H5N8 or H5N1 virus
Avian flu (or bird flu) is highly contagious to birds and is caused by a virus. Infected birds often die quickly from the flu. In the case of the H5N8 or H5N1 variant, the disease can also be transmitted from birds to humans. How dangerous is bird flu for humans?
Avian flu (or bird flu) is highly contagious to birds and is caused by a virus. Infected birds often die quickly from the flu. In the case of the H5N8 or H5N1 variant, the disease can also be transmitted from birds to humans.
The virus
Like any other flu virus, the bird flu virus can change very quickly. When the virus keeps changing (mutating) itself, our immune system can no longer recognize it. We will then no longer be able to fight the virus so quickly. We keep getting the flu this way.
There are several variants of the bird flu virus. The H7N7 variant has cost a veterinarian the life. But especially the H5N1 variant has claimed many lives: tens of millions of birds and about 50 people have died from it. At the moment – as far as is known – no people have yet been infected with the H5N8 variant.
Mild complaints to life-threatening
When infected with the bird flu virus, it takes three to seven days for the symptoms to appear. Some bird flu viruses cause only mild flu symptoms and/or minor eye inflammation in humans. This was the case in the Netherlands in 2003. The H5N1 variant can cause eye inflammation, fever, cough, nose cold, sore throat, muscle pain, headache or even death.
Protection against the virus
There are mouth-nose masks that offer protection against the bird flu virus. However, wearing it is only necessary and useful for people who have direct contact with infected poultry, for example on a chicken farm. A vaccine against the H5N1 virus does not yet exist, so you cannot be vaccinated against it yet. A ‘normal’ flu vaccination offers insufficient protection.
However, anti-virals can help limit the infection and relieve or prevent symptoms. The best known of these is Tamiflu, which, however, is only available with a prescription. The drug inhibits the spread of viruses in the body. Taking Tamiflu preventively is currently unnecessary and even unwise. This only increases the chance that the drug will work less well or even not at all if you really need it later.