Sick birds.According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation ), influenza has been a common communicable disease communicable disease n. A disease that is transmitted through direct contact with an infected individual or indirectly through a vector. Also called contagious disease. in birds for centuries (see "Connecting the Dots," cover story, November/December 2004). Most strains are confined only to birds and are generally non-lethal, much like human influenza viruses. Recently though, there have been questions raised over the H5N1 strain of avian influenza avian influenza: see influenza. that has been crossing over into human beings in Southeast Asia. The CDC claims that the three main strains of human influenza probably originally came from birds, yet this one in particular is different, since it is highly contagious and very deadly. Simon Hable of the World Wildlife Fund says that the western hemisphere has yet to see a real threat from avian flu, and he says the exotic bird trade, mainly centered in Europe, has been tightened. Still, he worries about a potential increase in illegal bird trading due to increased restrictions. He adds, "It only takes one contact with one human before this could take off." |
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