Avian Flu Fast Facts

The official name for the most commonly seen and most deadly form of the virus is called “Influenza A (H5N1),” or the “H5N1 virus.”

In March 2013, a strain of bird flu previously not seen in humans – H7N9 – was detected in China.

People have killed hundreds of millions of birds around the world in an attempt to control the spread of the avian flu.

There are many different strains of avian flu: 16 H subtypes and 9 N subtypes. Only those labeled H5, H7 and H10 have caused deaths in humans.

Diagnosis/Treatment:
Most cases of human bird flu infections are due to contact with infected poultry or surfaces that are contaminated with infected bird excretions: saliva, nasal secretions and feces.

Symptoms of avian flu include fever, cough, sore throat and sometimes severe respiratory diseases and pneumonia.

July 31, 2012Scientists announce that H3N8, a new strain of avian flu, caused the death of more than 160 baby seals in New England in 2011.

March 2013The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that two people in China have died after falling ill with a strain of bird flu, H7N9, not detected before in humans.

December 2, 2013 – A woman in Hong Kong is hospitalized with H7N9 after coming in contact with live poultry in the mainland China city of Shenshen.

December 6, 2013 – A 73-year-old woman infected with H10N8 dies in China, the first human fatality from this strain.

January 8, 2014 – Canadian health officials confirm that a resident from Alberta has died from H5N1 avian flu, the first case of the virus in North America. It is also the first case of H5N1 infection ever imported by a traveler into a country where the virus is not present in poultry.

June 27, 2014 – A WHO report indicates that so far there have been 450 laboratory-confirmed cases of H7N9, including 165 deaths.

CNN