This strain had also not affected Australia

Running head: AVIAN INFLUENZA 1
Avian influenza
Student’s Name
University’s Name
Introduction

AVIAN INFLUENZA 2
Avian influenza is a disease that occurs due to infection caused by aquatic birds due
to Avian Flu Type A viruses. The viruses of Avian flu do not generally infect the humans but
periodic infections have been identified among the humans and animals as well as human to
human transmission resulting in the influenza pandemic. If combination takes place between
AI virus and human influenza virus, it might result into a completely new strain of influenza
virus that could easily transmit from one person to other within no time and become
pandemic (Department of Agriculture, 2017). This essay will discuss the emerging health
issues related to Avian influenza as well as about the role of nurses in reduction and
mitigation of the infection.
Avian Influenza
In 1997, AI virus strain HPAI (H5N1) was first recognized in Hong Kong. The strain
appeared again in 2003 and spread rapidly among birds in various countries including Asia,
Middle East countries, Africa and also in Europe. It also infected humans extensively
resulting in a high rate of death; however, this strain has not been found in Australia (CDC,
2017). The strain named H7N9 appeared during 2013 in Eastern China and it also caused
severe infections among the humans leading to reporting of more than 1500 cases and
numerous deaths. This strain had also not affected Australia. In Australia, small outbursts of
various other strains of the AI over poultry birds with few of the mild human infections were
detected (Goodman, 2016). Influenza type A viruses are classified into subtypes as per their
combinations of different virus surface proteins “hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase
(NA)”. As per WHO, till now, there are 18 subtypes of hemagglutinin and 11 of
neuraminidase, currently in existence. Based on its source, AI viruses are classified as avian
influenza and various other types of animal influenzas. The virus subtypes for AI or bird flu
comprises of “A(H5N1), A(H7N9), and A(H9N2).”

AVIAN INFLUENZA 3
The rationale for being an emerging health Issue
According to the report of World Health Organization (WHO), the cause of infection
among humans are avian influenza viruses’ subtypes “A(H5N1), A(H7N9), and A(H9N2)”
(WHO, 2018). Avian influenza largely affects birds. However, the humans have rarely been
infected due to direct or indirect contact with the diseased birds. Some of the strains of avian
influenza (AI) i.e. bird flu, infects only wild population of birds with no or mild diseases.
Majority of subtypes of influenza A viruses occur among aquatic birds (U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services, 2017). Most of the subtypes of AI cause mild infections among
birds. The severe infections among poultry due to these viruses results in high death rates that
come in the category of “highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)” while those causing
mild disease in poultry comes in the category of “low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI)”.
The AI viruses infect humans after direct contact with the diseased poultry or contaminated
feathers or waste from poultry birds, particularly, direct or indirect exposure of the humans to
the contaminated environment, where slaughtering and de-feathering of corpses of infected
poultry birds and preparation of poultry for consumption are conducted. The humans infected
with AI viruses do not easily transmit infections to others unless they are in close contact
with the sick person for some days.
The symptoms among the humans infected with AI virus include mild symptoms like
reddish stinging eyes i.e. occurrence of conjunctivitis frequently. The humans infected with
few of the H5N1 and H7N9 strains can witness symptoms similar to the severe influenza
among humans, which include cough, throat infections, running nose, breathlessness, fatigue,
headaches, muscle aches, fever and such others. It might also result into diarrhoea,
pneumonia and encephalitis. The symptoms of AI appear within two to ten days after getting

AVIAN INFLUENZA 4
exposed to the infected birds and lasts up to seven days. The people infected with AI remain
infectious for a minimum of 7 days and infections lasts among children for up to 21 days.
The AI infection is an emerging issue because there is no specific human vaccine
available for the prevention of disease. However, the use of anti-influenza medication and
other infection control strategies might also prove to be effective in controlling the spread of
infection among the caretakers of the infected person. The vaccination of the seasonal
influenza vaccine is highly recommended to the people. Furthermore, in laboratories, where
the specimens of the infected patients are handled by the lab workers, they are also advised to
follow specific safety requirements (Tzeng & Yin, 2016). The humans travelling to regions
affected by AI could easily get affected if precautionary measures are not taken by them
(NSW Government, 2016). Even after releasing health advisory related to avoiding travelling
to the areas affected with AI viruses, the advices are not taken seriously by the travellers. It
results in spread of the infection from one country to other, Similarly, due to the use and
export of infected poultry products, the probability of quick infection increases. In order to
prevent the emergence of AI in Australia, people infected with AI are not allowed to enter
Australia transmit it to others. As a strict precautionary measure, the people arriving in
Australia from the countries reporting cases of AI infections are monitored for their health
conditions for at least seven days as well as for other respiratory issues and the period of
monitoring might extend as well. It is the reason due to which, AI has become an emerging
health issue as it has the potential to take the form of influenza pandemic as a result of
negligence since its inception.
Approaches and RN role to reduce or mitigate infection
The role of registered nurses (RN) is considered as highly significant in mitigating the
impact of AI infection among humans. On one hand, it becomes their foremost duty to take