Chicken Flu: The Risk of Animal to Human Transmission
By: meital tzvikon
Submitted: 2010-08-26 22:03:00 | Word Count: 854
Bird Flu: The Menace of Animal to Human Transmission
Individuals who have close or direct contact to infected poultry can contract the illness after coming in touch with chicken secretions or feces.
When bird flu hit most Asian nations, it prompted the World Health Group (WHO) to urge China to check its wild birds, particularly geese that migrate from its waters during the harsh winter. The illness unfold so fast from one bird to another that about 5,000 birds were killed in one season. Individuals who have close or direct contact to contaminated poultry can contract the disease after coming involved with fowl secretions or feces.
Although many are divided on the potential of direct human to human transmission of the virus, this risk has not been ruled out. Viruses, typically, are known to mutate. Within the case of chicken flu, members of the family contaminated with it might present different severity of symptoms, prompting a misdiagnosis. Additionally, if an individual who has the widespread flu becomes contaminated with chicken flu at the identical time, it could possibly lead to the mutation of the fowl flu virus.
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At the College of Leicester in Great Britain, it was found that a full-blown hen flu pandemic could cause an 80% mortality rate. A workforce led by Karl Nicholson is growing the fowl flu vaccine with the aim of lowering the fatality should a fourth major pandemic occur. In the final century, there have been three recorded major pandemics: the Spanish Flu in 1918, the Asian Flu in 1957 and the Hong Kong Flu in 1968. In complete, the three pandemics claimed a minimum of 20 million people.
The hen flu virus, which might be transmitted by way of direct contact with a hen’s infected saliva, nasal secretions and feces, can survive for up to every week at 22 levels Celsius. At freezing temperatures, the virus can survive indefinitely. It's no surprise that the fowl flu virus tends to last in colder climates and is pronounced to be almost as deadly as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). In addition to the transmission of the illness from the migration of wild birds traveling nice distances, the disease can also be unfold when contaminated birds are exported and imported in the worldwide market.
By way of safety in food handling and preparation, a cooking temperature of about 70 levels Celsius is sufficient to kill the bird flu virus. It will be important, nonetheless, to keep away from raw birds and other uncooked markets meats from being contaminated. Cook dinner eggs properly and examine that the yolks should not runny. The easy act of washing your hands thoroughly with cleaning soap and water after handling raw meats could spell the difference. Take into account that transmission of the chicken flu virus to humans usually occurs during the slaughtering process and dealing with of infected chook fluids. After slaughtering infected poultry, the virus usually stays in the intestinal and respiratory tracts, not within the meat itself. Cooking at right temperatures might help avoid the virus from spreading.
The signs of hen flu are very similar to human flu. However, the severity of a disease can generally give option to announcements of a pandemic, which might trigger political issues. In Asia where the incidence and precise instances of human transmission of hen flu occurred, WHO and the United States instantly took precautionary measures. The British Medical Journal, on the other hand, declared that a pandemic remains to be far from happening.
No journey advisory has been issued proscribing anybody from going to nations affected by hen flu though WHO has issued a warning to travelers. Travelers are suggested in opposition to going to live poultry markets, getting close contact to any farms and having direct publicity to feathers, feces or droppings, eggs and poultry meat products. Travelers coming from bothered countries are additionally not being screened. However, precautionary measures are in place, significantly within the media. Information is being disseminated with a purpose to make people aware of the chicken flu, its effects and what to do to avoid getting infected.
Viruses are consistently mutating and evolving. Health watchers, practitioners and scientists are involved about this as a result of if a pandemic occurs, there gained’t be enough time to arrange and develop a vaccine. They concern that we are once again on the point of another main pandemic threat. However, with the strides being made by technology on daily basis, hopefully the casualty gained’t be practically as high because the casualty of the previous three main pandemics that claimed at the very least 20 million lives worldwide.
Author Resource:-
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