Bird Flu is nothing new. There are actually many different kinds of bird flu caused by any one of the 20 strains of influenza virus mostly affecting chickens, ducks, turkeys, and other birds.

The type of avian influenza which has scientists worried and reported recently in the news is called “H5N1″. Scientists have discovered that the H5N1 bird flu virus originated from a farm in Scotland in 1959. 40 years later, the virus has become highly pathogenic (highly infectious) among birds and in recent years has made steady progress in infecting humans.

Bird flu H5N1 is transmitted by contact with the saliva, nasal secretions and feces of infected birds, making it very easy for other birds to become infected. One of the concerns with this is that migratory birds can become infected and thus making it easy for it to spread all around the world. The first report of human infection occurred in Hong Kong in 1997. Outbreaks have occurred among poultry in 8 Asian countries from late 2003 – 2004. More than 100 million birds either died from the disease or were killed to prevent further spread. In March 2004, it was believed that the problem was under control. It wasn’t. Just a few months later in June, new deadly outbreaks began to occur and the outbreaks have been ongoing.