The GTS World: Avian influenza

Avian influenza (AI), commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds.
Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans; however some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), have caused serious infections in people.
Outbreaks of AI in poultry may raise global public health concerns and their pandemic potential.
Reports of highly pathogenic AI epidemics in poultry, such as A(H5N1), can seriously impact local and global economies and international trade.
The majority of human cases of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infection have been associated with direct or indirect contact with infected live or dead poultry.
There is no evidence that the disease can be spread to people through properly cooked food.
Controlling the disease in animals is the first step in decreasing risks to humans.

Avian influenza (AI) is an infectious viral disease of birds (especially wild water fowl such as ducks and geese), often causing no apparent signs of illness. AI viruses can sometimes spread to domestic poultry and cause large-scale outbreaks of serious disease. Some of these AI viruses have also been reported to cross the species barrier and cause disease or subclinical infections in humans and other mammals.

AI viruses are divided into 2 groups based on their ability to cause disease in poultry: high pathogenicity or low pathogenicity. Highly pathogenic viruses result in high death rates (up to 100% mortality within 48 hours) in some poultry species. Low pathogenicity viruses also cause outbreaks in poultry but are not generally associated with severe disease.

The A(H5N1) virus subtype, a highly pathogenic
first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong SAR, China.
Since its widespread re-emergence in 2003 and 2004, this avian virus has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa
several hundred human cases, and many human deaths.
Outbreaks in poultry have seriously impacted livelihoods, the economy and international trade in affected countries.
The A(H7N9) virus subtype, a low pathogenic AI virus,
have impacted the agriculture sectors of affected countries and international trade. Continued surveillance for A(H7N9) will be necessary to detect and control the spread of the virus.

Influenza pandemics (outbreaks that affect a large proportion of the world due to a novel virus) are unpredictable but recurring events that can have health, economic and social consequences worldwide.
An influenza pandemic occurs when key factors converge: an influenza virus emerges with the ability to cause sustained human-to-human transmission, and the human population has little to no immunity against the virus.
With the growth of global trade and travel, a localized epidemic can transform into a pandemic rapidly, with little time to prepare a public health response.
The A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) AI viruses remain two of the influenza viruses with pandemic potential, because they continue to circulate widely in some poultry populations, most humans likely have no immunity to them, and they can cause severe disease and death in humans

WHO response

WHO,monitoring avian influenza very closely,
developing and adjusting appropriate interventions in collaboration with its partners. Such partners include animal health agencies and national veterinary authorities responsible for the control and prevention of animal diseases, including influenza.
Specifically, WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) collaborate through a variety of mechanisms to track and assess the risk from animal influenza viruses of
2014- Kuttanad region in Kerala, where avian influenza was detected in ducks, began on Wednesday as more regions in the Central Kerala reported massive death of ducksAs duck farmers protested against culling their birds, the state government increased the compensation to Rs 200 per adult duck and Rs 100 per duckling. A rough estimate of the Animal Husbandry showed that 2.80 lakh birds including chickens have to be culled.
Although avian influenza was confirmed in lab tests, the Animal Husbandry department is yet get reports whether the virus would affect humans. The government has banned sale of poultry in Kuttanad region.

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