Avian influenza is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses that are transmitted by birds that can infect humans. Another name of this disease including avian influenza.
The cause of bird flu was type A influenza virus that spreads among birds. The virus was found capable of also spread to other species such as pigs, cats, dogs, tigers, and humans.
Influenza virus type A has several subtypes characterized the Hemagglutinin (H) and Neuramidase (N). There are 9 variants H and 14 variants of N. Bird flu virus is contagious right now is the H5N1 subtype which has a long incubation time 3-5 days.
the impact of avian influenza?
Losses in livestock industry causes a loss of billions of dollars which benefits both experienced breeders or the State, especially for developing countries that depend on the industry as one source of income.
Just imagine the outbreak of bird flu virus, many people who cancel consume chicken meat and poultry meat prices to fall. And if the disease spreads, then its control in a country increasingly difficult to do, and certainly the government must take aggressive steps to control the disease and to prevent the emergence of many victims.
Besides this disease has spent billions of dollars to fund research and preparation for the treatment of pandemic, more than 10 billion dollars spent to memusahkan poultry to prevent spread of H5N1.
Compared with AIDS that killed 50 million people within 25 years, the flu pandemic could kill 50 million people in 25 weeks. Therefore, many parties are worried that H5N1 will attack bad Spanish flu virus in the early 1900s.
However, excessive anxiety should not happen, because in fact there are still many people living with HIV worldwide, a high accident rate is still shadowed in some developing countries and also several other deadly diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure and others.
Although bird flu is still the subject of most attention, but with proper precautions are made of all parties, then this disease will not be a frightening pandemic.
