Avian influenza is a type of flu that has caused many outbreaks in domestic poultry around the world since it was first detected in 1996. The virus normally does not infect humans although there have been hundreds of cases in the past decade. Most of these cases occurred in people who had direct contact with infected sick or dead poultry, and you cannot become infected from properly handled and cooked poultry or eggs.
Flu viruses are constantly changing and animal flu viruses may possibly mutate and infect people easily and spread among people, causing a pandemic. Human infections with avian influenza virus, like the H5N1 strain, are concerning because of this pandemic potential. Another concern is that bird flu also has a high mortality rate, around 60%, and there have been 440 deaths worldwide from this strain of avian influenza since 2003.
JLR has an upcoming research study for an H5N1 bird flu vaccine in generally healthy adults age 18+. Click here to learn more
Avian Influenza (H5N1) Virus – CDC
45k birds checked for avian influenza in US
