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Glossary:
Avian ( bird) flu is a viral infection of birds (wild fowl and domestic poultry), caused by influenza viruses that occur naturally among wild birds. The H5N1 variant is deadly to domestic poultry and can be transmitted from birds to humans. There is no human immunity and no vaccine is available. H5N1 is the avian flu strain currently of concern globally, causing contagion and mortality among wild and domestic birds in China and other Southeast Asia and Pacific Rim countries, moving across Asia and into Europe and Africa.
Pandemic flu is virulent human flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness. Because there is little natural immunity, the disease can spread easily from person to person. Currently, there is no pandemic flu. There has been no confirmed human-to-human transmission of H5N1; it is currently contained as bird-to-bird or bird-to-human. If H5N1 shifts to human-to-human transmission, then there is a very real possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak.
Contagion: The transmission of disease by direct or indirect contact with infectious agents; e.g., viruses and/or bacteria.
Contagious: Carrying / transmitting a disease by direct or indirect contact.
Flu Shot: An injection containing flu vaccine developed for a particular seasonal flu strain.
Flu Vaccine: A vaccine containing serum with weakened live flu virus, which causes the immune system to build up antibodies to resist flu infection. The vaccine is tailored for each flu season to resist multiple identified strains of Influenza. There is no vaccine for H5N1 pandemic flu as the strain has not emerged.
Infection: Disease process which occurs as the result of being infected with a virus or bacteria. Not everyone who is exposed to a virus or bacteria ‘catches’ the disease.
Influenza (AKA flu): An extremely contagious viral infection characterized in humans by respiratory tract inflammation, fever, chills, headache, malaise and muscular pain. Spanish – la gripe. In animals, including birds, horses and swine, symptoms manifest as fever, respiratory distress, inflammation of mucous membranes in the eyes, bronchi, and nasal passages, and depressed behavior.
H5N1: An extremely virulent avian flu virus strain that has caused massive mortality among wild fowl and domestic poultry in Asia, Europe and Africa. It is currently transmitted bird-to-bird, with bird-to-human transmission occurring only in persons with prolonged, extremely close contact with domestic poultry in those countries. Other animals, including swine, cats, and stone marten, have been confirmed with the strain. To date, the only suspected human-to-human transmission has been through close familial contact, including bird contact. The mortality rate of humans contracting H5N1 has been greater than 50%.
Morbidity: The rate of incidence of a disease; the percentage of a population actually infected with the disease.
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