Bird Flu

You've probably heard news reports about bird flu (also called avian flu). So what is it? And should you be worried? We've put together some of the common questions people have about bird flu along with answers to help put everything in perspective.

What Is Bird Flu?

Avian flu is caused by a form of influenza virus that usually only infects birds and sometimes infects pigs. The few people who have become sick or died from the bird flu had direct contact with infected birds.
Like the flu that affects humans, there are lots of different strains (varieties) of bird flu. Some only cause mild symptoms in birds, such as reduced egg production. Other strains are more dangerous to birds — they spread quickly, cause more severe symptoms, and almost always kill the birds.
The strain of bird flu that has infected people in Asia and the Middle East recently is called H5N1. H5N1 is one of the strains that are dangerous to birds.
The people who became infected with the H5N1 strain of avian flu caught it directly from birds. It has not been proven that H5N1 can be spread from person to person.

Why Are People So Worried About It?

Experts are concerned that the H5N1 strain of bird flu could mutate (change) into a new form that can rapidly spread from person to person. This has happened in past flu outbreaks and has caused what is known as a pandemic. A pandemic is a global outbreak of a disease that causes serious illness in people and spreads quickly throughout populations.
Vaccines can help keep a virus infection from spreading and causing a pandemic. Although there is no vaccine for the H5N1 flu virus right now, scientists are working on one.

What Are We Doing About It?

The good news is that we have more information and resources available today than we did when the last flu pandemic occurred more than 30 years ago. Health officials around the world are working together to try to make sure that bird flu doesn't spread — and to keep people safe if it does. Experts believe only about 387 people have contracted the disease in the last 5 years.

In an effort to keep bird flu from spreading, authorities in countries that have experienced outbreaks have destroyed hundreds of millions of birds.
Three countries (Japan, Korea, and Malaysia) have controlled their outbreaks of the H5N1 strain and officials report there is no more virus in these nations.
Countries that have not had any outbreaks — including the United States — have stopped importing poultry from countries that have had avian flu outbreaks. Meanwhile, scientists are working on a vaccine to keep people from getting the avian flu.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is closely monitoring the countries where there have been outbreaks to see if the virus spreads or mutates in a way that makes it more threatening to people. The organization has created an emergency plan to handle a pandemic, including stockpiling antiviral medications to help people if they do become infected. Although antiviral medicines don't cure the infection, they can make an infected person's symptoms less severe.