Avian influenza is flu infection in birds. The disease is of concern to humans, who have no immunity against it.

The virus that causes this infection in birds can mutate (change) to easily infect humans.(DEFINITION)

The first avian influenza virus to infect humans directly occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, during an avian flu epidemic on the island. This outbreak was linked to chickens and classified as avian influenza A (H5N1). Since the Hong Kong outbreak, the bird flu virus has spread across Asia. In October 2005 it was discovered in poultry in Turkey and Romania.
Avian influenza is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses. These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them. However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them. Infected birds transmit H5N1 through their saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. Other animals may become infected with the virus through direct contact with these bodily fluids or through contact with surfaces contaminated with them. H5N1 remains infectious after over 30 days at 0 C ( 32.0 F) (over one month at freezing temperature) or 6 days at 37 C ( 98.6 F) (one week at human In general, humans who catch a humanized Influenza A virus (a human flu virus of type A) usually have symptoms that include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, conjunctivitis, and, in severe cases, breathing problems and pneumonia that may be fatal. The severity of the infection depends to a large part on the state of the infected person's immune system and whether the victim has been exposed to the strain before (in which case they would be partially immune). No one knows if these or other symptoms will be the symptoms of a humanized H5N1 flu

Farmers and other people working with poultry, as well as travelers visiting affected countries, have a higher risk for getting the bird flu. Handling an infected bird can cause infection. People who eat raw or undercooked poultry meat are also at an increased risk for avian influenza.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine to protect humans from the avian flu. Experts say the vaccine could be used if the current H5N1 virus starts spreading between people.

Treatment
Different types of avian flu virus may cause different symptoms. Therefore, treatment may vary.

There is no highly effective treatment for H5N1 flu, but oseltamivir (commercially marketed by Roche as Tamiflu), can sometimes inhibit the influenza virus from spreading inside the user's body. This drug has become a focus for some governments and organizations trying to prepare for a possible Animal and lab studies suggest that Relenza (zanamivir), which is in the same class of drugs as Tamiflu, may also be effective against H5N1. In a study performed on mice While no one knows if zanamivir will be useful or not on a human On September 27, 2007 researchers reported that the H5N1 bird flu virus can also pass through a pregnant woman's placenta to infect the fetus. They also found evidence of what doctors had long suspectedthat the virus not only affects the lungs, but also passes throughout the body into the gastrointestinal tract, the brain, liver, and blood cells. Prognosis depends on the severity of infection and the type of avian influenza virus that caused it. The current death rate for patients with confirmed H5N1 infection is more than 50%

Your doctor might also perform the following tests:

Auscultation (to detect abnormal breath sounds) Chest x-ray Nasopharyngeal culture White blood cell differential

Other tests may be done to look at the functions of your heart, kidneys, and liver