Bird flu in India

Bird flu spread to a third district in West Bengal while new areas in another three districts reported large-scale deaths of birds. In Birbhum and South Dinajpur, where the outbreak of bird flu was confirmed, culling continued for the third day today to curb the spread of the disease. The Centre confirmed that the samples from these two districts were the deadliest H5N1, which can mutate and infect Human Beings. Poultry deaths in these two districts and Murshidabad touched 85,000. The districts of Burdwan, Bankura, Cooch Behar,Nadia and Purulia and 24 South Paragans reported several cases of bird deaths. But central officials said tests of samples in Purulia, Cooch Behar and Nadia proved negative for bird flu.

What is bird flu?

A contagious disease caused by viruses that normally infect only birds. However, on rare occasions, these viruses have crossed the species barrier to infect humans. Since 1997, more than 100 confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza viruses have been reported.

How is avian influenza(bird flu) detected in humans?

Avian influenza cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone, so a laboratory test is required. Avian influenza is usually diagnosed by collecting a swab from the nose or throat during the first few days of illness. This swab is then sent to a laboratory, where they will either look for avian influenza virus using a molecular test, or they will try to grow the virus. Growing avian influenza viruses should only be done in laboratories with high levels of protection. If it is late in the illness, it may be difficult to find an avian influenza virus directly using these methods. If this is the 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.

Protecting yourself from Bird flu

So to stay safe, the advice is the same for protecting against any infection from poultry:

• Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw poultry and eggs.
• Clean cutting boards and other utensils with soap and hot water to keep raw poultry from contaminating other foods.
• Use a food thermometer to make sure you cook poultry to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit Consumers may wish to cook poultry to a higher temperature for personal preference.
• Cook eggs until whites and yolks are firm.