The avian flu, or bird flu, is a disease caused by Type A influenza viruses carried by the winged animals, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, avian influenza viruses have been recorded in more than 100 wild bird species and pose a health risk to domesticated birds.
Avian flu can sometimes kill wild birds too. In late December, for example, BBC News reported the deaths from flu of thousands of wild cranes at the Hula Nature Reserve in Israel and the subsequent culling of tens of thousands of turkeys and more than half a million chickens by local farmers in an effort to contain the outbreak.
The UK is now experiencing its “largest ever” outbreak of avian influenza, BBC News reported last month, with more than 60 cases since the first report of infected ...
