08-19-2013, 06:25 PM
H7N9 is a subtype of the influenza virus. It is true that it wasn’t known to infect human beings until after March 2013 where the new strain was found to infect both humans and birds.
A person can get infected by the virus after having close contact with birds (poultry) such as their droppings or mucus. There are some evidences that the virus can also be airborne, such as when someone inhales the flu virus when infected birds flap their wings.
Symptoms of this avian influenza virus usually start with high fever and a cough. Some may progress to a more serious condition such as pneumonia, septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or multi-organ failure which is fatal.
For a pandemic to take place, the virus must be passed sustainably from person to person. In H7N9 virus’s case, there has been no evidence of such yet. However, this has not been ruled out as some individuals were shown to have the “limited” or “dead end” spread, where only the close contact or caregiver gets the virus but ends the spread from there.
There already are different types of influenza vaccines which are supposed to be given each year before the season begins, but for this kind of virus, no such vaccines have been developed yet.
There are two flu antiviral drugs that are administered as treatment for the seasonal influenza. These are zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu). The problem is, it is possible for the influenza virus to eventually have genetic mutations and become resistant to such antiviral drugs, which is why ongoing research is being conducted.
It is difficult to diagnose a person who may have the avian influenza since there are no available tests that can easily distinguish it from other flu viruses. But there is this procedure called the real-time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) which involves taking of a respiratory tract sample (lungs, throat, nose, etc.) from an infected patient. It is known for its accuracy and sensitivity in flu virus detection, which may take only about 4 hours for the results to come out. This has been developed by the CDC and is available in the United States and other countries.
What concerns the CDC nowadays is that if the virus mutates and becomes resistant to the drugs, or worse, cause a pandemic where it becomes sustainable for person to person spread.
A person can get infected by the virus after having close contact with birds (poultry) such as their droppings or mucus. There are some evidences that the virus can also be airborne, such as when someone inhales the flu virus when infected birds flap their wings.
Symptoms of this avian influenza virus usually start with high fever and a cough. Some may progress to a more serious condition such as pneumonia, septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or multi-organ failure which is fatal.
For a pandemic to take place, the virus must be passed sustainably from person to person. In H7N9 virus’s case, there has been no evidence of such yet. However, this has not been ruled out as some individuals were shown to have the “limited” or “dead end” spread, where only the close contact or caregiver gets the virus but ends the spread from there.
There already are different types of influenza vaccines which are supposed to be given each year before the season begins, but for this kind of virus, no such vaccines have been developed yet.
There are two flu antiviral drugs that are administered as treatment for the seasonal influenza. These are zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu). The problem is, it is possible for the influenza virus to eventually have genetic mutations and become resistant to such antiviral drugs, which is why ongoing research is being conducted.
It is difficult to diagnose a person who may have the avian influenza since there are no available tests that can easily distinguish it from other flu viruses. But there is this procedure called the real-time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) which involves taking of a respiratory tract sample (lungs, throat, nose, etc.) from an infected patient. It is known for its accuracy and sensitivity in flu virus detection, which may take only about 4 hours for the results to come out. This has been developed by the CDC and is available in the United States and other countries.
What concerns the CDC nowadays is that if the virus mutates and becomes resistant to the drugs, or worse, cause a pandemic where it becomes sustainable for person to person spread.
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