Facts of bird flu

Abstract EN

Every day, millions of billions of virus particles are silently replicating, swapping genes, mutating and evolving in waterfowl.

Occasionally, an otherwise mild avian influenza virus changes to become a highly pathogenic virus that can infect, kill and start epidemics in domestic poultry.

In 1997, the H5N1-type avian virus emerged in Hong Kong by gene-swapping between bird viruses, not in itself a particularly unusual event.

But for the first time, this new virus began to infect and cause illness in humans.

Subsequently the virus continued to evolve by acquiring different genes from other bird viruses and ignited epidemics among domestic poultry and ducks throughout the world.

This activity of reviewing articles, try to throw some lights on this greatly important subject aiming to prepare the health authorities to girds for the bird flu battle, discussing: history, pathology, epidemiology, transmission, clinical features, investigation, treatment, and prevention of the disease.