Read About Bird Flu Prevention

Bird flu prevention is the best way to protect yourself, your family and your pets from getting the bird flu virus. Here's all you need to know about bird flu prevention.

What is bird flu?

Bird flu is a virus that is contracted and spread by poultry and migratory birds. Sometimes it can be contracted and spread by pigs as well. Humans contract bird flu when they've been around animals, or the secretion of animals that have the virus. Bird flu is dangerous and kills large populations of birds quickly. It's not terribly common in humans, but humans can get it. Luckily there are a variety of ways to protect yourself from bird flu.

What's involved in bird flu prevention?

There are a couple of ways to engage in bird flu prevention. The first is bird flu prevention at home. If you have poultry, either as a source of food or income or as a pet, you need to pay close attention to home bird flu prevention.

People who are in contact with the aforementioned animals, need to make sure that they protect themselves while working or playing with these animals. You're protecting yourself from the animal's feces and other excretions that carry the virus. Wear masks and gloves when interacting with these animals or their habitats. When you're finished working with these animals, make sure to wash your hands, clothes and other supplies with antibacterial cleaning fluids. This is perhaps the easiest way to take bird flu prevention into your own hands.

The other means of bird flu prevention requires you to rely on and trust your government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and the World Health Organization have been working together to make preemptive strikes against bird flu.

In 2005-2006, bird flu strands were again discovered in China. The first thing the U.S. did to help bird flu prevention, was prohibit all poultry imports from China. This technique was also implemented in 1997, when there was a much larger threat of the bird flu virus spreading to the states. Halting shipments of meat that could be infected with the bird flu virus is one small way the U.S. government can help aid bird flu prevention.

Stay up to date on your immunizations

There are vaccinations that protect against regular flu, but not bird flu, at least not for humans. Keeping up to date on your other immunizations, especially your regular flu shots, will help you stay healthy. China supposedly has a vaccination for the most recently developed strand of bird flu, but again, this is not a sure fire bird flu prevention technique because the virus constantly changes.