What is the H9N2 virus? Causes, Symptoms, Cure

What is the H9N2 virus: The A(H9N2) subtype of the influenza A virus is what causes both bird flu and flu in people. It is the most common type of influenza virus found in birds around the world.

On Friday, November 24, the Union Health Ministry said it is closely watching the reported spread of H9N2 cases (a new type of avian flu) and clusters of respiratory illnesses in children in China. The Ministry said that India doesn’t have a high chance of getting avian flu.

A 17-month-old boy in Maharashtra has been infected with the avian influenza A(H9N2) virus.

This is the first case of illness with the H9N2 virus in a person in the country. In India, H9N2 viruses have been found in chicken more than once.

What is the H9N2 virus?

The H9N2 strain of the influenza A virus is what causes both bird flu and flu in people. It was first found away from turkey groups in 1966 in Wisconsin, US. H9N2 viruses are common in wild birds all over the world and in many places they are also common in chickens.

Bangladesh’s birds are always infected with avian influenza virus subtype H9N2.

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Causes

People can get a weak respiratory illness from H9N2 viruses, and chickens can lay fewer eggs because of them. People are most likely to get sick from birds if they come into direct or indirect contact with infected animals or things that have faeces on them.

In Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt, people have been infected with the virus.

Symptoms

The first signs of the H9N2 virus are fever, cough, shortness of breath, tiredness, headaches, and pneumonia. Also, the signs can be mild, like pink eye, or very bad, like the flu, to the point where you can’t breathe or even die.

Cure

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that when avian influenza viruses are spread through poultry, there is a chance that some people will get sick or that a few people will get sick all at once from being around affected poultry or contaminated environments.

For more than 20 years, inactivated whole virus medicines have been used to keep birds from getting the H9N2 avian influenza virus. The WHO says that to avoid getting the virus, people must keep their bodies and hands clean, including washing their hands with soap before and after touching animals.