In an earlier post we reported about the severe outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) across the United States in Canada. Despite immediate action taken the epidemic still cannot be brought under control. The state of Minnesota reported several new cases in the course of only one week. In Canada - where HPAI was mainly concentrated in the western part of the country - the bird flu has hit the state of Ontario.
With no end in sight USA and Canada are continuously working on new measures to stop the further spreading of the disease. A great difficulty is the largely uncontrolled movement of the wild birds population across countries and borders.
Here some information about Avian Influenza - as provided by the USDA.
"Avian influenza (AI)—the bird flu—is a disease caused by a virus that infects domestic poultry, wild birds (like quail, cranes, geese and ducks) and pet birds like parrots. Each year, there is a bird flu season just as there is for humans and, as with people, some forms of the flu are worse than others.
Avian Influenza viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: H proteins, of which there are 16 (H1-H16), and N proteins, of which there are 9 (N1-N9). AI strains also are divided into two groups: low pathogenicity (LP) and high pathogenicity (HP).
LPAI, or “low path” avian influenza, has existed in the United States since the early 1900’s and is not uncommon here. It causes birds to become ill and can be fatal to some of them. These strains of the disease pose no serious threat to human health.
HPAI, or “high path” avian influenza, is often fatal in birds and is more easily transmitted. H5N1 HPAI is the type detected in recent years in parts of Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. This strain has been transmitted to people in Southeast Asia, most of whom had extensive, direct contact with infected birds."
Worldwide there are 48 countries where an outbreak of HPAI has been recorded. These include Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia.
Detailed information about Avian Influenza can be found on the USDA Avian Influenza portal which can be accessed here.
Stay tuned for more updates.
