Avian influenza has struck India. After the Maharashtra government on Saturday confirmed that the recent deaths of chickens in Nandurbar and Dhule districts of North Maharashtra were caused by bird flu, eight people were reportedly admitted to a government hospital at Navapur, with suspected bird flu.
It is estimated that around 40,000 to 1,00,000 chickens in the poultries of Nawapur have been affected by bird flu. Avian influenza is caused by a strain of viruses of which H5N1 is the most lethal. These viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds carry the disease across borders and health agencies across the world are gearing up to counter a possible pandemic.
Avian influenza is highly contagious and usually results in the death of domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks and turkeys, once infected. Bird flu has infected humans in some countries and killed around 90 persons since 2003 in various parts of Asia and Europe.
Officials in India say there is no cause for alarm and they are taking measures to put a preventive plan in place and authorities have cordoned off a three-kilometre radius area where the cases are reported.
Infections of humans, mostly through contact with infected poultry, result in symptoms typical of common human influenza — fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches — to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases and other life-threatening complications.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment