A complete information resource on the Bird Flu. How to look after yourself and the family in a crisis, and everything you need to buy to stay protected.
Bird flu (avian influenza) is a very contagious disease caused by a virus. Bacteria are much larger than viruses. They grow and divide in two to reproduce. Treatments and medications used for bacterial infections often may not work for viral infections. Viruses are much smaller. To reproduce they enter inside cells and then reprogram the host cell to produce thousands of viruses that then burst out of the host cell to infect other cells. The H5N1 virus mainly reproduces in lung tissues. The H represents a type of protein found on the virus that helps it to enter cells. The N represents a type of protein that helps the virus escape the host cell.