Impact of Rumors and Myths about BIRD FLU Outbreak on the Poultry Industry in social media and Strategies to address them in the Indian Context
YUVARAJ D.G.
MVSc Scholar
Dept. of veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology
Veterinary college Hassan, Karnataka
Abstract
Bird flu is a disease caused by certain flu viruses that usually spread between birds, not people. Infected birds can spread the virus through their mucous, saliva or feces. And there are certain myths and rumors which are misleading and deviating people. These misleading facts are capable of causing the major appraising factors for myths and fear about the disease. People rarely get bird flu, but when they do, it’s most often through direct unprotected contact (no gloves, protective wear, facemasks, respirators or eye protection) with infected birds. There are many misconceptions about the spreading of Bird Flu to the human community in social media. This has a very negative impact on the poultry industry as the industry experiences huge losses. Also, it creates unnecessary panic and stress among the human community.
Keywords: Flu, Myths, Rumors, Avian influenza
Introduction
Bird flu, which is also known as avian influenza, is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects birds. It can also infect other animals and, in rare cases, humans. There are multiple ways in which Bird Flu can spread to humans in many ways, most common ways of spreading are as follows: Having close contact with infected birds.This can include touching infected birds, their droppings, or bedding, or killing or preparing infected poultry for cooking.Inhaling the infected droplets or dust,Bird flu can spread through the air in droplets or dust. Touching the surfaces with the virus, If a person touches a surface with the virus on it and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth, they can become infected. Having contact with infected animals.In rare cases, bird flu can spread to humans through contact with other infected animals, such as cats or cows.
Symptoms
Symptoms of bird flu in humans are similar to common flu and include :
- Fever or feeling feverish,Chills
- Eye redness or irritation
- Cough, Sore throat, Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Tiredness
- Shortness of breath
Prevention of Bird FLU
Below are few ways to prevent spreading of Bird FLU
- Avoiding sick or dead birds.
- Avoiding wild birds, even if they don’t look sick.
- Avoiding touching surfaces or materials that could be contaminated.
- Avoiding poultry farms and bird markets.
- Wear a well-fitting face mask if you must visit poultry farms and bird markets.
- If you encounter wild birds or sick or dead animals, wear gloves and wash your hands properly.
- Report dead birds to your local environmental authority.
Misconceptions in Social Media about Bird flu :
Even though bird flu is bad for poultry and cattle, there are many misconceptions in social media about the spreading of Bird Flu to humans :
- Bird flu is easy to catch,Bird flu is hard for people to catch, and it rarely spreads from person to person.
- Bird flu can be transmitted by eating chicken or eggs. No, humans cannot get bird flu from eating properly cooked poultry or eggs.
- Bird flu is a pandemic,The current form of the bird flu virus does not spread efficiently from person to person like the seasonal flu, so a pandemic is unlikely.
Impact of Rumors
Even though Bird Flu doesn’t spread easily to humans, the myths in the social media that consuming poultry products can cause Bird Flu causes a huge loss to the poultry industry and causes unnecessary panic in the society. The poultry products consumption goes down rapidly and significantly. Many unaffected poultry birds are slaughtered leading to huge losses. The prices on poultry products go down.
Strategies to address them in the Indian Context
The most important this is to spread awareness about the ways in which Bird flu spreads in social media. Maintaining the poultry environment, proper disposal of infected birds. Always maintaining proper sanitary conditions among poultry staff. Making sure false rumors are addressed properly and at the right time. Spreading awareness in TV news channels, radios and other medias about the causes and prevention of bird flu is a very important step towards eradicating the impact of false rumors.
Conclusion
Thus these impacts majorly in terms of health and prevention strategies. These inturns make the people avoiding of control measures and these myths create a sense of fear in people to be involved in further effective mitigations of flu. In Indian scenario its quite difficult to convince people regarding myths and rumors which impact huge by the potency of social media in Indian context.
References:
Datta, S., Sen, S. and Sengupta, B., 2010. A study on knowledge and practice related to bird flu in a rural community of Hooghly District of West Bengal. Indian Journal of Public Health, 54(4), pp.216-218.
Dhama, K., 2013. Avian/Bird Flu virus: poultry pathogen having. J Med Sci, 13(5), pp.301-315.
Mittal, N. and Medhi, B., 2007. The bird flu: a new emerging pandemic threat and its pharmacological intervention. International journal of health sciences, 1(2), p.277.
Ritesh, P.H., Subhashchandra, B.P., Bharatbhai, V.H. and Dinesh, V.T., 2008. Avian influenza (Bird Flu) in humans: recent scenario. Global Journal of Pharmacology, 2(1), pp.01-05.
Sidhanadham, A.S., Yejella, R.P., Rudru, M. and Alekya, B.B., 2015. A review on Bird Flu. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 4(6), pp.832-852.
