Course and complications
The course of the bird flu can take a completely different course with each humans. In a few cases, affected patients do not develop any symptoms at all or only suffer from mildly pronounced cold symptoms. Other patients, on the other hand, have a more pronounced clinical picture with high fever, severe coughing and shortness of breath.
Particularly severe courses of the disease are manifested by the occurrence of acute organ involvement. Above all, the development of inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract (pneumonia, pneumonia) plays a decisive role in this context. In the case of avian flu, however, the infection in humans is very severe.
Decisive for the healing process of an affected patient are the possible complications that can occur during the infection. The most common complications include acute respiratory syndrome, septic shock and the failure of various organs. Patients with avian flu who develop such a severe course of the disease require intensive medical treatment and often artificial respiration.
An infection with bird flu is particularly dangerous if the affected persons come into contact with common flu viruses at the same time. In these cases, the genetic material of the different virus strains can mix with each other (mutation) and change in the course of this. In general, infections with these mixed virus strains are much easier to transmit from person to person. The formation of a so-called “pandemic” (worldwide mass disease) is then particularly easy.
Prevention
Infection with the viral pathogens that cause avian flu can be prevented. In danger regions, contact with infected birds should be avoided. However, the direct risk of infection for humans is rather low even in contact with infected animals.
Nevertheless, special protective measures must be taken urgently. Relevant preventive measures include Although the transmission of avian flu from person to person has not yet been proven, infected persons should be isolated and protective measures taken in case of contact. In addition, infection with bird flu can be partially prevented by vaccination.
There are various avian flu vaccines that have been approved in Germany for some time. These vaccines protect mainly against the virus subtype H5N1. However, there is currently no suitable vaccine available against the H7N9 virus subtypes.
The vaccine available for the prevention of the usual flu shows no effect for the prevention of the bird flu. Nevertheless, an appropriate flu vaccination should be carried out regularly. In this way, severe disease progressions can be prevented in the event of later infection with the avian flu virus.
In addition, the risk of dangerous crosses between influenza and bird flu viruses is reduced. As a result, the risk of a pandemic spreading decreases.
- Regular hand hygiene with soap and water
- Regular disinfection of the hands
- Avoid direct contact with any poultry
- Never touch sick or dead wild birds
- After contact with dead or sick birds, wash hands immediately with soap and water and then disinfect
- It is essential to cook or fry poultry meat before distortion (bird flu viruses can be killed by heating to about 70 degrees Celsius)
- No distortion of raw or semi-fermented poultry meat
