Avian flu

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(Redirected from Bird flu)

This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

This article covers usage of the words used to describe flu in birds. For the current concern about the transmission of avian flu to humans, see H5N1 and Transmission and infection of H5N1.

Avian flu is any flu caused by a virus adapted to birds.

It is also called bird flu, avian influenza and bird influenza.

The only known such viruses are Influenza A viruses. All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of this species are adapted to birds, so for many purposes avian flu virus is Influenza A virus (the "A" does not stand for "avian").

However most people use "avian flu" to mean H5N1 which is the subtype of the species Influenza A virus that is the world's major flu pandemic threat.

So "avian flu", "bird flu", "avian influenza", and "bird influenza" all mean the same thing; but are all used to mean these very different things:

flu:
- flu from Influenza A viruses which are adapted to birds (the technically correct meaning)
- the flu acquired from any Influenza A viruses
- the H5N1 flu (flu acquired from H5N1)
virus:
- Influenza A viruses which are adapted to birds
- the Influenza A viruses
- the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus.

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Detailed explanation of terms

"Flu" is short for "influenza". The two words mean exactly the same thing. No difference in meaning, only a difference in spelling and pronunciation.

"Bird" and "avian" used as an adjective in front of either mean exactly the same thing. No difference in meaning, only a difference in spelling and pronunciation.

So that gives us four ways of saying the same thing.

All four mean (1)a disease called a flu (2)from an infection from a virus adapted to birds (which includes no viruses other than Influenza A viruses, which includes all subtypes of Influenza A viruses, but does not include all strains of Influenza A viruses).

These four terms do not mean the virus itself, although people often use it that way anyway. These four terms do not mean just any Influenza A virus flu. Some Influenza A viruses have adapted to animals other than birds.

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