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HEY KIDS:
You might have heard about avian flu in the news, but what is it? Avian flu is an influenza virus that affects mostly birds. This isn't the same flu that people normally get, this flu has has mostly infected birds in Asia. When birds get it, they get sick and die. Some people who handle birds, such as farmers, have caught avian flu from the animals. This illness has been very serious for the people who have been infected. More than half of the people infected died from it.
The main difference between the regular flu and avian flu is the way it is spread. Regular flu spreads from person to person by coughing, sneezing, or picking up the germs other people have left behind. That's why people are always telling you to wash your hands during flu season. There is good reason why people everywhere are concerned about bird flu:
**The virus appears to be spreading from birds in Asia to birds in other countries;
**Unlike the regular flu, there is no vaccine yet to protect people from catching it;
**It's possible the virus could change (mutate) and become a kind of germ that could be easily passed from person to person;
Without a vaccine, a lot of people could get sick if the virus changes and starts spreading from person to person. When alot of people around the world get sick from a fast-spreading disease, it's called a pandemic.
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