“Symptoms”, “State of emergency”, “H5N1″… Americans’ Google searches show concern about avian flu epidemic

The ranking of the most searched words of the moment on the American search engine shows a surge in searches concerning avian flu and its consequences for humans after a first serious case was detected in humans in the United States.

“Bird flu”, “bird flu symtoms”, “california state emergency”are the “trending” words on Google US Thursday December 19. “Bird flu”, understand “bird flu”. The American authorities announced on Wednesday December 18 that a first serious case of human contamination with the H5N1 virus was detected in the United States, even though for several months the country has been facing an epizootic (epidemic in animals) of influenza. avian.

The victim is a man aged over 65 and who suffers from other pathologies. The man is in “a critical condition” et “suffers from a severe respiratory illness”Louisiana health authorities detailed to AFP. Other cases of contamination in humans had already been detected, but never a serious case. On the other hand, “no spread of avian influenza (subtype) H5 from person to person has been detected”they indicated.

Concretely, they have not yet had proof of human-to-human contamination. Researcher at Louisiana State University, Rebecca Christofferson explained to AFP that in the absence of rigorous monitoring, it was difficult to know whether contamination from animals to humans was becoming more frequent or if asymptomatic human-to-human transmission was occurring.

Enough evidence to raise the concern of Americans and more particularly Californians in view of the searches recorded on Google. It must be said that the governor of California has declared a state of emergency “to streamline and accelerate the State’s response to avian influenza A (H5N1).” California faces a spread of cases, they “have been detected in dairy cows on farms in southern California.we can read.

According to the Pasteur Institute, the first symptoms of contamination in humans “are similar to those of seasonal flu (fever, cough, etc.)”. However, these symptoms may worsen with “difficulty breathing. Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain, as well as neurological symptoms”, write the scientists. Patients may also experience conjunctivitis, symptom “probably linked to the hand-borne inoculation of the virus into the eye.”