What is difference between “bird flu,” avian influenza, and pandemic human influenza?
“Bird flu” is the common name for a severe form of avian influenza, a disease of birds that is caused by a virus. It is technically called H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Human beings do not normally catch influenza from birds. Some scientists are afraid that H5N1 HPAI could turn into a disease that could spread easily among humans, but this has not yet occurred and some doubt that it ever will.
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