Avian Flu

What is flu?

Flu is an acute respiratory illness caused by infection with an influenza virus. There are three types in all with influenza A and influenza B causing the majority of infections. A third type, influenza C, is rarely reported as a cause of human illness.

Flu is characterised by sudden onset of symptoms which include a temperature of 38ºC or more with a dry cough, headache, sore muscles and sore throat. Cough is often severe and protracted, but otherwise the disease is self-limiting in those without underlying illness, and recovery is usually within 2 to 7 days.

What is avian flu?

Avian influenza (“bird flu”) is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. It can affect all species of birds and other animals and can very rarely infect humans.

Infection causes a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness to a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease resulting in severe epidemics. The avian influenza strain which is causing most concern at the moment is A/H5N1.

There have been a number of outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry in Asia since late 2003. For more details on affected countries, refer to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre website and/or the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) website.

Who is responsible for controlling avian flu here?

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is responsible for controlling Avian Influenza in birds and mammals other than humans. Further information is available on their website, www.birdflu.ie.

For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283. Further information is available here

What are the implications for human health?

The widespread persistence of H5N1 in poultry populations poses two main risks for human health.

The first is the small risk of direct infection when the virus passes from poultry to humans and causes severe disease.

Of the few avian influenza viruses that have crossed the species barrier to infect humans, H5N1 has caused the largest number of cases of severe disease and death in humans. Unlike normal seasonal influenza, where infection causes only mild respiratory symptoms in most people, the disease caused by H5N1 follows an unusually aggressive clinical course, with rapid deterioration and high fatality. Primary viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure are common. In the present outbreak, more than half of those infected with the virus have died.

A second risk, of even greater concern, is that the virus – if given enough opportunities – will change into a form that is highly infectious for humans and spreads easily from person to person. Such a change could mark the start of a global outbreak (a pandemic).

How do people become infected?

Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects contaminated by their droppings, is presently considered the main route of human infection. To date, most human cases have occurred in rural areas where many households keep small poultry flocks, which often roam freely, sometimes entering homes or sharing outdoor areas where children play. As infected birds shed large quantities of virus in their droppings, opportunities for exposure to infected droppings or to environments contaminated by the virus are abundant under such conditions. Exposure is considered most likely during slaughter, defeathering, butchering, and preparation of poultry for cooking.

How great a public health risk is avian flu to Europe?

The risk to human health in Europe still remains low despite reports of human cases of H5N1 in Turkey in 2006. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in a risk assessment of the public health risk from the emergence of A/H5N1 in Europe states that the direct risk to the health of people in Europe from the H5N1 virus is very low, but not zero. Further information may be obtained from the ECDC website

ECDC also states that the risk is almost entirely confined to certain groups of people (those who have close contact with infected domestic poultry). At present, for those people who have no contact with domestic or wild birds, the risk must be considered almost non-existent.

Avian flu: Food Safety Aspects

Conventional cooking (temperatures at or above 70 o C in all parts of a food item) will kill the H5N1 virus. Properly cooked poultry meat is therefore safe to consume.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is emphasising the importance of good hygiene practices during handling of poultry products, including hand washing, prevention of cross-contamination and thorough cooking of all food from poultry including eggs.

The WHO states that there is no evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans through properly cooked food (even if contaminated with the H5N1 virus prior to cooking).

Avian flu: Travel Advice

There are no special travel restrictions, immunisations or precautions to countries affected by avian influenza (A/H5N1) because of the presence of that virus.

Standard precautions for travellers are:

To avoid contact with live poultry and wild birds
To avoid visiting live animal markets and poultry farms
To avoid contact with surfaces contaminated with animal faeces
To avoid handling birds found dead
Not to eat or handle undercooked or raw poultry, egg or duck dishes
Exercise good personal hygiene with frequent hand washing
Do not attempt to bring any live poultry or poultry products (e.g. feathers) back to Ireland.

Information on avian influenza is available on the Health Protection Surveillance Centre website under the health topics section, and a factsheet for travellers [PDF] forms part of this information.

Avian Flu: Public Health Actions and Clinical Guidance

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has published a number of guidance documents for the health system on its website for use in the event of an avian influenza outbreak in animals in Ireland. Guidance on the investigation and management of Suspected Human Cases of Avian Influenza is also available.