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Avian influenza is a highly contagious disease that primarily affects birds. However, the recent increase in the number of human cases has raised concerns for public health authorities worldwide. The widespread dissemination of the disease among wild birds and poultry can result in disastrous economic and environmental losses, and have the potential to cause a pandemic [1].

Avian influenza is caused by the avian influenza virus (AIV), which is a type A influenza virus specifically adapted to affect birds. Although human transmissions are not very common, they have been reported and are of rising public health concern. The virus has numerous subvariants due to the variation in the viral surface proteins, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), which aid the viral particle to enter the host. The greatest risk is