All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) chief Dr Randeep Guleria said that there is no need to panic from bird-flu or the avian influenza. It may be noted that India has witnessed one death due to bird-flu and the AIIMS chief has asked all the citizens to maintain their cool and take necessary precautions.

Transmission of the virus from birds to humans is very rare and from human to human hasn’t been established yet. Bird flu or the avian influenza needs to be dealt with caution and no one must panic in this scene. It is just that people working with poultry need to take all necessary precautions and maintain personal hygiene.

Dr Neeraj Nishchal, an associate professor at the AIIMS Department of Medicine said that one does not need to worry if the chicken is being cooked well before eating. There is no evidence that the virus can spread through well cooked food. The virus gets destroyed when the food is cooked at a high temperature.

It may be noted that this 12 year old boy was admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia and leukaemia. He was tested for both Covid and influenza. His samples came out negative for covid-19 but were non-typable.  The samples were then sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune where he tested positive for aviation influenza. All close associates and family members of the deceased child have been asked to monitor themselves for symptoms of flu and report to the authorities immediately.

It has also been stated that the avian influenza virus does not spread from birds to humans easily and if a person gets infected at all, the mortality rate is about 60 percent.