How is avian influenza different from the seasonal type of influenza?
Every year several strains of flu circulate around the globe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States reports that 5-20% of the American population are infected with seasonal influenza annually, leading to over 200,000 hospitalisations and about 36,000 deaths. The populations most at risk for seasonal influenza are infants under the age of 2 years, adults aged 65 years and older, and individuals with chronic medical conditions. On the other hand, avian influenza has predominantly caused disease in previously healthy children and young adults, mimicking the pattern of the infamous 1918 influenza pandemic. Seasonal influenza can be transmitted readily from human-to-human. It is spread by respiratory droplets caused by coughing and sneezing. The incubation period is short, usually 1 to 3 days. Most healthy adults shed live virus as early as one day before the development of symptoms and up to five days after the onset of illness. Consequently, people infe
