Bird flu" is an illness caused by any of many different strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. All known viruses that cause influenza in birds belong to the species: Influenza A virus. All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of Influenza A virus are adapted to birds, which is why for many purposes avian flu virus is the Influenza A virus.
Avian (bird) flu is caused by influenza A viruses that occur naturally among birds. There are different subtypes of these viruses because of changes in certain proteins (hemagglutinin [HA] and neuraminidase [NA]) on the surface of the influenza A virus and the way the proteins combine.
In Asia, many people live with ducks and chickens in their homes and in their yards. Health and veterinary officials worldwide announced that a key way to stop the spread of the disease is to improve farming practices, segregating poultry from humans, and culling birds that have been infected with the deadly virus. Bird flu was thought only to infect birds until the first human cases were seen in Hong Kong in 1997.
The most contagious strains, which are usually fatal in birds, are H5 and H7.
There are nine different types of H5. The nine all take different forms - some are highly pathogenic, while some are pretty harmless. The type currently causing concern is the "highly pathogenic" Asian strain of the H5N1 virus.
Health professionals are concerned that the continued spread of a highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus across eastern Asia and other countries represents a significant threat to human health. The H5N1 virus has raised concerns about a potential human pandemic because:
Symptoms are similar to other types of flu - fever, malaise, sore throats and coughs. People can also develop conjunctivitis. Researchers are now concerned because scientists studying a case in Vietnam found the virus can affect all parts of the body, not just the lungs. This could mean that many illnesses, and even deaths, thought to have been caused by something else, may have been due to the bird flu virus.
Migrating birds, like ducks, geese, and swans, can carry and spread the virus to other birds — often across country borders. Some of these migratory birds don't seem to get sick from bird flu, but domesticated birds like chickens and turkeys can die from it. The virus can also spread from farm to farm if birds' infected feces and saliva get on farming equipment, like tractor wheels, clothing, and cages. Poultry also roam freely in some of those areas, and there are lots of opportunities to be exposed to their infected feces.

It's unlikely that a person who gets infected with the H5N1 strain of the avian flu will spread it to other people. All the human cases of bird flu so far have happened because people got it directly from infected birds.

Until January 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) had confirmed 348 cases of H5N1 in humans in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, leading to 216 deaths.
There is not yet a definitive vaccine, but prototypes which offer protection against the H5N1 strain are being produced. But antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu which are already available and being stockpiled by countries such as the UK, may help limit symptoms and reduce the chances the disease will spread. Concerns have been prompted by news that patients in Vietnam have become partially resistant to the Tamiflu, the drug that doctors plan to use to tackle a human bird flu outbreak.
Since the avian flu virus is destroyed by heat, be sure to eat only well-cooked poultry and eggs. Make sure that utensils and kitchen surfaces where eggs and raw poultry are handled are kept clean. Separate raw poultry from cooked foods. In the meantime, good hygiene remains the best prevention: keep hands well-washed, and avoid contact with people who have been infected with the virus. So, It's safe to eat properly cooked chicken, turkey, and any other poultry in the United States. Heat can destroy flu viruses, so cook poultry so that the temperature of the meat reaches at least 158° Fahrenheit (70° Celsius). Do not eat uncooked or undercooked poultry or poultry products
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