Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – January 30, 2021 – International News
About 750 pelicans that died in northern Senegal last week tested positive for H5N1 bird flu.
Rangers found pelicans on January 23 at the Dwarf Bird Sanctuary, a remote wetland near the Mauritanian border and a resting place for birds that cross the Sahara Desert each year.
The reserve is a transit site for about 350 species of birds, but only pelicans have been found dead.
Senegal reported an outbreak of H5N1 at a poultry farm in the Ties area about 120 miles south, killing about 100,000 chickens.
It is unclear whether the two outbreaks are related.
Facts about bird flu
- Avian influenza is an infectious disease of birds caused by influenza A viruses. The H5N1 virus is a subtype of influenza A virus that occurs mainly in birds and can cause their death.
- According to official reports of the World Organization for Animal Health in 2018-2019, avian influenza was registered in 11 EU countries (128 outbreaks) and Russia (84 outbreaks).
- The main factor in the spread of bird flu in the world are infected with the pathogen wild birds.
- Avian influenza refers to transboundary diseases, those that cannot be stopped by restricting the movement of goods across the border because, as noted, the main spread is an infected wild migratory bird.
- The most vulnerable to influenza are domestic birds, which are raised in households and farms and are not isolated from the environment (pastures, ponds, rivers, reservoirs), where they can come into contact with an infected migratory bird.
- The most protected from influenza are domestic birds raised by industrial producers in isolated conditions.
- During an outbreak of avian influenza, you should refrain from buying poultry meat in places of spontaneous trade and prefer official outlets.
- Avian influenza viruses do not always infect humans, but since 1997, more than 100 confirmed human cases of avian influenza viruses have been reported.
- Symptoms of bird flu in humans can range from symptoms typical of the common flu (fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory illness (acute respiratory syndrome) and other life-threatening complications.
- The spread of bird flu viruses from one sick person to another is very rare; further spread of infection from the patient is not observed.
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