What is Avian Flu

In the past they called it avian plague. Today we know that avian is caused by some highly contagious type A influenza viruses , which spread among wild and domestic birds and, more rarely, can also infect humans.  

In humans, avian manifests itself as a common flu , with fever , cough and sore throat, headache , diarrhea and muscle aches. More specific and serious symptoms may also appear , such as eye, respiratory and brain infections. In more serious forms, it can be lethal . 

Almost all human cases of infection so far involve people who worked on poultry farms and were therefore in direct contact with birds, their feathers or their droppings. The passage of the virus from man to man is very rare. It is literally impossible to contract it by consuming well-cooked meat and eggs .

The return of avian flu

Italy has already been affected by six avian influenza epidemics between 1997 and 2005 , especially in Veneto and Lombardy due to the high density of poultry farms. In autumn 2021 , the disease reappeared first in the UK and then in Italy . The first outbreak in our country was identified in Ferrara in October; at the time of writing this article there are 21 of them , for a total of 700 thousand animals involved . Not only hens and chickens, but also turkeys and ostriches.

This time the virus in circulation is H5N1 , very contagious and prone to mutating, acquiring genes from other viruses. The Higher Institute of Health makes it very clear that, since 2003, H5N1 has already made several leaps in species, even infecting pigs, cats and mice .

The risk of a spillover

And if a spillover happens this time too , that is, a leap of species from animal to man , exactly as happened with the coronavirus? Unfortunately, the probability is there; to keep it away , the outbreaks should be isolated and all the animals killed immediately . This is said by Walter Ricciardi , former president of the Higher Institute of Health and now consultant to the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza, guest of the television program Agorà on RaiTre . “The fight between viruses and bacteria has been going on for 2000 years, they were the masters of the world . The vaccine is the main tool “. 

It goes without saying that the emergency requires an immediate response, a response that only the health authorities can define. However, the animal welfare organization Be Animals invites us to look at the problem with a broader view. “ Continuing to raise millions of chickens, turkeys, ducks and other birds exposes us to the risk of a new avian flu pandemic, a risk we cannot afford to take,” the NGO writes . Therefore, ” choosing a vegetable diet is a collective gesture that protects the life of animals and public health”.