Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : SARS and Avian Flu -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Henry Niman who wrote (1563)	4/6/2004 10:57:03 AM
From: Condor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4232

What is avian flu? Tuesday, April 6, 2004 - Page A6 E-mail this Article Print this Article Advertisement Q: Are there different kinds of avian flu? A: There are many different forms of avian, or bird flu, a contagious disease caused by viruses that normally infect only birds. The first type, known as a low pathogenic form, causes mild illness in birds, and is often detected by a drop in egg production. The more severe kind, known as highly pathogenic, spreads rapidly and has a high mortality rate, often wiping out entire flocks. The H7N3 virus in the Fraser Valley is highly pathogenic. Several strains have spread from chickens to humans. H5N1 (which is now rampant in Asia) has proved fatal. An outbreak of the H7N7 virus in the Netherlands last year caused the death of one veterinarian and mild illness in 83 poultry workers. The H9N2 strain caused mild illness in two children in 1999. H7N3 has made two people ill in the Fraser Valley. Both had mild symptoms, including pink eye, and both recovered fully. Q: How are infected humans treated? A: A variety of drugs are available that are effective regardless of the strain of virus. The infected workers in B.C. were treated with oseltavimvir and quickly recovered. Q: What are the signs of sickness? A: The symptoms of avian flu in humans can include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, eye infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia. Q: Why are health authorities so concerned? A: Avian flu has proved fatal to humans in only a handful of cases (23 deaths in Asia, one in Europe), but health authorities worry that if a human who already has flu gets infected with avian flu, the virus could mutate, turning into a disease that spreads as rapidly through the human population as it does through chickens. That would create a pandemic that could overwhelm the health system. There is some evidence that the 1918-1919 pandemic of Spanish flu may have come from birds. Q: Can you get it from eating chicken? A: Avian flu has never been transmitted to humans from eating poultry meat or eggs. The virus is killed by a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. However, the virus can be contacted from live birds or by handling the carcasses of infected birds. There is a low risk from raw poultry meat, and people are advised to wash their hands and kitchen utensils whenever handling chicken. Q: Why kill all chickens? A: Infected chickens must be killed immediately to stop the virus from spreading. A broader cull of healthy chickens is called for when the virus is spreading rapidly to deny the virus a host. Emergency workers liken it to putting out a fire by removing the fuel. Q: Are free-range chickens affected? A: The initial outbreaks of the disease in the Fraser Valley were all found in large chicken farms, where flocks of tens of thousands of birds were housed together in barns. However, subsequent tests found avian flu had also spread to small back yard flocks. All chickens are susceptible. Q: How do chickens get infected? A: Avian flu is common in wild birds, particularly ducks, which aren't killed by the virus. It is speculated that wild ducks infect domestic poultry either through direct contact on farms or through infecting water supplies. Q: How is avian flu spreading in the Fraser Valley? A: Authorities have not yet determined the route by which the virus is moving from one farm to another, but the best guess is that humans are carrying it on their boots, clothes or on farm equipment. Strict movement controls are now in place. Q: How are infected chickens disposed of? A: The birds are killed by gassing them. The carcasses are either trucked to an incinerator or they are composted. theglobeandmail.com