Recently, avian influenza has become prevalent in some countries and regions surrounding my country, and cases have also occurred in individual provinces of my country, which has attracted people's attention. The reporter interviewed relevant experts from the Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention on some issues that people are concerned about. Experts believe that human bird flu is a preventable and treatable disease. As long as early detection, early isolation and early treatment are achieved, mortality can be effectively reduced and the spread of the epidemic can be prevented.
What is avian influenza?
Avian influenza, abbreviated as avian influenza, also known as true chicken plague, is a poultry infection caused by type A influenza virus. It mainly occurs in chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and other poultry. According to the type of pathogen, avian influenza can be divided into three categories: highly pathogenic, low pathogenic and non-pathogenic. Highly pathogenic avian influenza spreads quickly and causes great harm. It is classified as a Class A animal disease internationally and is classified as a Class I animal disease in my country. On May 9, 1997, a type A influenza virus was isolated from a 3-year-old boy in Hong Kong. In August of the same year, he was diagnosed as the world's first human case caused by type A (H5N1) avian influenza virus. By the end of that year, There were 18 confirmed cases in Hong Kong ***, including 6 deaths. This is also the first confirmation that the H5N1 avian influenza virus can infect humans and has a high fatality rate. The symptoms of avian influenza mainly include abnormalities of the respiratory tract, digestive tract, reproductive system or nervous system. Common symptoms include depressed chickens, decreased egg production, coughing, sneezing, excessive tearing and diarrhea. Birds infected with highly pathogenic viruses have higher morbidity and mortality.
How does avian influenza infect humans?
The main sources of infection of avian influenza are chickens, ducks, pigeons and other poultry. Humans will be infected if they come into direct contact with poultry and their feces infected with the H5N1 virus, or if they come into direct contact with the H5N1 virus. Under natural conditions, avian influenza viruses that exist in the oral cavity and feces are extremely resistant, especially in cool, humid and mild conditions, and can survive for a long time. In addition, they are also transmitted through droplets and contact with respiratory secretions. .
What are the symptoms after getting sick?
After humans contract avian influenza, the early symptoms are very similar to cold symptoms. The main symptoms are fever, runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, headache, and general malaise. Some patients may have nausea and abdominal pain. , diarrhea, watery stool and other digestive tract symptoms, and the body temperature mostly persists above 39°C. If patients can be diagnosed in time and treated actively, most patients will be well cured, with a short course and no sequelae. Therefore, experts suggest that patients who develop the above symptoms should seek medical treatment promptly. If they are suspected of being infected by the avian influenza virus, they should be hospitalized and quarantined immediately and report the epidemic to prevent the condition from worsening and the infection from spreading.
Avian influenza viruses are afraid of high temperatures
Current research has found that influenza viruses are relatively sensitive to heat. High temperature, ultraviolet rays, etc. are the “nemesis” of influenza viruses. Influenza viruses lose their activity when heated to 56°C for 30 minutes, or to 60°C for 10 minutes. If heated to 65 to 70°C, they lose activity in just a few minutes. Influenza viruses lose their activity when exposed to direct sunlight for 40 to 48 hours. Direct exposure to ultraviolet rays can quickly destroy their infectivity. However, influenza viruses are highly resistant to low temperatures and can survive for a long time in humid and low-temperature poultry feces. In addition, influenza viruses are also very sensitive to organic solvents such as ether, chloroform, and acetone. Commonly used disinfectants such as formalin, oxidants, dilute acids, sodium deoxycholate, hydroxylamine, sodium lauryl sulfate, halogen compounds (such as bleaching powder and iodine), heavy metal ions, etc., can quickly destroy its infectivity .
How to avoid contracting avian influenza?
Since there is no corresponding vaccine, and winter and spring are the periods of high incidence of acute respiratory diseases, experts remind citizens that a healthy lifestyle is very important to prevent diseases. They should strengthen physical exercise, get more rest, and avoid excessive If you are tired, do not smoke; when an epidemic is discovered, you should try to avoid contact with poultry; do not eat raw or semi-cooked food, especially undercooked animal blood products. Good habits such as washing hands frequently, ventilating rooms frequently, and strengthening physical exercise developed during the SARS prevention period should not be lost.