Day Five of the Avian Influenza Epidemic

Five days after the first reported death of a college student in Ely, Minnesota, another documented 20 deaths have occurred. The cause of these deaths has been confirmed and attributed to H5N1, also known as the bird flu. The route of the virus has now been traced back to a small farm outside the urban area of Ely. Last week the farmer’s daughter returned from a study abroad program in Hong Kong. There she was exposed to the influenza virus at various bird markets in the city. It has been reported that she illegally brought back a small infected bird from China. The disease quickly spread throughout her father’s farm, killing hundreds of chickens. The many college students called in to clean up the carcasses were then exposed to the virus and carried it back to their campus, Vermillion Community College. The virus quickly reproduced and spread throughout the students.
The hosts of this virus began with pigs, which then mutated to infect various poultry in China. The infected birds can transmit the virus through their saliva, nasal secretions, feces, and blood. Vectors of this virus include contaminated cages as well as other inanimate objects. Wild bird are also considered vectors, as they carry the virus but are usually unaffected. Through the importation of the illegal bird the virus was carried to the farm, which infected the many chickens. Through further mutations, humans have now become infected. The quick reproduction of this virus makes it able to spread quickly and infect many.
The H5N1 subtype of influenza A is an RNA virus. It has a segmented genome of eight negative single-strands of RNA. There are various strains of the virus, including “highly pathogenic” and “low-pathogenic”. Of greatest concern to humans is highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Local health professionals have now been in contact with the patients and attention has been heightened for a local pandemic. The Minnesota Department of Health has begun involvement with the situation and more activities will quickly begin to be put in place to control the spread of the disease in this small town.