He is currently being treated at a hospital in Dongguan City.Mainland health authorities have reported 50 human cases of avian influenza A(H5N6) since 2014. More than half of the total cases have been reported in the last year.”This year’s increase in human cases in China is concerning.”
“It’s a virus with a high mortality rate,” said Thijs Kuiken, a comparative pathology professor at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam.Avian influenza is caused by influenza viruses that are primarily found in birds and poultry, such as chickens and ducks. Human avian influenza symptoms can range from flu-like symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches) to severe respiratory illness (e.g. chest infection). There have also been reports of eye infection (conjunctivitis) and gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea).
The incubation period lasts between 7 and 10 days. The more virulent strains can cause respiratory failure, multi-organ failure, and death.Contact with infected birds and poultry (live or dead) or their droppings, or contact with contaminated environments, is the most common way for people to become infected with the avian influenza virus (such as wet markets and live poultry markets). Human-to-human transmission is wasteful. People who have close contact with poultry are more likely to contract avian influenza. The elderly, children, and people with chronic illnesses are more likely to develop complications like bronchitis and chest infection.
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