AVIAN FLU

- it is a highly pathogenic disease caused by H5N1 influenza viruses which infect poultry mainly ( but can be transmitted to humans ) .

- there are 2 forms of the disease :

1- the low pathogenic form causing mild symptoms ( which my be undetected ) like ruffled feathers, a drop in egg production .
2- the high pathogenic form causing in poultry multiple organs failure , and even mortality in most cases in 2 days.
in humans , it cause Primary viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure , so it is fatal.

transmission to humans :

- the main route is Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects which are contaminated by their faeces .
- if poultry is well cooked , it will not transmit the bird influenza ( avian flu ) disease as the virus has sensitivity towards heat , so Normal temperatures used for cooking (70oC in every part of the food) will cause the death of avian flu virus. so people need to be sure that every part of the poultry is fully cooked without any pink parts and that eggs, are properly cooked without any runny yolks.

vaccine :

till now , there is no effective Vaccine against a pandemic virus , but clinical trials are still performed .

treatment :

- oseltamivir ( Tamiflu) and zanamivir ( Relenza) as neuraminidase inhibitors show some efficacy , and improve the chances of survival if administered early( 2 days after the onset of symptoms )
- M2 inhibitors amantadine and rimantadine may be effective , but resistance develop rapidly .