USGS Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:

• Bird flu, the popular name for avian influenza (AI), is a disease primarily found in poultry and wild birds. Avian influenza can infect chickens, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl, as well as migratory waterfowl and shorebirds and, less commonly, mammals (pigs, horses, and marine mammals).
• The virus can be spread through contact with fecal droppings, saliva, and nasal discharges of infected animals.
• When the virus “jumps” to a new species, such as from wild birds to domestic animals or to humans, the virus may change or mutate into a new virus that is more adapted to the new host and is no longer the same virus that was originally in the wild bird population.