What Is Bird Flu and Why Are We Worried About It?
Bird flu (otherwise known as avian influenza) is a fatal form of the flu; it kills about 30 percent of its human victims. Bird flu comes from birds. Birds, like people, become infected with the influenza virus. There are many different types of the flu virus. Humans are not usually infected by bird flu, but if a person is in close contact with birds and the bird flu changes so that it can infect a human, that person might get sick. Those at risk for bird flu are mostly poultry farmers or others who have direct contact with infected birds. Flu viruses can change and become more dangerous. Because flu viruses are able to change rapidly and mix with other flu viruses, scientists continue to watch bird flu viruses. Even if a poultry farmer catches a bird flu from his chickens, the virus is not usually able to pass from that infected farmer to another person. The problem begins when that farmer has the human flu virus at the same time as having the bird flu virus. If the two viruses mix and
