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Avian Flu

BACKGROUND:
Avian influenza is a disease caused by the avian influenza virus type A H5N1. The virus occurs naturally and is carried by birds. Influenza is found in the intestines of wild birds. Among wild birds the virus does not pose a threat, however the virus can be spread to domesticated birds very easily, causing serious problems. Since the discovery of the disease in Southeast Asia tens of millions of chickens and other poultry have been killed in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease (Lee, 2008). The influenza virus is not just a threat to the bird population; several human infections have been reported worldwide. Although the virus cannot be easily passed on from birds to human the fear is that the virus could mutate and become a virus that can be passed on from human to human. It is predicted that if there is an avian flu outbreak between five and 150 million people worldwide could die. This paper will review the understanding, trace the history, and look at the future of avian flu (May, 2007).
Influenza is a viral respiratory disease affecting both animals and humans. Symptoms of the disease are fever, muscle aches, and trouble breathing. Among the three types of influenza the H5N1 strain is considered the most dangerous (Lee, 2008). Unlike the other strains of the flu virus, H5N1 has not had a major outbreak, but when it does emerge it hits very hard. Exactly how the virus kills is still a mystery, but what scientists do know is that if you do become infected with the virus your chances of dying are more then 60 percent (Ashwin, 2007).
HISTORY:
Avian is flu can be considered a relatively new disease being that it was only first discovered in humans in 1997 in Hong Kong. A little boy named Lam Hoi-ka went to the hospital with just a fever and week later he was dead. Up until this boy was infected with bird flu it was thought impossible that the flu could leap from birds to humans. During this pandemic both chicken and humans...