Application of Community Health & Population-Focused Nursing
Western Governors University

A1. Description of Disease Avian Influenza, commonly referred to as the Bird Flu, is a highly contagious virus amongst birds (avian). These viruses occur naturally and can move quickly from wild aquatic birds to domesticated chickens, ducks and turkeys. Wild birds infected with the avian influenza virus usually do not get sick. The virus that normally infects the respiratory tract, affects wild birds intestines instead. However, our domesticated birds aren’t as fortunate and can become very ill and even die from the virus. There are two different strains of the virus: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Poultry infected with LPAI viruses may not cause disease at, could cause mild illness or may not even be detected. On the hand, when HPAI viruses infect poultry it can cause severe disease and high mortality (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). According to the CDC, avian influenza outbreaks have been responsible for illness and death in humans in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific and the Near East but between 1997 and 2014, the United States experienced only one incident of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry (CDC, 2015). The first bird flu case was reported in 1997 in Hong Kong and affected 18 humans, claiming the lives of six. A2. Epidemiological Determinants Although the immediate source of infection is uncertain it is believed that most outbreaks start with direct or indirect contact of domestic poultry with water birds (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015). A typically harmless non-pathogenic or mildly pathogenic strain then undergoes a genetic mutation or assortment of less virulent strains to create a more severe, harmful strain. Once avian