what is the virus for bird flu?

Answer 1

What we currently call "bird flu" is the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus.

Answer 2

All known avian flu viruses belong to the species of virus called Influenza A virus. All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of Influenza A virus are adapted to birds, which is why for many purposes avian flu virus is the Influenza A virus (note that the "A" does not stand for "avian").

Avian flu viruses are noninfectious for most species. When they are infectious they are usually asymptomatic, so the carrier does not have any disease from it. Thus while infected with an avian flu virus, the animal doesn't have a "flu". Typically, when illness (called "flu") from an avian flu virus does occur, it is the result of an avian flu virus strain adapted to one species spreading to another species (usually from one bird species to another bird species). So far as we know the most common result of this is an illness so minor as to be not worth noticing (and thus little studied). But with the domestication of chickens and turkeys, we have created species subtypes (domesticated poultry) that can catch an avian flu virus adapted to waterfowl and have it rapidly mutate into a form that kills in days over 90% of an entire flock and spread to other flocks and kill 90% of them and can only be stopped by killing every domestic bird in the area. Until H5N1, this was basically the whole story of avian flu so far as anyone knew or cared (outside of the poultry industry). Now with H5N1, we have a whole new ballgame with H5N1 inventing new rules as it goes with behaviors never noticed before, and possibly never having occurred before. This is evolution right before our eyes.

Answer 3

Avian flu is used to describe the influenza viruses that infect birds - for example wild birds such as ducks and domestic birds such as chickens. In fact, birds appear to a natural reservoir of flu viruses - 15 subtypes influenza A virus are known to be circulating in bird populations.

Many forms of avian flu virus cause only mild symptoms in the birds, or no symptoms at all. However, some of the viruses produce a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease, leading to severe epidemics. These virulent viruses are known as "highly pathogenic avian influenza" and it is these viruses that cause particular concern. One such avian flu virus is currently infecting chickens in Asian countries.

The H5N1 bird flu virus strain may one day mutate by exchanging genetic information with a normal human flu virus.

Answer 4

There are three types of influenza viruses:A, B & C. Humans can be affected by all 3 types but wild birds are the natural hosts for infuenza A type.Of hundreds of strains of avian influenza A viruses only 4 are known to have caused human infections: H5N1, H7N3, H7N7, H9N2. In general, humans infected with all these viruses show only mild symptoms and very rarely illness. an exception being the highly pathogenic H5N1.
Here H stands for "haemaglutinin" and N stands for "neuraminidase". These are two main surface glycoprotein on whose basis influenza A viruses are classified.
all 16HA and 9 NA subtypes of influenza A viruses are known to infect wild type fowls. Not all virus strains of H5 AND H7 subtypes are highly pathogenic but most have the potential to become so.

Answer 5

H5N1 is the most commonly known virus of avian influenza, as it is one of the highly pathogenic strains of the virus. This means that it can spread rapidly and it causes high mortality rates among the victims. Read some more info here

http://www.bird-flu-center.com/bird-flu-origin/

Answer 6

H5N1 is the virus for bird flu

Answer 7

Influenza A viruses1 have 16 H subtypes and 9 N subtypes2. Only viruses of the H5 and H7 subtypes are known to cause the highly pathogenic form of the disease. However, not all viruses of the H5 and H7 subtypes are highly pathogenic and not all will cause severe disease in poultry.
On present understanding, H5 and H7 viruses are introduced to poultry flocks in their low pathogenic form. When allowed to circulate in poultry populations, the viruses can mutate, usually within a few months, into the highly pathogenic form. This is why the presence of an H5 or H7 virus in poultry is always cause for concern, even when the initial signs of infection are mild.

Infection in humans:Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects contaminated by their faeces, is presently considered the main route of human infection. To date, most human cases have occurred in rural or periurban areas where many households keep small poultry flocks, which often roam freely, sometimes entering homes or sharing outdoor areas where children play. As infected birds shed large quantities of virus in their faeces, opportunities for exposure to infected droppings or to environments contaminated by the virus are abundant under such conditions. Moreover, because many households in Asia depend on poultry for income and food, many families sell or slaughter and consume birds when signs of illness appear in a flock, and this practice has proved difficult to change. Exposure is considered most likely during slaughter, defeathering, butchering, and preparation of poultry for cooking.
Though rare, instances of limited human-to-human transmission of H5N1 and other avian influenza viruses have occurred in association with outbreaks in poultry and should not be a cause for alarm. In no instance has the virus spread beyond a first generation of close contacts or caused illness in the general community. Data from these incidents suggest that transmission requires very close contact with an ill person. Such incidents must be thoroughly investigated but – provided the investigation indicates that transmission from person to person is very limited – such incidents will not change the WHO overall assessment of the pandemic risk. There have been a number of instances of avian influenza infection occurring among close family members. It is often impossible to determine if human-to-human transmission has occurred since the family members are exposed to the same animal and environmental sources as well as to one another

Answer 8

HxNy H for Hemagglutinin
N for Neuraminidase
which is the protein, on membrane of virus, we use to identify what is x and y
for example H5N1

Answer 9

H5N1 strain of the avian influenza flu...

Answer 10

avian flu virus.which can even harm to man and there is no medecine for this virus