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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. [2] [3]
A/H5N1 virus can also infect mammals (including humans) that have been exposed to infected birds; in these cases, symptoms are frequently severe or fatal. [2] A/H5N1 virus is shed in the saliva, mucus, and feces of infected birds; other infected animals may shed bird flu viruses in respiratory secretions and other body fluids (such as milk). [3]
[11] [2] Humans can rarely become infected with strains of avian or swine influenza, usually as a result of close contact with infected animals; symptoms range from mild to severe including death. [12] [13] Bird-adapted strains of the virus can be asymptomatic in some aquatic birds but lethal if they spread to other species, such as chickens. [14]
H5 N2 is a subtype of the species Influenzavirus A (avian influenza virus or bird flu virus). The subtype infects a wide variety of birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, falcons, and ostriches. Affected birds usually do not appear ill, and the disease is often mild as avian influenza viral subtypes go.
Infected birds pass on H5N1 through their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Other birds may pick up the virus through direct contact with these excretions or when they have contact with surfaces contaminated with this material. Because migratory birds are among the carriers of the H5N1 virus it may spread to all parts of the world.
On November 7, the CDC reported asymptomatic bird flu infection in 4 workers at dairy farms. The workers didn't recall ever being sick but had antibodies showing that they had been infected with bird flu. [98] On November 22, the CDC confirmed the first case of bird flu in a U.S. child, being the 55th case of bird flu in humans in the U.S.
H5N6 is a subtype of the species Influenza A virus (sometimes called bird flu virus). Infected birds shed the virus in their saliva, mucus, and feces. The virus was first detected in poultry in 2013, since then spreading among wild bird populations and poultry around the world. Humans can be infected through unprotected contact with infected ...
H5N1 influenza virus is a type of influenza A virus which mostly infects birds. H5N1 flu is a concern because its global spread may constitute a pandemic threat. The yardstick for human mortality from H5N1 is the case-fatality rate (CFR); the ratio of the number of confirmed human deaths resulting from infection of H5N1 to the number of those confirmed cases of infection with the virus.