Bird Flu In India

These days all we seem to hear in India is "bird flu". The disease has taken a significant share of India in its grip, has not only severely affected the poultry industry in the nation but it has sent panic bells ringing across the states - from Delhi in Northern Tamil Nadu in the South, West Bengal in the east, the latter being the most affected. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) said the current outbreak of avian flu in India as the worst cases reported to date.

In affected areas, chickens are slaughtered at a rapid pace, but the disease is spreading its wings from one district to another, from one state to another. One of the main reasons for the rapid spread of avian flu is the lack of awareness about the virus that causes the disease. Almost everyone knows that the disease is fatal, but few know what causes it, how it spreads and how it can be prevented.

Bearing in mind the scale and spread of avian flu virus that has wreaked havoc in India, the titles of India has decided to give readers a glimpse of the disease, which erupted in 1997 Hong Kong, affecting 18 people and claiming six lives.

What is avian influenza?

Bird flu, also called bird flu, is caused by the influenza virus that affects birds. It may seem surprising, but the fact is that birds, like humans, are susceptible to influenza. Influenza viruses can be divided into three types (strains) - A influenza A, B and C. Type A is responsible for the deadly flu pandemic. Type B can lead to smaller, more localized outbreaks. Type C, less frequent and more stable than other strains, has milder symptoms. Types B and C are usually found only in humans, whereas type A infects humans and animals, including birds, pigs, horses, whales and seals.

Bird flu is caused by the H5N1 virus, is a type of "flu". It usually occurs in chickens and other poultry birds like ducks. Earlier, human infection is unprecedented in the avian flu. However, the virus spread from birds to humans in 1997, when six people in Hong Kong died of the disease. According to data provided by the World Health Organization on February 1, 2008, approximately 225 people worldwide have died from the disease over the past five years.

It should be noted here that although the avian flu virus is very contagious, it rarely results in damage to the carrier. Thus, even when infected with an avian influenza virus, the animal did not "flu". In general, influenza virus is adapted by a species of bird, and spreads to turn to another species. This happens more with the domestication of chickens and turkeys, as the avian influenza virus acquired by a species mutates rapidly and infects other species as well. This rapid spread can be stopped only by killing all domestic birds in the affected area.

The H5N1 virus:

The strain of H5N1 bird flu cases. The highly pathogenic influenza A virus subtype, H5N1, is a virus of avian influenza has been an emerging source of global concern as a potential pandemic threat. It is simply called "bird flu" or "bird flu".

Over the years, H5N1 has evolved into a strain of flu virus that infects many species of birds than any strain of flu virus already known. This strain is more deadly than any strain of flu virus already known, and continues to evolve in increasingly widespread and more lethal once.

H5N1 has killed millions of poultry in Asia, Europe and Africa. Although the human transmission of the virus is rare, the recent cases of human infections have left health officials worried. Health experts fear that co-existence of human influenza virus and avian influenza virus (H5N1 in particular) will be an opportunity for Genet.