Questions from Delta Discovery

questions for other students, schoolchildren, H5N1 1 Comment »

http://www.deltadiscovery.com

Letters to the Editor
4/11/06

Should we be concerned about Avian Flu?

The Avian Flu is a flue that spreads fast. Should we be concerned? We don’t know if it’s coming or not, so what should we do? Should we be prepared or just ignore it and maybe it will stay away. What if it comes and kills a lot of our people, we’ll wish we were prepared. We’ll never know when or if it will, it could be tomorrow or next year or never, but it think we should stock up on food, water, stove oil and other supplies we need. We’ll use and need them whether the flu comes or not so why not be safe, ‘cause we don’t want to be sorry. Some ways to be safe are not to touch any dead birds, cook your birds thoroughly, never touch anything after touching birds, and wash your hands after touching birds.

Andy Atti, Jenna Fox, Brenda Dock
Kipnuk High School
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Avian Influenza - Questions & Answers

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Previous questions are here

http://ykalaska.uniblogs.org/2006/03/19/tips-avoid-bird-flu/

and A Few Facts about Avian Influenza in Alaska -

http://ykalaska.uniblogs.org/2006/03/21/ a-few-facts-about-avian-influenza-in-alaska/

For other sources for Questions and Answers

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/ health/diseases-cards/avian_qa.html

Qa.

Is it safe to eat chicken?

Qb.

From Europe?

Qc.

From a bird flu outbreak zone?

Qd.

Is it safe for children to pick up feathers?

Qe.

Is it safe to hunt?

Qf.

Should dead birds be reported (not on farms)?

Qg.

Is it safe to handle/eat eggs?

Qh.

Should people get flu shots?

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Avian influenza in other animal species

science sources, H5N1 2 Comments »

A most excellent reference is this one from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, “List of Species Affected by H5N1 (Avian Influenza): Referenced reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in wildlife and domestic animals”.
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/ avian_influenza/affected_species_chart.jsp

From the CDC Flu site here

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/fluviruses.htm

Influenza A viruses are found in many different animals, including ducks, chickens, pigs, whales, horses, and seals. Influenza B viruses circulate widely only among humans.

Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on two proteins on the surface of the virus: the hemagglutinin (H) and the neuraminidase (N). There are 15 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 9 different neuraminidase subtypes, all of which have been found among influenza A viruses in wild birds. Wild birds are the primary natural reservoir for all subtypes of influenza A viruses and are thought to be the source of influenza A viruses in all other animals. Most influenza viruses cause asymptomatic or mild infection in birds; however, the range of symptoms in birds varies greatly depending on the strain of virus. Infection with certain avian influenza A viruses (for example, some strains of H5 and H7 viruses) can cause widespread disease and death among some species of wild and especially domestic birds such as chickens and turkeys.

Avian influenza in other animal species, from the Food and Agriculture Organization

Hosts: Wildbird hosts for H5N1 in order of importance are probably Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans), Charadriiform (gulls and shorebirds) and Passeriform (sparrows and starling). Lately swans have been found infected with H5N1 in a number of European countries (e.g. Austria, Germany, France and Romania, etc.). In poultry, both aquatic and terrestrial species become infected but the virus is particularly aggressive in chicken.

Carnivores: can become infected, after consuming infected poultry that succumbed to the disease. To date no H5N1 clinical cases of dogs have been reported but in an unpublished study carried out in 2005 by the National Institute of Animal Health in Bangkok, researchers tested 629 village dogs and 111 cats in the Suphan Buri district of central Thailand. Out of these, 160 dogs and 8 cats had antibodies to H5N1, indicating that they were infected with the virus or had been infected in the past. An eqiune virus has recently shown up in dogs. This inter-species re-assortment is not uncommon for type A influenza viruses.

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Questions People Ask

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I don’t yet have these as a listing of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), mostly because I am not sure what is frequently asked. However, here are some questions that the YKHC Office of Environmental Health has received. I will link to sources of answers as I get them organized. Feel free to continue asking questions below as comments or to provide answers to these questions, as comments.

How do you know if birds have bird flu?

YKHC: You don’t. Unlike human’s it is nearly impossible to tell if a bird is sick with the flu.

Avian influenza is quite common in birds and often occurs without symptoms or without making the birds sickly. Like other diseases,

The clinical signs are very variable and are influenced by factors such as the virulence of the infecting virus, species affected, age, sex, concurrent diseases and environment. See

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/health/ diseases-cards/avian.html

If a bird looks skinny & not normal, what do you do? Does it have bird flu?

YKHC: No. It most likely is suffering from something else.

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