The dangers of avian influenza

With the improvement of living standards, people's diet has also been greatly improved. At the same time, many people's diet has improved, and many people have inadvertently contracted avian influenza. So, what are the hazards of avian influenza? When it comes to the hazards of avian influenza, of course we must first understand what avian influenza is, how it is transmitted, and what is the cause of avian influenza? Only by understanding these factors can people stay away from the hazards brought by avian influenza. Let’s learn some common knowledge about avian influenza.

When it comes to bird flu, people think that it is caused by a virus infection in poultry, and then we eat the meat of infected poultry to get the disease. This is a misunderstanding of bird flu by many people. So, what exactly is bird flu? What causes the spread of the bird flu virus?

1. What is avian influenza? What is highly pathogenic avian influenza?

Avian flu is the abbreviation for avian influenza. It is an infectious disease of poultry (domestic and wild birds) caused by avian influenza virus type A. Infection with avian influenza virus may manifest as mild respiratory and digestive symptoms with a low mortality rate; or manifest as more severe systemic, hemorrhagic, and septicemic symptoms with a high mortality rate. This difference in symptoms is mainly determined by the type of avian influenza.

Depending on the pathogenicity of avian influenza, avian influenza can be divided into highly pathogenic avian influenza, low pathogenic avian influenza and non-pathogenic avian influenza. The recent avian influenza caused by the H5N1 serotype at home and abroad is called highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has a high morbidity and mortality rate and causes great harm.

Avian influenza is an acute infectious disease caused by avian influenza virus, which can also infect humans. The symptoms after infection mainly include high fever, cough, runny nose, myalgia, etc. Most of them are accompanied by severe pneumonia. In severe cases, multiple organ failure such as heart and kidney leads to death, and the mortality rate is very high. The disease can be transmitted through multiple pathways, including the digestive tract, respiratory tract, skin lesions, and conjunctiva. The movement of people and vehicles is an important factor in the spread of the disease.

The infected people are mostly direct contacts and young children.

2. How is avian influenza transmitted?

There are two ways to spread avian influenza: direct contact between sick and healthy poultry and indirect contact between virus-contaminated materials. Avian influenza virus exists in the digestive tract, respiratory tract and organ tissues of sick and infected birds. Therefore, the virus can be excreted from the body through secretions from the eyes, nose, mouth, and feces. Any objects contaminated with secretions, feces, and dead poultry bodies containing avian viruses, such as feed, drinking water, chicken coops, air, cages, feeding and management equipment, transport vehicles, insects, and various birds carrying the virus can all be mechanically transmitted. Healthy poultry becomes infected through the respiratory and digestive tracts, causing disease.

3. What are the characteristics of the epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza?

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus is similar to common influenza virus and can be prevalent throughout the year, but is more likely to spread in winter and spring. Therefore, avian influenza virus is more resistant to low temperature conditions. Poultry of all breeds and ages can be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, which develops rapidly, spreads quickly, and has a mortality rate of up to 100%.

After reading the above introduction, do you understand the harm of bird flu? Bird flu is not only highly contagious, but also poses a great threat to our health, so we should start from every aspect of our lives to eliminate bird flu. Try to avoid contact with poultry, wash your hands with disinfectant immediately after contact with poultry, do not eat half-cooked eggs, etc. These are all very important details.