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The Seasonal flu.
This is a contagious respiratory illness that affects most people during flu season which generally runs from December through March. It is caused by influenza viruses. Each year, this virus mutates from the previous year which is why you have to get an annual flu shot - because the vacine has to be formulated for that particular year’s virus.


The avian flu virus, H5N1
The avian flu occurs naturally in wild birds worldwide, seemingly without affecting their health. When an infected wild bird sheds droppings, saliva or nasal secretions that come in contact with domesticated chickens, turkeys and geese, the virus becomes deadly for the domesticated foul. This can result in a mortality rate of 90-100% within 48 hours. Over 150 million chickens and ducks have died or been culled (killed) worldwide due to H5N1.

Since January 2004, at least 152 laboratory-confirmed cases of bird-to-human infection have been reported to the World Health Organization, and 98 people have died from the disease. All of the resulting human deaths are believed to have occurred when the victim had direct contact with an infected bird.


Pandemic flu.
The concern experts have worldwide is that avian flu - now transfering from bird to bird and also from bird to human, will mutate into a form that will easily spread from person to person. Influenza pandemics are caused by new influenza viruses that have adapted to humans and infect millions of people around the world.

Dr. Shigeru Omi, the World Heath Organization’s Western Pacific regional director, said in February of 2005 that the world is “now overdue” for an influenza pandemic, since mass epidemics have occurred every 20 to 30 years and the last pandemic happened almost 40 years ago in 1968. The pandemic before that was in 1957. The Spanish Flu in 1918 killed between 50 million to 100 million people worldwide. It is thought to have been one of the most deadly pandemics so far in human history.

According to Dr. Omi: "the world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic".