How bird flu spreads

Bird Flu is easily passed from person to person by breathing in air containing virus produced when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. It can spread through hand/face contact after touching a person or surface contaminated with the virus.

How it spreads

Humans catch the disease through close contact with live infected birds.

Birds excrete the virus in their faeces, which dries and becomes pulverised,
and is then inhaled.

Symptoms are similar to other types of flu - fever, malaise, sore throats and
coughs. People can also develop conjunctivitis.

Avian flu was thought only to infect birds until the first human cases were seen in Hong Kong in 1997. 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.

What is a Flu Pandemic?

A flu pandemic is generally defined as a type of flu that spreads rapidly around the world, infecting a most countries.

There have been 3 flu pandemics this century -

1918-19 - "Spanish flu" (H1N1), caused upto 50 million deaths worldwide with many people dying within the first few days of infection.

1957-58 - "Asian flu" (h3N2), caused about 70,000 deaths in the United States. First identified in China in late February 1957, the Asian flu spread to the United States by June 1957.

1968-69 - " Hong Kong flu" (H3N2), caused about 34,000 deaths in the United States. This virus was first detected in Hong Kong in early 1968 and spread to the United States later that year.

Scientists believe the next pandemic is 'long overdue'.

Act Now

Protect yourself and your family from bird-flu this winter, with our P2 and P3 masks. Ideal for the train, ideal for the tube, and all public transport, our flu masks are very effective, comfortable and re-usable. They meet serious health standards too: EN149:2001 FFP2 and FFP3, CE Marked, NIOSH 42, CFR 84 and N95.