Aside from avoiding contact with possibly contaminated birds and poultry, here are other ways to avoid getting infected:
- check for the latest travel advise from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website or call their hotline at 1-888-246-2675 when traveling especially when it is an international trip
- when traveling to countries that are known to have bird flu outbreaks, avoid poultry farms and bird markets, and avoid contact with any surfaces that may have poultry feces or secretions
- wash hands frequently, or use alcohol based hand sanitizers
- make sure poultry dishes are cooked thoroughly, as the virus can be destroyed in high temperatures
The main cases of those who have gotten this terrible bird flu are cases in which the people themselves were in contact with birds. Bird flu doe snot seem to be spreading from person to person at all so far so there is not as yet a huge demand for the bird flu vaccine. Especially not in most countries, Asia however could benefit largely from the use of an effective bird flu vaccine since this is where most people are catching bird flu.
The reason that scientist and the governments are so interested in developing a good and useful bird flu vaccine is because humans will not be able to stand up against the bird flu long when and if it starts being transferred from person to person. This is when we are going to really need the bird flu vaccine and that is why this vaccine is being worked on so much by the best minds in science.
Keeping in mind the scale and spread of Bird Flu virus that has taken its toll in India, Headlines India decided to give its readers an insight into the disease, which first broke out in 1997 in Hong Kong, affecting 18 people and claiming 6 lives.
Bird Flu, also known as Avian Flu, is an influenza caused by virus, which affects birds. It might sound surprising, but the fact is that birds, like humans, are vulnerable to influenza. Influenza viruses can be divided into three types (strains) - influenza A, B and C. Type A is responsible for the deadly influenza pandemics. Type B can lead to smaller, more localized outbreaks. Type C, less common and more stable than other strains, has milder symptoms. Types B and C are usually found only in humans, whereas type A infects both people and animals, including birds, pigs, horses, whales and seals.