Bird flu is a problem that in most of the cases affects birds. Caused by a virus developed in wild birds, bird flu, also known as avian flu may affect people. Not like in the past when the risk of catching the virus from an infected bird was high, nowadays we may say that bird flu in humans is a very rare phenomenon. We also know that the virus cannot spread too easy from one human to another. It is believed that if the virus mutates or a global flu pandemic begins the risk for humans to be affected by bird flu increases.
It is known that a flue pandemic killed in the last year of the First World War more than 20 million people all over the world. Experts believe that another flu pandemic could trigger at any time.
The possibility for people to catch a type of flu that usually affects wild birds, make specialists wonder about the ways viruses are mutating or changing and how these changes may affect people all over the globe.
The viruses named influenza A usually and normally occur in wild birds. Pretty strange is the fact that these birds are not affecting by carrying the virus while domestic birds and even people might be affected.
H5N1 was first noticed in Asia. It is known that a high percentage of birds that get H5N1 die. This high percentage of mortality is admitted in humans too.
The first case of H5N1 in humans was registered in 1997 after an outbreak of avian flu among the domestic birds in Hong Kong. The virus caused death in six cases, while other 12 infected persons developed severe respiratory problems.
The virus was spreading and all Asia was affected by the virus. Many cases were seen especially in rural areas where the birds share the same water supply. In this way the virus spreads faster and may affect humans too.
Statistics say that until October 2006 in Asia 256 people caught the infection. 156 people died. The problem is even more severe because specialists believe that H5N1 can affect not only birds, but mice and cats too. If H5N1 will be able to transmit from a human to another the situation is as worst as it can get. The first case of human to human virus transmission was registered in Thailand in September 2004.
The symptoms caused by bird flu are fever, sore throat, headache, lethargy, breathing problems and chest pain.
The three types of influenza viruses cause problems gradually. The C type of influenza only causes easygoing problems for humans. More affective is the B type of influenza viruses that may cause serious illnesses and seasonal epidemics, but the most threatening is the A type of influenza viruses.
By: Groshan Fabiola