What is bird flu? Where did
Bird Flu come from?
Also called avian flu and avian influenza 'A' H5N1virus,
Bird flu is an infection caused by avian influenza
(bird flu) viruses. These flu viruses occur naturally among
birds.
Bird Flu or Avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses usually affect wild birds but
now are infecting and causing serious disease among poultry, including chickens,
ducks, and turkeys.
All birds are thought to be susceptible to infection with avian influenza,
though some species are more resistant to infection than others.
Infected birds shed influenza virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and
feces. Other birds become infected when they have contact with these secretions
or excretions or with contaminated surfaces.
Domesticated birds may become infected with avian influenza virus through
direct contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry, or through
contact with surfaces such as dirt or cages, or materials, such as water or
feed, that have been contaminated with the virus.
Infection
causes a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness to a
highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease resulting in severe epidemics. The
latter is known as “highly pathogenic avian influenza”. This form is
characterized by sudden onset, severe illness, and rapid death, with a mortality
that can approach 100%. So, 'where did bird flu come from?' It has always been
here and normally caused no threat to the human population. It is the high
ability of these strains of avian virus' to mutate to more communicable forms
that poses the great threat to people world-wide.
Bird Flu Origin | Bird Flu Symptoms | Cold or Flu? | Spreading Bird Flu | Pandemic? | Safe to Eat Chicken? | Bird Flu Strains | Bird Flu Origins
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