The Bird Flu

Bird Flu! One would never guess, based on media coverage, that it has NOT infected a single bird in North America EVER! Of course, without an infection, there can be NO deaths from the disease in North America.

By comparison, between 33,000 and 36,000 people die each year in the United States alone from complications caused by other types of flu.

There have been about 200 deaths from the virus worldwide since 2003. How has it been contracted?

In documented cases, it appears the virus is spread to people from infected poultry and poultry products. There is no evidence of the bird flu being spread from human to human.

Just as important, there is no evidence of wild birds transmitting the disease to people and there is meager evidence of wild birds spreading the disease around the world.

If you are worried about contracting the avian flu, here’s a suggestion: don’t tour third world chicken farms!

Fact About Bird Flu

  1. Avian flu viruses have circulated in birds worldwide for thousands of years or more.

  2. Avian flu causes fewer deaths by far than other kinds of flu. In the United States alone, about 36,000 people die from complications of seasonal flu each year.

    Since 2003, 130 people worldwide have died from the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu virus, and none in the United States.

  3. Nearly all cases of human illness from the H5N1 virus have been associated with close contact with diseased poultry or poultry products.

  4. It is safe to feed wild birds, watch birds, and monitor nest boxes.

  5. The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus is not easily transmitted from person to person.

  6. Outbreaks of the H5N1 virus have been found more often among domestic poultry than among wild birds.

  7. Some 200 million domestic chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks have died from H5N1 infections or have been culled to prevent the spread of disease.

  8. Wild birds are capable of carrying the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus with them when they migrate, but in most cases so far the virus appears to have spread to new locations through the transportation of infected poultry and poultry products.

There is reason for the scientific community to monitor this disease. Trust me, they are. But take a breath when the media screams pandemic every time this pathogen appears in the chickens of a third world farmer.

Folks, that fast food burger is a greater threat to your health than the birds. Now go fill your feeders!



I hope you found this article about the Bird Flu useful. Click here for more great information about birds and disease. Click here for more great information about bird feeders and bird houses.

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