Bird Flu - Likely To Occur Again And Again

There are three types of Influenza ? Pandemic flu, Bird flu or avian flue and Seasonal flu.
Among them Bird Flu or Avian Flu is our present topic of discussions.

The recent Bird Flu pandemic in different parts of this planet is causing concern to every one. Let us see what Bird Flu is and what their origin is.

Like humans, birds are also susceptible to Influenza. Migratory wild fowls, notably wild ducks, are natural carriers of this disease. The disease is caused by the virus of type H5 and H7. The present day concern is about the strain H5N1 which is deadly and may be fatal to humans who come in close contacts with the live and infected bird.

It is astonishing that, although the wild migratory birds carry the virus, they are seldom attacked by this. But they can easily transmit the disease by their droppings and other secretion to the domestic birds like chickens, fowls and even other domestic animals like pigs causing them ill with avian influenza.

Global concern is that the bird flu virus, if transmitted from the ailing bird to humans, may mutate and become fatal to the person affected by it. For the last few years, considerable number of human deaths occurred due to the infection from the ailing birds.

Bird flu out breaks and their subsequent effects on humans are not uncommon in history. In 1918, outbreak of human flu pandemic was recorded. This, as well as flu pandemics of 1957 and 1968 are believed to have been the results of Bird flu.

In recent years of 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003, bird flu pandemics occurred and affected the humans also causing a few deaths in Hong Kong and other far east countries.

Actually, as the disease is carried by migratory birds, there is no way of preventing the disease to spread. The bird flu pandemics can be expected to occur three or four times in hundred years, according to WHO experts.

So we should protect the domestic birds such that they are not fallen into contacts with the droppings and other secretions of the wild virus carrying birds.

Appropriate medicine for bird flu is generic Tamiflu whose medical name is Oseltamivir Phosphate which attacks the influenza virus and stops it spreading inside the body. It is an oral anti viral medicine.

Here we are providing some Tamiflu information below:

§ The recommended dose of Tamiflu is one 75 mg capsule to be taken two times daily. The medicine is to be taken for five days.

§ The medicine can be taken with or without food.

§ The drug has its side effects too. The most frequently reported side effects are nausea, vomiting, bronchitis, trouble sleeping and dizziness.

§ The drug is not approved to be used for children under the age of 18.

§ Its effectiveness to prevent the flu or to decrease the risk of transmitting the virus to others has not been established.

Probably we can not check the pandemic of bird flu. Its nature is such that it will occur again and again. But we can take measures to save domestic birds as well as man kind at large by proper protection against it.

Jenifer D'souza is an amateur writer to http://www.finegenerics.com providing information on all health related topics or on the latest health topics. For more information, contact jenifr@gmail.com or visit http://www.finegenerics.com