Were you looking for information about Bird Flu? Bird flue is a common misspelling of bird flu.
Bird flu (also called
avian flu or
avian influenza) is an infection that occurs naturally in birds. Human cases are rare, but are becoming more prevalent in Asian countries.
So far, research suggests that two antiviral medicines,
oseltamivir (
Tamiflu®) and
zanamivir (
Relenza®), may be useful for
H5N1 bird flu. However, H5N1 viruses are generally resistant to two other available antiviral medications,
amantadine and
rimantadine, so they cannot be used to treat infection.
Vaccines to protect humans against the H5N1 strain of bird flu are currently under development, as is research to make large quantities of vaccine more quickly.
(Click Bird Flu to learn more about the different types of bird flu, how the disease is spread, and whether a pandemic is likely to occur. You can also click any of the links in the box to the right for specific information.)
