Bird Flu

One of the fun things about living with birds is that sometimes we even share the same germs. In the case of avian influenza, this has become somewhat of a problem, with millions of people around the world starting to wonder, in some sort of Hitchcockian fashion, if birds are going to kill them.

The good news is that so far, most people are at very little risk from avian influenza or "bird flu". While the virus is spreading towards Europe, there is little evidence that wild birds are spreading the virus. And the virus is not easy to catch from birds, and is even harder to catch from other humans.

For a statement on the relationship between wild birds and avian influenza, with some good links, see this statement by the National Audubon Society.