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The bird flu, or avian influenza, once unheard of, has begun to be more and more common in the world. This type of flu is caused by the virus H5N1 strain. The bird flu infects not only wild birds, but domestic birds too. Chickens, roosters, geese, swans, the average blue birds, mockingbirds, any kind of bird can become infected with the bird flu. In birds, the bird flu has a ninety to one hundred percent mortality rating within forty eight hours.

Although highly contagious among other birds, the bird flu is rarely passed on to humans. There have only been a handful of bird flu cases among humans in America since 1997. People get the bird flu from being in very close conditions with birds come into contact with their droppings, blood, or nasal discharge from an infected bird. People from more deprived conditions tend to be more susceptible.

The worse thing about humans getting this virus is that the bird flu has the same old symptoms as the human influenza (flu): fever, sore throat, cough, headache, and body aches. If not caught soon enough, and sometimes even when it is, the bird flu can be cause mortality.

If you are around birds often, you should watch for signs of them being infected with this bird flu. These signs are lack of coordination (trouble standing, walking, flying, or any other kind of lack of coordination), greenish diarrhea, discharge from the nostrils that is a pinkish color, eyelids look swollen, appetite loss, and egg production drop or lay eggs that have very soft shells. If you see a bird, or own a bird, that starts exhibiting these symptoms, avoid touching the bird at all costs. Call your local veterinarian or poison control to get information on how your local city handles cases of the bird flu. If you have been out of the country, especially more deprived countries, and begin to get flu like symptoms, go to your doctor as soon as possible or an emergency care facility just to be on the safe side.

Concern has risen since May of 2006 when there we several cases where the bird flu was passed from human to human. This has scientist and researchers on their toes, fearing this could cause a pandemic in the future.

Recent studies show that birds can also pass on this flu to other animals, such as domestic house cats, wild cats (leopards and tigers), ferrets, and pigs. The bird flu is very susceptible to animals that eat them, such as house cats and wild cats.

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