What is the bird flu?
Bird flu, the popular name for avian influenza (AI), is a disease primarily found in poultry and wild birds. Avian influenza can infect chickens, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl, as well as migratory waterfowl and shorebirds and, less commonly, mammals (pigs, horses, and marine mammals). Infection with avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry causes two main forms of disease that are distinguished by low and high extremes of virulence. The ?low pathogenic? form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms (such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production). However, the ?highly pathogenic? form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. This form may cause disease that affects multiple internal organs and has a mortality rate that can reach 90-100%, often within 48 hours.
