Four Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Bird Flu

Avian influenza is an infection caused by avian influenza viruses. Avian viruses occur naturally among birds and are normally no threat to them however within the past several years the influenza viruses among birds have started to mutate. Wild birds carry the virus all over the world. Avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick. When domesticated birds contract Bird Flu it often results in death.

Avian Flu is passed through saliva, nasal secretions, and feces of the bird that have contracted it. Domesticated birds could be infected through contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry. The Bird Flu is also passed through things as simple as the dirt is cages where infected birds have been.

According to studies, there are two main forms of disease that Bird Flu causes. The “low pathogenic” form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms like ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production. The highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. The second form of Bird Flu affects multiple internal organs and causes death at a rate of 90-100 percent. Death can occur with the second form of the virus within 48 hours. But how does this all effect human beings? There are four major reasons you should not be afraid.

First, the truth is that there is no direct correlation between humans and the bird flu yet. There are cases where people have been infected however in each of these cases the people infected lived in unsanitary conditions along with domesticated foul that was infected. If you are not in direct contact with these types of animals, you have no worry as of yet.

Second, bird flu is treatable. There are some prescription medicines approved in the United States for human influenza viruses and they will work in treating Bird flu infection in humans, however there is currently a shortage of those drugs.
Third, your risk of being infected with Bird Flu really has had more to do with whether or not you come into contact with domesticated birds, however with new cases found in cats, concern no is that there is a greater risk to humans. At this point the American Medical Association puts the chances of the average human contracting Bird Flu very low, but they also warn that this can change at any point in time.

Finally, the bird flu is just that, a flu that affects birds. If you have very little to no contact with domesticated or wild birds, at this point, your risk is minimal. The bird flu is passed from bird to bird at this point and, as of yet, is not easily transmittable to humans.