( It might not be the plague yet but the...)A bird's eye view of the Bird Flu scare,Health

It might not be the plague yet, but the bird or avian flu scare has acquired this nasty habit of sending a shiver down the spine. That birds have turned out to be man's greatest enemies in the 21st century is an irony worth noting. So what exactly are the origins of this disease// and what exactly should we be looking at to avoid becoming a victim of this deadly condition.

Bird flu basically is the viral flu that occurs in wild birds as well as domesticated ones including chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Normally, this condition is confined to the bird population and will not infect humans. But lately, these viruses have found a way into Homo sapiens and since 1997 have caused havoc in poultry animals and well as in humans. The viruses implicated in this disease are type A influenza viruses and so far out of the 16 H subtypes and 9 N subtypes, only four are known to be harmful to humans.

These are H1N1, H1N2, H3N2 and the deadliest of them all H5N1. It is this viral strain that has inspired fear among the world population since there is no known cure for it. Additionally, vaccines were also not available until it was announced that Tamiflu was effective against the disease. The fear is that the virus will mutate into a form that is easily transmissible to humans and if that happens experts have predicted a disaster in terms of human lives lost.

India and the bird flu :

As of this moment there have not been any cases reported in India. But the scenario could rapidly change if any bird is found to be infected. Given the population density in the country, it is to be expected that the bird flu would spread like wildfire. And the problem is compounded by the inadequate information as well as education that have so far been given to the millions of poultry traders in the country. These simple folk feel that no virus can survive the heat and temperature of Indian spices! And hence they are paying little heed to the warning
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