Topic 8: Bird flu
Symptoms: Patients will have symptoms similar to the flu. The incubation period is only 1-3 days. Bird flu symptoms are high fever, trembling, headache, muscle soreness, tiredness, sore throat, coughing, conjunctivitis, asthma, having difficulty in breathing. The symptoms will become more severe if the patients also have pneumonia especially among children and the elderly. Severe infection can lead to death.
Causes: Bird flu or avian influenza is caused by the avian influenza type A virus which can infect humans, mammals and poultry.
Infection: The virus will come along with bird feces. Transmitter avians are mostly chicken, duck, geese and birds. Humans are infected by coming in contact with animal’s feces, snot, tears and saliva. Currently, there is no record of the virus spreading between humans. For those who work in contiguous areas especially with infected farms will have a high potential of being infected with bird flu.
Prevention:
1. Avoid contact with infected birds
2. Wash hands with soap every time when handling fresh bird meat and raw eggs, and shower after touching infected or dead bird.
3. Maintain a good health to enhance the immune system.
4. If there is any sign of fever, headache, tremble, sore throat and cough, especially in those who often come close to dead or alive birds, seek medical advice.
5. Consume only cooked chicken meat and eggs, stop consuming partially cooked food especially during an epidemic.
6. Clean the egg shell before cooking.