WANTED: Influenza A
Parts of the virus
The blue arrow points to the capsid, the red arrow points to the genetic material, and the black arrow points to the surface proteins.
Attacks
Influenza A attacks the respiratory system primarily, much like the flu normally does. It mainly causes respiratory and muscular based infections as the diagram above shows. The disease is transmitted through infected water droplets, touching a surface infected with the virus, then touching the eyes, mouth, or nose.
Victims
Birds have a high chance to be infected, but usually only domesticated species of bird will perish. Humans, on the other hand, usually only get infected from birds. Human to human transfer is rare. The types of workers most prone to infection are those that handle birds such as veterinarians.
Crime
Symptoms to humans range from conjunctivitis (pink eye) to normal influenza symptoms (fever, headache, vomiting etc.) to viral pneumonia. Can lead to death if not treated, particularly among victims of HPIA Asian H5N1.
Hideout
Can be found among birds, mainly among aquatic birds. Aquatic birds may not show symptoms that they are sick, but domesticated birds will have more severe symptoms. A workplace that could contain this virus are bird farms.
Weapons
Washing hands, avoiding touching birds without protective gear, and not touching the eyes mouth or nose that has been touched by birds. Oseltamivir, peramivir, or zanamivir are antiviral drugs that can be used to treat Influenza A, however it can be resisted by HPIA Asian H5N1.
Common Questions
HPIA? That stands for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
What is so bad about HPIA Asian H5N1? It is generally lethal in humans and their are fears the virus will become more transmittable through humans.