ARS | Publication request: Influenza

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: January 23, 2007
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Citation: Swayne, D.E., Halvorson, D.A. 2008. Influenza. In: Saif, Y.M., Fadly, A.M., Glisson, J.R., McDougald, L.R., Nolan, L.K., Swayne, D.E., editors. Diseases of Poultry. 12th edition. Ames, IA:Blackwell Publishing. p. 153-184.

Technical Abstract: The term "influenza" originally referred to epidemics of acute, rapidly spreading catarrhal fevers of humans caused by viruses in the family Orthomyxoviridae. Today, orthomyxoviruses are recognized as the cause of significant numbers of natural infections and disease, usually of the upper respiratory tract, in humans, horses, domestic pigs, and various bird species and sporadic cases of naturally occurring disease in mink and a variety of marine mammals. Since 2003, isolated natural cases of H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) have been reported in leopards, tigers, domestic cats, dogs, stone martins, civets, and domestic pigs which were exposed to H5N1 HPAI infected birds but these avian influenza (AI) virus infections have not become endemic in these species. Infection of domestic poultry by AI viruses typically produces syndromes ranging from asymptomatic infection to respiratory disease and drops in egg production to severe, systemic disease with near 100% mortality. The latter form of disease is the result of infection by high pathogenicity or highly pathogenic (HP) AI viruses. Disease is usually absent with AI virus infection in most free-flying waterfowl species.