Originally Posted by kennbo
Bird flu isn't spread from eating birds. The virus infects birds first, and is non virulent to humans in it's initial phase. After infecting tens of thousands, if not millions of birds, the virus can mutate, as a function of it's reproductive cycle, becoming a strain that can infect humans. This occurs along migration routes and first appears in countries where humans live and work closely with foul exposed to the virus. Typically, Asia is the initial source for the human starin because many people live in close proximity to domesticated foul. The virus enters humans as an airborn pathogen, kicked up in dust from avian excretions. This is typical of every year's flu cycle. The problem this year is that a previously unknown strain has been found for which we have no antibodies and no flu shot to help produce antibodies. Should this strain mutate and infect humans, then a pandemic could result.