The two cases have been registered in the same poultry farm where two months ago 600,000 hens had to be slaughtered.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed this Friday the second case of bird flu in humans in Spain. This second case corresponds to a 27-year-old worker from a poultry farm in Fontanar (Guadalajara) where the first case was detected last September, also in a 19-year-old employee of the farm.
In neither of the two cases did those affected show symptoms of suffering from this disease despite having been in contact with birds affected by the outbreak of avian influenza. In fact, the 600,000 hens on the poultry farm had to be slaughtered. It was the farm itself that informed the health authorities of this outbreak due to the high mortality rate of the animals and it was then that the protocol was activated, immobilizing the farm to prevent animals or eggs from leaving it.
bird flu in humans
Bird flu or “bird flu” is an infectious disease caused by the type A influenza virus. This disease was first identified in Italy a hundred years ago and usually appears in domestic birds due to their contact with migratory birds.
The virus can be transmitted from animals to humans and, therefore, the Ministry of Health recommends that poultry employees take extreme precautionary measures and isolate farms to avoid contact between animals and wild birds. Health also recommends that poultry not enter houses and discourages children from playing with them.
In case of having been in contact with birds, it is advisable to wash your hands frequently and leave your shoes and poultry utensils outside the house. Health also points out that the transmission of the bird flu virus from birds to humans has so far occurred in very exceptional cases since this transmission is very difficult and requires very direct and continuous contact with sick birds. Furthermore, according to the WHO, so far there is no scientific evidence that these outbreaks are effectively transmitted from person to person.
no vaccine
Until now, it has only been possible to develop a vaccine for birds but not for humans, since for this it is necessary for the virus to mutate and be transmissible from person to person, hence the importance of adopting precautionary measures.
Treatment in humans is based on antivirals that prevent the spread of the virus in the body and reduce the aggressiveness of symptoms and possible complications. The most common symptoms in humans are fever over 38 degrees, shortness of breath, cough and general malaise. In addition, most patients have a significant decrease in lymphocytes and alterations in liver enzymes. As for the time that elapses between exposure to the virus and the onset of the disease, it ranges between two and eight days.
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