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Why is bird flu more common in domestic birds?
Abbey Hull for redOrbit.com – @AbbeyHull4160
While the bird flu may be a zoonotic disease, potentially creating a new human illness, the strain is most commonly seen in…you guessed it, birds. As studies have continued, however, the bird flu has become more common in domestic birds rather than wild birds.
Avian influenza, just like our yearly human flu, is a virus that derives from animals with the potential for mutation. “It’s been around probably as long as humans have been around,” Brad Huff, an avian expert, explained in a recent interview with redOrbit. “It’s just that the reason we’re cross contaminating now is because we have domesticated animals.”
Hence the swine flu and bird flu concerns over the past few years.
Domestic vs. wild birds
While the bird flu can be found in any bird, the strain is more common among domestic birds rather than wild birds for two reasons:
First, domestic animals, when in a farm setting, are all the same. “You’re looking at a mono-breed—this animals has been bred for a specific meat or egg, and their immune system isn’t as virile as a wild bird. And so they’re weaker,” Huff explained. With the mono-breed of domestic birds being treated with antibiotics for faster or larger growth, the birds may grow as the farmer desires, but with potential negative effects, just like any human medicine use.
The second, and most likely biggest factor of why the bird flu is more common in domestic birds is proximity. With hundreds of birds packed into a small space, the chances of the bird flu spreading from one bird to the entire population are extremely likely. If one person walks into the space where bird flu is present and does not decontaminate completely, then they will carry the virus over to the next building and have the virus spread even further.
“Close proximity is one of your biggest things, and one of the reasons why you don’t see such huge massive die offs in wild birds is that, while I’m sure the wild birds still have it, they’re constantly moving around and not always just packed on top of each other. When the birds that do have the virus get sick, they die and drop out so they are not just constantly being around other birds,” Huff said.
Once you watch for it, you’ll see it more
So why are we hearing so much about this strain of bird flu in current society?
“It’s close contact,” Huff said. “Now with scientific research and people monitoring things (just basic studies and evaluations), it’s being discovered more, just like anything else—once you start watching for it, you’re going to see it more often.”
While there may not be a solution to curing the bird flu just yet, people can continue to take precautions with yearly flu shots and good hygiene, as well as regulations and techniques with domesticated birds and farming. The virus, just like the human flu, mutates on a regular basis as a bird problem, but has potential for more.
“Just like other strains of flu, the bird flu starts out predominantly affecting birds and not humans, but then it just takes one person to catch that virus and it mutates to affect that person, and then it becomes a human problem,” Huff said.
However, Huff warns people not to be fearful of the potential for a new strain of flu and avoid the wild outdoors.
“When you watch news reports and the horror stories keep popping up, take it with a grain of salt—you’re much more likely to catch it in a domestic situation than a wild one,” Huff explained.
Huff’s best advice is one we share too: “Don’t be as fearful as the news often makes it out to be. It’s not quite as scary…it’s not the doomsday it’s sometimes portrayed to be.”
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Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113389036/bird-flu-more-common-in-domestic-birds-than-wild-birds-051215/
