How do people become infected with avian influenza viruses?

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Answer:

Most cases of H5N1 avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from direct or close contact with infected poultry (e.g., domesticated chicken, ducks, and turkeys) or surfaces possibly contaminated from feces of infected birds. For a pandemic of influenza to occur, avian influenza must mutate/change to be able to be passed easily from person to person. A pandemic of influenza can arise from changes that occur in certain kinds of highly pathogenic bird flu but no one knows when or even if this will happen. Today, there have been no reported cases of sustained human-to-human transmission of avian flu.

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Last Updated: 04/03/2007