Cause of Bird Flu

As the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, sweeps around the globe, media coverage of the growing crisis has spawned a huge interest in the cause of bird flu.

Most journalists, however, are understandably preoccupied with mounting fears that the bird flu virus will mutate into a form that spreads as quickly and easily amongst humans as it already does between birds, and don’t have much time left to explore more mundane stories such as the cause of bird flu. The terrifying prospect of a world ravaged by a bird flu pandemic, against which humanity has little or no defence, and the already colossal human costs in terms of lost lives and livelihoods, make much better headlines, so folks with an interest in the cause of bird flu will just have to find the information for themselves.

Unfortunately, that may not be quite as easy as it sounds. Many websites deal with the cause of bird flu to some extent, and most of them contain a lot of good information. But, in many cases, that information was prepared by scientists, who, brilliant though they are, tend to forget that the rest of us aren’t necessarily entirely up to speed with all the technical terms they use to describe the cause of bird flu.

The aim of this website is to summarise the available information on the cause of bird flu in a format that avoids technical terminology wherever possible. Of course, technical terms aren’t all bad. They allow those in the know to describe a concept far more concisely and accurately than is possible without them, and so, where appropriate, links to more detailed or technical articles on the cause of bird flu will be provided. Think of this site as a combined overview of the cause of bird flu, and a jumping off point for more information.