Current Status of Avian
Influenza (H5N1)
(Commonly referred to as the Bird Flu)
Glen J. Arnold
OSU Extension, Putnam County,
Ottawa, Ohio; and
Teresa Y. Morishita, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACPV
College of Veterinary Medicine,
Western University of Health Sciences,
Pomona, California
Avian Influenza

Influenza Type A
 All subtypes can
affect birds
 Poultry disease
 Waterfowl reservoirs
Avian Influenza Subtypes

Name based on surface
proteins
 Hemagglutinin proteins


H5, H7 subtypes
Neuraminidase proteins

N1
AI
Avian Influenza

Signs

Respiratory Tract
• Sneezing
• Excess Discharges
• Swollen Sinuses

Digestive Tract
• Diarrhea

Neurological System
• Twisted heads
• Uncoordinated gait
Avian Influenza

Humans

Respiratory Tract
• Flu-like

Digestive Tract
• Diarrhea
H5N1 Avian Influenza Timeline

1996: H5N1 from
goose in Guangdong
Province
 1997: poultry farms
and markets in Hong
Kong; 6/18 human
fatalities
 2/03: 1/2 human
fatality; travel to
Fujian Province; 1/1
suspect
First Wave of H5N1 Influenza


Mid-03: H5N1 causes outbreaks, undetected and
unreported
12/03: Two tigers and two leopards die of H5N1 avian
influenza. FIRST CASE IN BIG CATS
First Wave of H5N1 Influenza



12/03:Korea
1/04: Vietnam,
Japan, Thailand,
Cambodia, Laos
2/04: Indonesia,
China
Human Cases:
• 8/12 Thailand;16/23 Vietnam;
• Cannot rule out limited human-to-human contact
Second Wave of H5N1 Influenza







6-7/04:China, Indonesia,
Thailand, Vietnam
Possible role of wild birds
More lethal for mammals;
fatal to waterfowl
7/04: Japan is diseasefree
8/04: Malaysia; infections
in pigs and cats; cat was
previously considered
resistant
9/04: Korea is diseasefree
10/04: 147/441 tigers in
Thailand; two eagles from
Thailand imported into
Brussels; domestic ducks
as reservoirs
Human Cases
• 4/5 Thailand; 4/4 Vietnam
Third Wave of H5N1 Influenza







12/04: Indonesia, Thailand,
Vietnam; possibly Cambodia
and Laos
1/05: Malaysia is disease-free
4/05: 6,345 wild birds in central
China
6/05: China’s Xinjiang region
7/05: 4/05 outbreak from new
variant; virus transmitted
among geese and may spread
via migratory routes; civets
infected; Russian poultry and
wild birds
8/05: Kazakhstan poultry and
wild birds; Tibet; Mongolia
10/05: Turkey; Romania;
songbirds from China
smuggled into Taiwan;
imported parrot in United
Kingdom; China’s Anhui and
Hunan Province; Croatia wild
birds; Macedonia
Human Cases
• human-to-human transmission
• 21/64 Vietnam; 4/4 Cambodia; Thailand
and Indonesia
Third Wave of H5N1 Influenza



11/05: Chinese
poultry
12/05: Ukraine;
Kuwait flamingo
(first in Gulf
Region)
1/06: Human
cases in Turkey
and Iraq
The Wave Continues
2-3/06:
Iraq;
poultry in Nigeria
(first in Africa); wild
birds (swans) in
Azerbaijan,
Bulgaria, Greece,
Italy, Slovenia,
Iran, Austria,
Germany; poultry
and zoo birds in
Eqypt; poultry in
India; France; wild
birds in Denmark
and Spain, UK
Patterns

Spreading over
land mass
 Need for
expedient
diagnosis
 Poultry involved
 Wild birds and
migration routes
Areas of Concerns
 Migratory
Birds


reservoirs
overlap of
summer
breeding
areas
Areas of Concerns
 Illegal
Commerce
• songbirds
• fighting chickens
• raw and undercooked products
Duck Soup
(Czarnina)
"This is an old Polish recipe that was used at Easter time. This
recipe is traditionally served with home made noodles. If desired
the fruit can be removed, leaving broth to serve with noodle. If
you do not know where to purchase a duck, contact a local
farmer or butcher. If you prepare your own poultry be sure to add
1/2 cup vinegar to duck blood to prevent coagulation." Original
recipe yield: 12 servings.
Areas of Concerns
 Commerce
• live bird markets
• transport of birds, mammals?
Stopping a World Pandemic
 Human-to-Human
Transmission
 Education
 Expedient
Diagnosis, Isolation, Quarantine