Avian flu, also known as avian influenza, is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. There are several types of avian flu viruses, and some of them can infect humans. Last week, Argentina and Uruguay declared a national health emergency following outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu from H5N1.
Avian influenza is transmitted between birds through contact with faeces, saliva, nasal secretions or eyes. infected, and can easily be transmitted in places where many birds are confined, such as aviaries and farms. In humans, an infection is usually the result of close contact with infected birds or surfaces contaminated by those birds.
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Argentina and Uruguay have declared a national emergency but that still doesn't include people. Although the past few decades have seen outbreaks of avian flu spread to humans, only two cases have been identified. in the past 12 months: an adult in Colorado last May and a nine-year-old girl in Ecuador in January (neither patient died). However, the fact that it was transmitted from birds to mammals and then spread between them indicates a possibility.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, 60 countries have recently experienced outbreaks of H5N1. In the United States, 43 million laying hens were killed by bird flu last year or culled to prevent the disease from spreading. Chicken is the most consumed meat in the world, and losses caused by avian flu affect it considerably.
Symptoms of avian flu in birds include lethargy, lack of appetite, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, enlarged head, comb and wattles, and rapid death in many cases. In humans, infection with the avian flu virus can cause fever, cough, sore throat, pneumonia and other serious, sometimes fatal, complications.
H5N1 variants have periodically infected people, causing 868 human cases by 2022, according to the WHO, and 457 deaths. This virus has not only started to adapt to mammals, but also to a specific mammal that may have direct relevance to people.
”When there is public discussion about the treatment of zoonotic diseases, it almost immediately turns to vaccination, preparedness, biosecurity – but no one discusses addressing the root cause. We would never have a debate about cancer prevention from tobacco products without talking about quitting smoking. However, when it comes to the risk of zoonotic diseases, there is enormous reticence to discuss reducing animal production,” said Jan Dutkiewicz, economist politician and visiting scholar at Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal at Harvard Law School and Clinic for Law and Policy.
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