Bird flu: WHO discuss the size of pandemic outbreak in 1997
A huge 30,000 Christmas turkeys are set to be slaughtered after an outbreak of bird flu at a farm near Attleborough in Norfolk. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced the outbreak and brought in measures to protect poultry and captive birds in the UK. From December 14, it will be illegal for birdkeepers to keep birds outdoors and they will need to follow “strict biosecurity measures” such as disinfecting equipment and limiting workers on site. What are the symptoms of bird flu, and how do you catch it?
How many people died of bird flu?
Avian Influenza A, also known as bird flu, has caused a number of outbreaks around the world over the years.
It first came about in the early 1900s in Italy, and quickly spread through America, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific, and the Near East.
There are different trains of the avian flu, with sixteen H subtypes and nine N subtypes.
Since 2013 there have been 1,568 human cases of bird flu and 616 deaths worldwide from the H7N9 strain.
READ MORE- Bird flu outbreak: UK confirms virus at turkey farm
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In 2017, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed a case of H5N8 avian flu in a farm of pheasants in Preston, UK.
To prevent the spread, 10,000 birds were killed “humanely”.
The H5N1 flu was detected at a poultry farm in Suffolk, UK, in December 2019, and 27,000 birds were killed.
This may sound scary, but no humans have ever been infected with HN51, H7N9, H5N6 or H5N8 in the UK.
Only the H5, H7 and H10 strains cause deaths in humans, and plans are in place to manage suspected cases.
What’s the situation in the UK now?
In November 2020, H5N8 was discovered in turkeys and other captive birds in the UK.
There are only nine confirmed cases of the disease in poultry and other captive birds in England at present
The Government has said that while bird flu can affect humans and other mammals, bird flu mainly affects birds.
Public Health England has confirmed that the risk to public health from the H5N8 and H5N2 strains of bird flu seen in the UK right now is “very low”.
Gov.uk explains: “Some strains of avian influenza can pass to humans, but this is very rare and would require very close contact between the human and infected birds.
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Great Britain’s three Chief Veterinary Officers have issued a statement confirming the new rules.
It said: “Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, from December 14 onwards you will be legally required to keep your birds indoors, or take appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds.
“We have not taken this decision lightly, but it is the best way to protect your birds from this highly infectious disease.”
How do you catch it?
Bird flu is spread to humans through close contact with an infected bird, dead or alive.
The NHS site explains that this can happen by touching infected birds, touching droppings or bedding, and killing or preparing infected poultry for cooking.
You can’t catch the flu through eating fully cooked poultry or eggs, even from areas with an outbreak of the flu.
Symptoms
The seasonal flu jab does not protect against bird flu and people who show symptoms will need to stay at home or be cared for in a hospital in isolation.
Antiviral medicine such as Tamiflu or Relenza treats the condition and improves the chance of survival.
Mortality rate for humans with bird flu is about 60 percent, and the symptoms aren’t pleasant.
The main symptoms normally appear within three to five days and include:
- a very high temperature or feeling hot or shivery
- aching muscles
- headache
- a cough
Other early symptoms may include:
- diarrhoea
- sickness
- stomach pain
- chest pain
- bleeding from the nose and gums
- conjunctivitis
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