How Is Avian Influenza Detected In Humans?
Avian influenza is flu infection in birds. The disease is of concern to humans, who have no immunity against it. The virus that causes this infection in birds can mutate to infect humans. Such mutation could start a deadly worldwide epidemic. Human influenza virus usually refers to those subtypes that spread widely among humans. There are only three known A subtypes of influenza viruses H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 currently circulating among humans. Influenza A viruses are constantly changing, and they might adapt over time to infect and spread among humans.
In initial stages, the bird flu or avian influenza manifests symptoms very similar to the common flu. Symptoms of bird flu in humans have ranged from typical flu-like symptoms fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases such as acute respiratory distress, and other severe and life threatening complications.
But avian influenza cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone, so a laboratory test is required. Usually a swab from the nose or throat is gathered during the first few days of illness. This swab is then sent to a laboratory, where the sample is put through a molecular test and other procedures or they will try to grow the virus. Avian influenza viruses are grown in laboratories with intensive protection. If it is late in the illness, it may be difficult to find an avian influenza virus by using these methods. In this case, it may still be possible to diagnose avian influenza by looking for evidence of the body’s response to the virus. This is not always an option because it requires two blood specimens, one taken during the first few days of illness and another taken some weeks later, and it can take several weeks to verify the results.