As a blogger, I'm often faced with the challenge of what to write and when to write. At other times, the urgency of an event would prompt the writer. The outbreak of bird flu in over 10 states in Nigeria has made it urgent, imminent and important to discuss the disease with my esteemed readers.

Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is a viral respiratory disease mainly of poultry and certain other bird species, including migratory waterbirds, some imported pet birds, and ostriches, that can be transmitted directly to humans. The first known cases in humans were reported in 1997, when an outbreak in poultry in Hong Kong led to severe illness in 18 people, one-third of whom died. Between 2003 and late 2005, outbreaks of the most deadly variety of bird flu (subtype H5N1) occurred among poultry in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Hundreds of millions of birds in those countries died from the disease or were killed in attempts to control the epidemics. Similar culling events have taken place since then, including culls in countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

HOW THE VIRUS SPREADS.
Up to half of the people who get this virus die from the illness. Your risk of getting the bird flu virus is higher if: You work with poultry (such as farmers), You travel to places where the virus is present, You touch an infected bird, You eat raw or undercooked poultry meat, eggs, or blood from infected birds, Health care workers and people who live in the same house as
people with bird flu may also be at higher risk of infection. The avian flu virus (H5N1) lives in the environment for long periods of time. Infection may be spread just by touching surfaces that have the virus on them. Birds who were infected with this flu can give off the virus in their feces and saliva for as long as 10 days.

WATCH OUT FOR THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of avian flu infection in humans depend on the strain of virus. The H5N1 virus in humans causes typical flu-like symptoms such as:
Cough
Diarrhea
Trouble breathing
Fever greater than 100.4°F (38°C)
Headache
General ill feeling (malaise)
Muscle aches
Runny nose
Sore throat
Acute respiratory failure
Organ failure
Pneumonia
Sepsis

If you think you have been exposed to the virus, call your health care provider before your visit. This will give the staff a chance to take steps to protect themselves and other patients during your visit. There are tests for the avian flu but they are not widely available. Your doctor might do the following tests: Auscultation (to detect abnormal breath sounds), Chest x-ray, Nasopharyngeal virus detection by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Nasopharyngeal culture, throat virus detection by RT-PCR, White blood cell differential. Other tests may be done to look at how well your heart, kidneys, and liver are working.

TREATMENT OF BIRD FLU
The treatment administered varies based on your symptoms. In general, treatment with the antiviral medication oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) may make the disease less severe. You need to start taking the medicine within 48 hours after your symptoms start for it to work effectively. Oseltamivir may also be prescribed for persons who live in the same house people with avian flu. This may prevent them from getting the illness. The virus that causes human avian flu is resistant to the antiviral medicines amantadine and rimantadine. These medicines should not be used in the case of an H5N1 outbreak. People with severe infection may need to be placed on a breathing machine. People infected with the virus also should be kept separate from non-infected people.

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N.B
Please be informed that the spread of avian influenza is essentially through contact between the birds and people that attend to them. Immediately the meat is cooked, the infection dies. Please endeavor to cook your poultry meat and product very well before serving.

Oke Oluwatimilehin
Email: Okeflex360@yahoo.com
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