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Avian influenza, also known as avian flu or bird flu, is a disease caused by the influenza A virus, which primarily affects birds but can sometimes affect mammals including humans. [1] Wild aquatic birds are the primary host of the influenza A virus, which is enzootic (continually present) in many bird populations.
On August 9, the Colorado Department of Public Health reported bird flu in domestic cats, including indoor-only cats. [90] In late August, H5N1 had spread to dairy cow herds in California. [91] On August 22, the first person in the U.S. who didn't work with poultry or dairy cows was hospitalized with the H5 influenza virus.
In 2012, the NIHE provided the H5N1 bird flu virus to researchers who transformed it and used the product to infect ferrets. [2]On March 22, 2017, the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed an agreement with the government of Vietnam so that the Japanese could transfer BSL3 technology to, among others, the NIHE.
Pigs can harbor influenza viruses adapted to humans and others that are adapted to birds, allowing the viruses to exchange genes and create a pandemic strain. Avian influenza virus H3N2 is endemic in pigs (" swine flu ") in China and has been detected in pigs in Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains.
Avian flu virus can last indefinitely at a temperature dozens of degrees below freezing, as is found in the northernmost areas that migratory birds frequent. [citation needed] Heat kills H5N1 (i.e. inactivates the virus). Influenza A viruses can survive: Over 30 days at 0 °C (32.0 °F) (over one month at freezing temperature)
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes the disease avian influenza (often referred to as "bird flu"). It is enzootic (maintained in the population) in many bird populations, and also panzootic (affecting animals of many species over a wide area). [ 1 ]
Vietnam notified the WHO about a human fatality from the virus in March. In 2004, dozens of tigers died from bird flu or were culled at the world's largest breeding farm in Thailand.
The outbreak killed 50,000 birds, with the remaining 1,200 birds in the flock being culled, according to a report from the Agriculture Ministry. [20] Afghanistan reported an outbreak of H5N8 bird flu on a poultry farm in Herat Province on 25 February. The outbreak killed 794 birds, while the remaining 22,000-strong flock were subsequently ...