The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a bird flu watch and regular avian flu updates. Currently the virus has not appeared in the Americas, but the US Geologic Survey and the US Department of Agriculture are currently involved in their own bird flu watch. There are a large number of viruses that are called bird flu. The one that is of major concern to WHO and other health organizations is H5N1. H5N1 is the subject of the regular avian flu updates from around the world.

Avian flu updates concerning human cases reported by WHO from Indonesia in August 2006 tell us that of the 60 confirmed cases to date, 46 have been fatal. Avian flu updates from China; 21 confirmed cases including 14 fatalities. The WHOs 2006 bird flu watch reports H5N1 presence in wild birds and poultry. Thus far, the virus has been found only in wild birds in Europe, but outbreaks continue to occur in poultry throughout the continents of Asia and Africa.

In the Americas the H5N1 bird flu watch begins in Alaska, where migratory birds from Asia mingle with American migratory birds. According to the most recent avian flu updates, the H5N1 virus has not been found in the Americas, but similar viruses have been reported in poultry in Texas and Virginia. The only confirmed human case in the United States was of a weaker strain and the individual worked for the USDA and was involved in testing, screening and handling birds. Flu watch programs in the United States include sending dead poultry for laboratory analysis and testing birds regularly for similar viruses.

There are many people who are interested in avian flu updates and bird flu watch programs for several reasons. First, avian flu could prove devastating to the poultry industry in the Americas. The H5N1 virus is highly contagious among domesticated poultry, killing 90% of flocks that become infected. Second, while H5N1 is not easily transmitted to humans, in cases where humans have been infected by contact with infected birds, more than 50% have been fatal. Human beings do not have a natural immunity to this strain of bird flu. Third, while infection from human to human contact has only occurred rarely, viruses have a tendency to mutate. Avian flu updates and the bird flu watch programs look closely at any possible mutations of the virus to one that could be highly contagious among humans.

You can read more about the current bird flu watch programs at the website for the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Patsy Hamilton has more than twenty years experience as a health care professional and currently writes informational articles for the Immune System Booster Guide. For more information about products that naturally boost the immune system, visit http://www.immune-system-booster-guide.com

For more information about seasonal flu, bird flu, the common cold and other viruses, visit www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.