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Avian influenza, also known as avian flu or bird flu, is a disease caused by the influenza A virus, which primarily affects birds but can sometimes affect mammals including humans. [1] Wild aquatic birds are the primary host of the influenza A virus, which is enzootic (continually present) in many bird populations.
H5 N2 is a subtype of the species Influenzavirus A (avian influenza virus or bird flu virus). The subtype infects a wide variety of birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, falcons, and ostriches. Affected birds usually do not appear ill, and the disease is often mild as avian influenza viral subtypes go.
A/H5N1 virus can also infect mammals (including humans) that have been exposed to infected birds; in these cases, symptoms are frequently severe or fatal. [2] A/H5N1 virus is shed in the saliva, mucus, and feces of infected birds; other infected animals may shed bird flu viruses in respiratory secretions and other body fluids (such as milk). [3]
Since it was first discovered in birds in 1996, H5N1 has shown itself to be a Swiss Army Knife of a virus, evolving the necessary tools to break into the cells of a growing list of species.
The bird flu outbreak has expanded to 31 states and jumped to dozens of species, including nine mammals in Oregon that tested positive for the H5NI virus since 2022.
H10N3 has been isolated across a wide geographic distribution, including in species such as domestic poultry (chickens), [2] ducks, [3] [4] other waterfowl, and terrestrial birds. [5] In animals, the viruses display a complex pathology, with complex reassortments and mutations contributing to pathobiology patterns in chickens, ducks and mice ...
Test results indicated that these animals were likely ill from H5N1 avian flu, which was first seen in wild birds in the United States in 2015," the county health department said on Dec. 11.
The virus can spread rapidly through poultry flocks and among wild birds; it can also infect humans that have been exposed to infected birds. [2] A/H7N9 virus is shed in the saliva, mucus, and feces of infected birds; other infected animals may shed bird flu viruses in respiratory secretions and other body fluids. [2]