As the threats of bird flu continues to haunt the world, as responsible citizens you all must work together to fight and prevent the menaces of the disease. At a time when no cure or vaccine is available to prevent bird flu in humans, the best way to safeguard bird flu is to prevent you from being infected. Bird flu outbreak is caused by direct contact with infected poultry or surfaces contaminated by their faeces. Till date, human cases have occurred only in rural and pre-urban areas where the households keep poultry. The international effort to prevent the spread of bird flu is multifaceted, focusing on the health of both birds and humans.

Bird flu or avian influenza is a contagious disease which originates from an infected bird and is hard for humans to contract, but health officials warn a major flu outbreak could occur if the H5N1 virus responsible for avian influenza mutates into a form that can spread easily from person to person. Rapid elimination of the H5N1 virus among infected birds and other animals is essential to preventing a major outbreak. The World Health Organization recommends that infected or exposed flocks of chickens and other birds be killed in order to help prevent further spread of the virus and reduce opportunities for human infection. In people, bird flu usually begins much like conventional influenza, with fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches; but can lead to life-threatening complications.

In domestic poultry, infection with avian influenza viruses causes two main forms of disease- the so-called