Who can explain the bird flu to me?

Question:

Should we seriously be scared?? They found a strand of it in Canada which means it will be in the US really soon. I know nothing else about it though.

Answers:
I'd like to make a comment about what n4mwd posted because this isn't some fake story Bush came up with.

The scare about the "bird flu" is that is has the POTENTIAL to mutate and be transmitted from person to person. Yes, there are bird flus already in the US. But they infect BIRDS and if a human catches one, it doesn't make them very sick.

The big scare right now is that there is a bird flu out there (H5N1) that has mutated enough so that it can be caught by humans and it makes them very sick. And the virus that causes the bird flu, a virus called the influenza virus (similar to the one that causes flu in humans and pigs) is structured in such a way that it can mutate fairly easily to infect pigs, humans, and other animals.

IF this specific bird flu can mutate enough to be transmitted from human to human, then yes, it's going to be a concern. But it might not be as bad as some tv shows make it out to be. Or it could be worse. And for all we know, another bird flu out there might mutate enough to cause a problem and it won't be the H5N1 strain. The point is, it could be either way.

You should be concerned but I wouldn't panic over it. If you are very concerned, go to the World Health Organization website and check out what is going on (look under Avian Influenza
- they regularly post updates about the situation). They explain things very well and have been organizing meetings with countries all over the world to come up with plans to deal with a pandemic if there should be one. The US government has some plans to deal with a serious bird flu and have a website about what they are doing (see link below).
Stay informed but don't panic! Hope this helps!

Other Answers:
Try here.

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Who can explain the bird flu to me?

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