16/04/2021
AVIAN INFLUENZA, SHOULD I BE WORRIED?
An outbreak of avian influenza has been detected on a chicken farm in South Africaβs central province of Gauteng.
Your Questions About Avian Influenza Asked & Answered:
Q. What is Avian Influenza?
A. Bird flu, or avian influenza, is an animal disease caused by viruses
that usually infect birds - particularly poultry - but since 1997 have,
according to the World Health Organisation, on very rare occasions
jumped the species barrier and infected humans. So far this has only
happened in 12 countries around the world, 2 of which are in Africa,
although bird flu has presented itself within poultry flocks in more than
45 countries, of which 6 are in Africa.
Q. How serious is it?
A. There are 15 different types of bird flu known to regularly infect
birds around the world. Most strains infect only birds (though they can
potentially infect other species such as pigs), but they do not infect
humans. The type that has mostly affected people is H5N1,
of which there is more than one sub-type. The most common is known
as the "Wild Strain", and is low-pathogenic. The "Asian strain", on
the other hand, is highly pathogenic and is a mutant of the lowerpathogenic "Wild Strain".
Q. Is there avian influenza in Eswatini?
A. Avian influenza is nothing new in wild bird populations, but to date
Eswatini remains free of the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain of
avian influenza. However, as of the 13th of April 2021, South Africa registered 300 new cases of Avian Influenza in a farm in Johannesburg. The N-type strain is yet to be determined.
Q. How is it transmitted?
A. Humans generally acquire the virus through direct contact with living,
infected birds or their faeces. This has happened almost exclusively in
the informal sector where people are in very close contact with their
poultry. Even then it has been shown to be very difficult to get the
disease. Spread between people has occurred on only one or possibly
two occasions.
Q. Should I avoid poultry products in order to
protect my family?
A. The simple and truthful answer is no. It isn't necessary to avoid eating
chicken and/or eggs - thoroughly cooked, locally produced poultry
products from certified abattoirs and pack houses are safe to consume.
If highly-pathogenic H5N1 should present in Eswatini, by simply
cooking all poultry products correctly, you will inactivate the virus
completely. As a rule of thumb: hard boiled eggs are completely safe to
eat as is meat cooked until the juices run clear.
Q. What other precautions should I take?
A. Good hygiene always helps with prevention, so continue to wash your
hands before and after preparing food to avoid infection, as you should
do to prevent all potential infections from food, such as bacterial food
poisoning. Also, make sure that all food cleaning and preparation
surfaces are thoroughly cleaned.
Q. Is there a treatment for bird flu in humans?
A. There is one antiviral drug that may be helpful in treating bird flu in
humans. It is oseltamivir, known in most of the world as Tamifluβ’. It
can be taken by poultry workers for example, who have been exposed to
infected birds to prevent them from getting bird flu.
