There is a deadly disease that has and still is sweeping nations across South East Asia. It's now beginning to be known as the Asian bird flu. So what is it and how does it affect people? Well the Asian bird flu is a virus that is spread by birds, hence the name bird flu. It's a type of influenza virus that can spread like wildfire when given the opportunity.

So you're wondering how Asian bird flu is contracted by humans if it's a strand of influenza that only affects birds? Well unfortunately, bird flu is like many other strands of influenza being that it has the potential to mutate into other strands when placed in the right environment. This of course has occurred many times and has resulted in catastrophic proportions on the human population.

Recent Breakouts Of The Asian Bird Flu

The most recent breakouts have occurred in South East Asia and more particularly Indonesia, where many people died in a very short period of time. Luckily modern medicine is far more adept at treating influenza viruses these days. If the same breakout had have happened back at the beginning of the 20th century many more people would have died and its potential to spread across countries would have been greater. This of course did happen several times nearly 100 years ago and many people lost their lives.

What Can We To Prevent Something Like The Asian Bird Flu From Occurring

Well first of all measurements are being taken to prevent poultry from becoming infected in the first place. Poultry farms are usually the beginning of any outbreak. Why? Well, poultry like chicken and ducks sometimes become infected by wild birds who of course contain an antibody that protects them from the Asian bird flu. This of course doesn't mean they still can't carry the virus and when a bird kept in captivity comes in contact with a carrying wild bird, it then becomes infected. That bird then passes it onto the rest of the birds on the farm and before you know it, there's an epidemic.

If this happens, there is usually a mass culling of poultry to prevent any chance of Asian bird flu spreading any further. Unfortunately in many cases, infected chicken is sold to consumers and that's where it can become a problem for people. The virus has the potential to mutate into a disease that harmful for humans and that can also be spread from human to human.