Bird flu the facts
A lot of hysteria has been going on in the media about bird flu and how it will sweep through the world killing thousands and thousands of people.
Don’t panic and more to the point don’t take poor old Polly Parrot out into the woods and let him go because you are scared he will give you the illness. It won’t happen, unless of course he sneaks out at night to fool around with some migrating swans or geese and even then the risk is very small.
At this moment in time, the only people who may and we do stress may, be at risk are those who work in the poultry industry in areas that are near to the migration paths of wild birds in general and aquatic birds in particular. All the human cases so far reported have arisen in people who live in very close proximity to their birds, not caged pets, but those that live around and possibly in the house. This doesn’t mean you have to go out and slaughter the couple of chickens you keep for their eggs but it does mean you should pay attention to news reports and take the advice of your vet. Hygiene, which should always be part of good animal husbandry should be rigorously followed.
There are no reported cases yet of human to human transmission beyond one person, and even those cases are very rare, so we are safe for a while. The influenza virus is a tricky little customer, he can and does mutate quite readily, given the right circumstances, which is why, every so often we do get flu outbreaks but at the moment the H5N1 appears to be staying almost exclusively, in the bird population. This is allowing us the time to discover a vaccine that will really be effective.
The influenza virus is spread via bird’s faeces, saliva or secretions from the nose, which is why it is important to keep all cages, feed and water troughs scrupulously clean and disinfected.
There have been isolated cases of cats being infected by the H5N1 virus but theses are not common and you should not be alarmed especially if yours is an urban cat where the risk of Kitty picking up this infection is so small it is not worth worrying about.
Travel may be of some concern, particularly to the Far East and Pacific areas where this virus is most common, but for most people who will spend their time at tourists resorts it will not be a problem. Care should be taken by those who like to go off the beaten track and see the country as it really is, when visiting small villages or markets where live birds are on sale.
It would seem certain that this virus will become more common in he future, but its affect on the urban populations are not yet a cause for concern. With the increase in monitoring of the migratory birds and the emergency measures that are in place, we can all sleep easy in our beds.
Read More About: Health, Womens’ Health Issues
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