Epidemiology of Avian Influenza, and Pandemic Preparedness Strategies - Report Example

The H5N1 type of avian influenza virus is the most likely source of future influenza pandemic which is infecting humans and causing high death rates.... Bird flu or also known as the avian influenza is a disease of viral etiology that ranges from a mild or even asymptomatic infection to an acute, fatal disease of chickens, turkeys, guinea fowls, and other avian species, especially migratory waterfowl that can infect several species of mammals (What is avian influenza 1)....

Influenza is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory tract which occurs in sporadic, epidemic and pandemic forms.... TYPE A INFLUENZA VIRUS AND WHY THE BIOLOGY OF THIS VIRUS IS A THREAT TO HUMAN Influenza is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory tract which occurs in sporadic, epidemic and pandemic forms.... Domestic birds like ducks can get infected from wild birds and carry the infection to pigs, which may be an important link in the chain, as they are susceptible to infection by both human and avian influenza strains....

Symptoms of avian influenza differ from those of other common types of influenza, and they also can change dependant on the cause of infection.... The paper “pandemic Flu” discusses a global decease outbreak that spreads mainly among people who have little immunity.... There are many dangerous viruses that can be the source of pandemic flu, but the most dangerous one is virus A the proteins of which have transformed into the H5N1 virus....

Domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, are very much prone to infection to avian influenza and it can affect some birds and make them very sick and even kill them.... In this part of the world, surveillance for both animal influenza and clusters of unusual respiratory disease in humans performs an important early warning function.... avian influenza viruses are carried by wild birds in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them....

This essay presents a discussion about an emergency communications plan for an avian flu pandemic.... The previously mentioned influenza virus pandemic was followed by the 1957 – 1958 Asian flu pandemic that resulted in 70,000 deaths in the United States of America and another Hong Kong flu pandemic in 1968 – 1969 resulted in about 34,000 United States fatalities.... The avian flu threat that has made itself evident recently as a result of the mutation of the influenza type A virus is a ticking time bomb that needs to be monitored carefully....

Optimal control strategy for prevention of avian influenza pandemic.... In ensuring effective control, I will recommend the following steps whereby most of them are community-based strategies.... Finally, the effectiveness of carrying out isolation as well as quarantine strategies by some uncooperative institutions may render the entire process being unsuccessful.... This is because the above outlined plan is adequate in curbing the spread of the pandemic if at all the stated authorities will effectively adhere to the devised strategies....

Ethical principles serve as guidelines in the formulation of policies and strategies for combating the highly debilitating pandemic5.... Policies addressing the prevention strategies and their application are essential.... The challenge of defining policies concerning the intervention strategies is determining how the distribution of the available resources will take place.... Identifying the appropriate target groups for the prevention and treatment strategies, and defining the priority list is challenging....

(2009) find that H5N1 avian influenza (A1) infection associates with direct contact with infected poultry.... avian influenza Viruses envelope in a single stranded negative sense belongs to the Orthomyxovindae family.... Type A influenza is highly pathogenic in humans and poultry to infect a wide range of hosts.... Currently, there is a global concern on the possibility of a outbreak of AVI influenza isolated human case HPAIV H5N1 continue in several Asian countries, and this could mutate to a form spreading rapidly to humans....