avian influenza]
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2004 Mar;84(5):353-4. Chinese.
PMID: 15061980
7: John TJ.
Avian influenza: expect the best but prepare for the worst.
Indian J Med Res. 2004 Feb;119:iii-iv.
PMID: 15055481
8: Jimba M, Nabae K, Wakai S.
Avian influenza: a chance to strengthen agriculture-health links.
Lancet. 2004 Mar 27;363(9414):1078.
PMID: 15051299
9: Fomsgaard A, Grauballe PC, Glismann SO.
[Risk of a new influenza pandemic?]
Ugeskr Laeger. 2004 Mar 1;166(10):912-5. Danish.
PMID: 15045738
10: Kroes AC, Spaan WJ, Claas EC.
[In Process Citation]
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2004 Mar 6;148(10):458-63. Dutch.
PMID: 15042889
11: Iwatsuki-Horimoto K, Kanazawa R, Sugii S, Kawaoka Y, Horimoto T.
The index influenza A virus subtype H5N1 isolated from a human in 1997 differs
in its receptor-binding properties from a virulent avian influenza virus.
J Gen Virol. 2004 Apr;85(Pt 4):1001-5.
PMID: 15039542
12: Reina J.
[Avian influenza. A continual threat to human beings]
Med Clin (Barc). 2004 Mar 13;122(9):339-41. Spanish.
PMID: 15033054
13: Ekdahl K, Penttinen P, Ternhag A, Linde A, Giesecke J.
[Avian influenza--next global infection threat from Asia]
Lakartidningen. 2004 Feb 19;101(8):683-5. Swedish.
PMID: 15024942
14: [No authors listed]
Avian influenza A(H5N1) in humans and poultry, Vietnam.
Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2004 Jan 16;79(3):13-4. English, French. No abstract
available.
PMID: 15024854
15: [No authors listed]
Avian influenza A(H5N1).
Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2004 Feb 13;79(7):65-70. English, French. No abstract
available.
PMID: 15024851
16: [No authors listed]
Avian influenza frequently asked questions.
Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2004 Feb 20;79(8):77-83. English, French. No abstract
available.
PMID: 15024791
17: Bonn D.
Avian influenza: the whole world's business.
Lancet Infect Dis. 2004 Mar;4(3):128.
PMID: 15017978
18: Beckford-Ball J.
Building awareness of the avian flu outbreak and its symptoms.
Nurs Times. 2004 Feb 10-16;100(6):28-9.
PMID: 15000024
19: [No authors listed]
Getting out into the field, and forest.
Lancet Infect Dis. 2004 Mar;4(3):127.
PMID: 14998495
20: Weir E, Wong T, Gemmill I.
Avian influenza outbreak: update.
CMAJ. 2004 Mar 2;170(5):785-6.
PMID: 14993171
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