Pandemic Influenza
A "pandemic" is a disease occurrence, or outbreak, affecting an entire country, continent, or the whole world. Therefore, an influenza (flu) pandemic is characterized by the virus passing easily from person to person and causing serious illness over a very large geographic area. Experts agree that it is possible for a new, or novel, strain of the flu virus to develop, infect people, and cause a pandemic. Currently, there is no flu pandemic.
Avian Influenza
Just as there are influenza (flu) viruses that infect humans, there are also flu viruses that infect birds. Avian flu has been documented at low levels in domestic poultry and wild waterfowl in the United States for decades. In birds, most strains of the virus (identified with letters and numbers - for example H3N2) are mild and cause only mild symptoms. Despite there being over 140 strains of avian flu in birds, people are rarely infected. On rare occasions though, avian flu can infect people.
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