Bird
Flu and Avian Flu
In some areas of Indochina, a silent killer
is devastating an entire industry. Thousands of poultry die
each day from Bird Flu, and the threat of mutation into a
human strain - one that can easily turn into a global pandemic
- is very real. Learn more from this site about the silent
menace and how you can protect yourself and your family if
you go to Asia on holiday.
Are you at risk?
Of the 15 subtypes known, only subtypes H5, H7 and H9 are
known to be capable of crossing the species barrier from birds
to humans. It is feared that if the avian influenza virus undergoes
antigenic shift with a human influenza virus, the new subtype
created could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in
humans.
> read more... How to tell...
Firstly, there is no evidence that the people
who have been infected with avian flu have passed the disease
on to other
people. This suggests that a new, highly infectious, flu virus
has not been produced yet.
However, every time an avian flu
virus jumps from a bird to a person, the risk of a new
flu virus being produced increases.
For this reason, governments are keen to prevent the spread
of avian flu among birds and this is why they are culling
their poultry stocks.
> read more...
Travelers advise...
The reason for seemingly worldwide governmental
panic is that until 1997 avian flu was believed to only infect
birds, however in 1997 it was discovered that the virus can
occasionally infect people who have been in close contact
with live birds in markets or farms.
> read
more... |
