Q: How do humans catch avian flu?
Q: What is the number of people who have been
affected?
Q: Does avian flu pass from person to person?
Q: Are there any chances of a large outbreak
of avian bird flu?
Q: What would be the consequences if such a virus came
to exist?
Q. Does avian bird flu have different strains?
Q: Is any vaccine available for this disease?
Q: Would eating chicken increase my chances of
infection?
Q: How are affected countries responding
to the avian bird flu?
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| Q: How do humans catch avian flu?
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Initially avian flu was believed to infect birds
only, but then the first human victims surfaced in Hong Kong in 1997.
Normally, we humans fall prey to the disease when we come in close
contact with live infected birds. The virus of avian bird flu is
excreted by infected birds, which is inhaled by humans when it
pulverizes. Avian bird flu is tough to diagnose on account of the fact
that its symptoms are similar to other types of flu - fever, malaise,
sore throats and coughs. Development of Conjunctivitis was also seen in
several victims. What has gotten researchers concerned is the discovery
of a case in Vietnam in which effect of the virus was found in all parts
of the body rather than just the lungs. What this means is that several
illness and deaths that were believed to have been caused by something
else, could actually have been due to avian bird flu virus
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| Q: What is the number of people who have been
affected? |
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Since 2003, there have been 97 confirmed cases of avian bird flu reported to World Health Organization with 53 deaths in Cambodia, Vietnam & Thailand. Fatality rates for avian bird flu are believed to be much higher that other comparable diseases. Take for example Sars; since it first surfaced in November 2002, Sars infected at least 8400 people around the world, but the number of people who succumbed was around 800, a less than 10% fatality rate. |
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Details of number of cases reported
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| Q: Does avian flu pass
from person to person? |
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Indications, studies and symptoms all suggest it can,
but so far, the virus does not seem to have mutated into a form where it
could spread a pandemic. For example: A girl who was affected by avian
bird flu is believed to have passed the disease on to her mother who
also died. On the other hand, the girl’s aunt also picked up the
infection but managed to survive.
After studying these cases, UK Virology expert Professor John Oxford
said these cases were indicative of the fact that the basic virus was
capable of passing between humans and would most likely be seen again in
similar small and closed clusters.
Again, the above case is not the only incident when it is believed the
avian bird flu passed between humans. In 2004, two sisters died in
Vietnam after possibly contracting bird flu from their brother who had
died from an unidentified respiratory illness. In Hong Kong too in 1997,
a doctor possibly contracted the disease from a patient.
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| Q: Are there any chances of a large outbreak of
avian bird flu? |
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While most of the cases reported so far have shown no
indication of the virus jumping quickly from one human to another, the
possibility can not be ignored. Moreover, the virus is yet to combine
with any known form of human flu virus. But scientists and experts fear
that if a person was infected with both viruses simultaneously, the
chances of the avian virus exchanging genes with the human virus were
very much possible. This would result in a mutated virus with the power
to not just infect humans more easily but also pass along much more
quickly and effectively.
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| Q: What would be the consequences if such a
virus came to exist? |
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The results of such a possibility could only be
catastrophic. Experts around the world are of the opinion that once the
virus gained the ability to pass easily between humans, it could easily
cause anywhere between 2 million to 50 million deaths worldwide. U.K.
alone could account for more than 50,000 fatalities.
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| Q. Does avian bird flu have different
strains? |
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The avian bird flu is known to have 15 different
strains. Of these, the H5N1 strain is the one that is infecting humans
and causing widespread death. Variations have been found even within the
H5N1 strain with slight differences being seen in different countries
that became affected by the outbreak. Moreover, all of these strains
were different to those seen in the past. Pakistan recently announced
discovery of cases of the H-7 and H-9 in poultry, but no cases of these
strains being passed to humans.
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| Q: Is any vaccine
available for this disease? |
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While a perfect vaccine is yet to be developed,
pharmaceutical companies across the world are working on producing
prototypes that offer protection against H5N1. At the same time,
antiviral drugs, which help to limit symptoms and combat the disease,
are already available in the market. One such known highly effective
drug is Tamiflu. |
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Buy Tamiflu
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Q: Would eating chicken
increase my chances of infection? |
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No. Experts have found that the avian flu virus is
not food borne, so eating chicken should be safe enough. In the opinion
of Professor Hugh Pennington of Aberdeen University, "The virus is
carried in the chicken's gut. "A person would have to dry out the
chicken meat and would have to sniff the carcass to be at any risk. But
even then, the chances of getting infected were very low."
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| Q: How are
affected countries responding to the avian bird flu? |
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In South East Asian countries as well as Russia,
authorities have culled millions of birds to ensure that the disease
does not spread among birds or further among humans either. Experts are
of the belief that people in the UK are at "very low risk" of developing
the disease but the possibility can not be ruled out.
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