SciDev.Net

This timeline details reported cases of bird flu in both animals and people from the first recording of the virus in China's Guangdong Province in 1996 onwards.

The document also highlights milestones in bird flu research, such as the October 2005 finding that the deadly 1918 pandemic virus shares characteristics with the H5N1 virus, and the March 2006 research that explains why H5N1 does not yet easily infect people.

The timeline also shows the geographical spread of the virus from Asia — especially South-East Asia — through central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The timeline is periodically updated — check the World Health Organization's avian influenza website for the latest version.

This set of questions and answers, prepared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focuses on the threat that bird flu poses to public health. It also covers the spread of avian influenza in birds and other animals. The questions cover symptoms of infected birds and humans, and how to protect people against infection. They also outline factors that could trigger an influenza pandemic, and the measures needed to prepare for it.

This fact sheet was prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is part of the US government's Department of Health and Human Services. It gives some good background information about flu viruses and virus subtypes, putting the H5N1 virus strain into context. It also briefly outlines the threat bird flu poses to human health, and the status of research into drug treatments and human vaccines.

Compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) media centre, this fact sheet provides an overview of avian influenza in birds and humans. It explains why H5N1 is of particular concern, how it affects birds, and the role that migratory fowl play in spreading the disease, before focusing on the implications for human health. Its extensive section on the clinical symptoms of H5N1 in humans was produced with input from physicians with experience of treating patients.

Despite containing some clinical terms, it is easy to read, and would be useful to anyone wanting a comprehensive summary of the threat that bird flu poses to human health. It is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.