Avian Influenza Research Paper

Many years ago, backyard chickens were commonplace throughout the United States of America – mainly for nutrition. During that time, backyard chickens were easy to take care of and a small number of them could feed a family with meat and eggs for a bargain. Years later, manufacturing food became the way of life and

For example, 91 pounds of chicken is to be consumed by Americans in 2017 (The National Chicken Council 2012). Within the factory farming of Tysons foods Inc., a major international food industry dealing with a majority of chicken, are seen to be abusing and slaughtering birds irresponsibly. Their shelters dark and filled with thousands of birds, either dead or alive making it possible for the ones alive to pick up a disease. Then transported to the factories where they are not properly put to death by workers lacking in their ability to do the job correctly. On Food Inc. a farmer by the name of Carole Morison stood up against Perdue’s farming styles and showed her farm to filmers. As seen in the video chickens are dying by the workers abuse, antibiotics being fed to them, and diseases in the shelters (Food Inc. 2008)

Chickens used for egg production typically live in one of many battery cages crammed into a long windowless shed. Ten or more of these hens are packed together in a cage that is about the size of a drawer in a filing cabinet. This causes frustration and fighting between the hens. To keep this from happening, farmers often cut or burn part of their beaks off without medicine to dull the pain. Hens who become sick are usually not given proper veterinary care and are left to die slowly and painfully. Some of the eggs laid by the hens are hatched by another industry to supply more chickens for egg production. Since the hatched male chicks cannot lay eggs, they are often killed by grinding or suffocation. When the hens grow old and stop producing as many eggs, many farmers will deny them proper nutrition to try and “shock” their bodies into laying eggs one last time. Then they are slaughtered and their bodies are used for food scraps.

Annually there are a number of children who contract the influenza during the influenza season that results in an increase in costs in pediatric office visits and antibiotic and other medications consumption and also in a significant increase in absences from school and work. Thus influenza vaccination of children can help reduce the number of visit to pediatric office,  hospitalizations, and help prevent the spread of influenza in the wider community. Moreover vaccinating children is cost effective when considering all the cost of treatment for influenza and its complications. Therefore yearly vaccination of children with the inactivated influenza vaccine save  parent money and time away from the pediatric clinic. Influenza vaccine does not

We have all wondered where, and how the poultry that is in our grocery stores had gotten there at some point in time, whether if we eat meat or not. When we find out, we are not too ecstatic with the results. It is unbelievable what they do just in order to get profit from the many variations of chicken the companies produce. They treat the birds as if they are not a living, breathing animal sitting right in front of them. They have no sympathy, for this wonderful creation, and all that it has to offer us. The companies only care about the money, and will do anything to get it. Big chicken industries such as Tyson and Perdue, force farmers to raise their chickens in certain ways, and by doing this, the chickens are raised in unhealthy conditions, which puts consumers’ health at risk.

Describe two innate (nonspecific) immune responses that might prevent an influenza virus from causing any noticeable infection, even if the virus enters your respiratory passages.

Flu season is upon us and influenza has hit our area particularly hard this year. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs that spread from person to person through sneezing and coughing. The flu can also be spread surfaces when infected people touch surfaces such as door knobs, shopping carts, computer keyboards, countertops, etc. Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Though it can be difficult to avoid the flu entirely, there are things you can do to protect yourself and your household from getting the flu by following these steps at home. Continue these steps daily throughout the flu season.

Wild aquatic fowl, ducks in particular, serve as a reservoir for the Influenza virus to transmit into poultry and then to humans. Infected birds shed flu viruses in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces (CDC, 2004). The current virus seen in Asia is denoted as H5N1 and was first seen in terns in South Africa in 1961 (CDC, 2004). The first human seen infection of the avian H5N1 viruses was in 1997 in Hong Kong in a three- year old boy (Ruben, 2005). The outbreak involved 18 cases and killed 6, one third of the confirmed infected population (Rueben, 2005). In three days 1.5 million birds were killed in order to prevent further spread. A new pandemic is now on the horizon with recent outbreaks in poultry in the eight Asian countries of Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam since 2004 (CDC, 2005). As of July 5, 2005, there have been 108 reported human cases of the H5N1 virus with 54 deaths (CDC, 2004). In wake of a

Influenza strikes this country in pandemic proportions every year. Although there are many factors contributing to morbidity and mortality, the mortality rate varies from year to year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the thirty year range from 1976 to 2006, saw death rates from a low of 3000 to a high of 49000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). So far this season, there have been 3697 deaths from influenza related illness (CDC, 2016). In 2009, the virulent H1N1 strain, with a 20% risk of death, also brought the difficulties of lack of research based clinical evidence for treatments (Cook, et al., 2010). The lack of research conducted during pandemics stems from the delay caused by the often

Influenza is a contagious respiratory infection that is caused by influenza virus. Influenza is commonly called flu. Many people underestimate influenza, and think it is a mild disease. In fact, influenza is a deadly disease if it has not taken care of. For example, from 1918 to 1919 about 20million people died from influenza(1). To better understand influenza, it is important to know how it spreads, how is it prevented, and the strains it has.

According to “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer there are two different types of chickens. One is the “Boiler Chickens”, these are the chickens that used for meat consumption while the other “Layer Chickens” are for the sole purpose of laying eggs. “In order to meet the consumer demand for eggs, 280 million hens laid 77.3 billion eggs in 2007” stated by famsantuary.org. Form the birth to death, "Layers" are prone to confinement and the deprivation of having the freedom to live their lives as active and social as the want. In order for the chickens to lay eggs frequently, lights are used to simulate climate change.

The outlook for the bird flu viral infection depends on how intense the infection becomes and on the specifics of each strain.

Since December 2014, the USDA has confirmed numerous cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways, known as migratory pathways. This makes more sense to the fact that wild birds can carry this influenza, and that more birds go through these migratory pathways, instead of in other regions.

Avian Influenza (AI) is a highly contagious disease and can affect wide varieties of birds and mammals. The virus belongs to family orthomyxoviridae type A influenza (Wright and Webster 2001). According to the virus pathogenicity, AI is classified into high and low pathogenic forms. It is causing great economic losses in the Egyptian poultry industry because of its outbreaks are characterized by a very rapid onset and widespread occurrence in a very short time (Aly et al.2008).

Influenza commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza virus. Influenza virus are the enveloped RNA viruses belonging to the Orthmyxoviridae family which possess segmented, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genomes1. This family consists of four influenza virus genera (influenza A, influenza B, influenza C and influenza D) that are classified based on differences in their internal glycoproteins nucleoprotein (NP) and matrix (M). Influenza A virus has the broadest host range that can infect humans, pigs, birds, horses, sea mammals and other animals2-10. Influenza B virus almost exclusively infects humans and less common