States across India are on high alert as avian influenza, better known as the bird flu, spreads across the country. So far, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat have detected bird flu with most of these states culling hundreds of birds. But what is the disease and how does it spread?
How it spreads
Avian influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease that is mostly reported in birds, but it has the potential to affect both humans and animals. The most common strain of the virus which causes the disease is the H5N1.
The disease, first detected in China in 1996, is usually contained by culling infected birds.
Aquatic migratory birds are found to be the chief carriers of the influenza virus. Through their droppings, the disease spreads to other birds and may affect animals like cats, dogs and pigs.
How humans get infected
It is possible for humans who live in close contact with infected livestock or dead birds to catch the virus. The first case of human infection of the fatal H5N1 was detected in 1997 in Hong Kong. There have been cases of other strains of the virus infecting humans, too.
The virus has claimed 407 human lives globally between 2003 and 2014, according to the World Health Organisation.
The disease’s first outbreak in India was recorded in 2006 in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Cases were found in West Bengal and Kerala in later years. India had outbreaks of the flu among birds in 15 states between 2006 and 2015, and no humans have been infected in the country so far.
India declared itself free of the virus in September 2019.
High Fatality
In the global cases of human infections, it has been observed that 6 out of 10 confirmed cases have led to deaths, according to reports. There is risk of a pandemic if variants of the virus emerge and become easily transmissible.
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