Avian Influenza

How is Avian Influenza Treated?

Avian influenza is a severe influenza typically caused by H5N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. According to Flu.gov, over 400 cases were reported globally as of the end of 2009, with about 60 percent mortality. There have been no reported cases...

The Effects of Bird Flu

Bird flu, also known as avian flu or avian influenza, is an infection by viruses normally residing in healthy, wild birds. Avian influenza, however, can cause serious illness and death in domesticated birds such as chickens, turkeys and ducks,...

Concerns About Bird Flu

The avian influenza virus causes the bird flu infection. Although different types of avian influenza exist, the avian influenza A (H5N1) type is unique in that it can infect humans. Bird flu infections in humans occur through close contact with...

Bird Flu Signs

Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is typically confined to birds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, in rare cases, it has crossed over to humans, mainly among humans exposed to infected poultry. Bird...

Infectious Agents of the Bird Flu

Infectious agents, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi, can spread disease from one living being to another. Bird flu, or avian influenza, is an infectious respiratory disease caused by a virus that occurs naturally among birds, according to the...

Bird Flu Myths

Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is an infectious disease of birds. Different subtypes of the Influenza A virus cause this flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most of the viral subtypes are only able to...

How the Bird Flu Is Transmitted to Humans

Bird flu is a general term that describes any form of influenza that can infect birds (avians). According to the Center for Disease Control, most forms of bird flu are not dangerous, even for birds. In fact, many wild birds carry around strains of...

5 Ways to Spot Signs of the Bird Flu

Anticipate a fever in excess of 100 degrees F in a person who contracts avian influenza. Symptoms differ considerably from one case to the next, with some patients showing only mild signs of infection while others develop life-threatening...

Avian Bird Flu Symptoms

Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, is a form of influenza A virus, the most wide-spread and potentially serious of the three types--influenza A, B and C. The most common form of avian influenza is known medically as H5N1 and, while it...

3 Ways to Protect Yourself From Bird Flu

Even though cooking poultry kills the viruses that cause avian influenza, traces can linger on the utensils you used. Thoroughly sterilize everything that touched the uncooked poultry, including knives, counter tops, cutting boards and your hands....

How Is the Flu Transmitted to a Human Through a Raccoon?

Raccoons, also known as procyon lotor, are common animals widely distributed throughout the United States and North America. In a 2009 article in the journal "Avian Diseases," the authors describe the role of wild raccoons in spreading the H3N6...

Bird Flu Warning Signs

World travelers and poultry industry workers may risk exposure to avian influenza, or bird flu. This aggressive strain of the influenza A virus, labeled H5N1 and subtypes, caused the first known spread from birds to humans in 1997, according to...

What Are the Asian Bird Flu Symptoms?

Human cases of bird flu, also known as avian influenza, are caused by influenza A viruses that normally infect birds. Sporadic human cases of bird flu have been reported since 1997. Most cases have occurred in Asia, caused by the H5N1 virus. Bird...

3 Ways to Minimize the Risk of Bird Flu

Minimize your risk of catching the bird flu by avoiding places where outbreaks commonly occur. Most outbreaks take place in Southeast Asia, although significant epidemics also have occurred in Africa and the Middle East. Stay current on current...

Kinds of Bird Flu

The influenza virus causes a communicable disease that affects the upper respiratory system, notes MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Type A influenza, type B influenza and type C...

Asian Bird Flu Symptoms

The symptoms of avian influenza, or bird flu, are similar to those of the normal flu virus. Avian influenza, also known as type A, naturally occurs among wild birds. It can be found in the intestines of wild birds, but does not kill them. When...

Avain Flu Symptoms

Avian flu caused immense public concern in 2009 when outbreaks in Asia, Africa and Europe prompted researchers to double their efforts to find a vaccine. The virus originates in birds, and is responsible for high levels of contagion and death...

Bird Flu Effects

Since 1996, avian influenza, or bird flu, has affected several hundred people worldwide via infectious transmission from birds to humans. While many patients suffer only transitory health effects, the World Health Organization reports that more...

Bird Flu Warnings

Warnings about bird flu, or avian influenza, apply mostly to people who travel internationally or work with birds or poultry. In rare cases around the world, birds have given people this disease. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and...

3 Ways to Control a Bird Flu Outbreak

If you're a poultry farmer, or if you're in regular contact with wild birds or live poultry, you must watch out for suspicious cases of bird sickness or death. You can play a key role in controlling an outbreak of avian influenza if you know what...

How Is Avian Flu Transmitted?

The first recorded human infection with avian flu was in Hong Kong in 1997 with 18 confirmed cases and six deaths. Later outbreaks have been confirmed in the Southeast Asian countries Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam and later in Egypt...

Influenza Diseases

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a respiratory infection. The flu virus infects the cells in the upper respiratory tract, including the nose, throat and lungs. It can cause moderate to severe complications in all age groups. These include...

How Bird Flu Spreads

Bird flu describes strains of influenza that originate from those found in birds. As the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explains, many wild birds are hosts to strains of influenza (typically type A influenza viruses). These...

What Are the Causes of the Flu?

The flu, also called influenza, is a medical illness characterized by infection of the respiratory tract. Similar to, but typically more severe than, the common cold, influenza symptoms include fever, cough, malaise, fatigue, sore throat,...

Disease Agents of the Bird Flu

Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a contagious disease caused by viruses. A bird flu virus subtype, H5N1 virus, is highly contagious and often deadly among birds. Outbreaks of H5N1 occurred among poultry in eight countries in Asia during late 2003...

How to Prevent Gettting the Avian Flu

The avian influenza outbreak has, according to the Mayo Clinic, killed millions of birds (both domestic and wild), and has led to a fairly low number of human deaths. In general, the people that have become infected have had close contact with...

How Is Bird Flu Virus Spread?

The bird flu virus is a type of Influenza A virus. It is usually found in wild birds, in which it causes a very mild infection. Two subtypes, H7 and H5, account for most of the human cases recorded so far. As recently as 2003, a new subtype of the...

Avian Flu Types of Transmission

Avian influenza or avian flu is a strain of the flu virus that is usually transmitted among birds but has on occasion infected humans, according to the World Health Organization. H5N1 in particular is a virulent strain of avian flu that has been...

3 Ways to Treat Bird Flu

Successful treatment of bird flu begins with early detection and diagnosis. Bird flu, otherwise known as avian influenza, is most often identified by swabbing the nose or throat and performing a laboratory test. Since your signs and symptoms will...

Bird Flu Health Video (Video)

Bird flu has led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of wild and domestic birds and to a small number of human deaths. Bird flu remains difficult for humans to contract. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of bird flu in...