Avian influenza, or “bird flu”, is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. Avian influenza viruses are highly species-specific, but have, on rare occasions, crossed the species barrier to infect humans.

Learn more about the disease from the resources below.

Databases & Research Tools
(use your library card number to access databases from outside the library)

Health & Wellness Resource Center is a comprehensive resource that provides integrated access to medical, statistical, health, and wellness information. The site, available through the library's subscription, delivers up-to-date reference material as well as full-text magazines, journals, and pamphlets from a wide variety of authoritative medical sources.

A one-stop source for news and periodical and newspaper articles on a wide range of topics. Search for avian influenza for news coverage of the subject from a large variety of sources.

Easy to use and designed specifically for students and non-specialists, Applied Science Full Text is a good place to look for answers to science-related questions. This database features full text, plus the graphs, charts, diagrams, photos, and illustrations that convey an abundance of scientific information.

Information about the bird flu, including a list of confirmed instances of avian influenza viruses infecting humans since 1997, and symptoms in humans and birds. Includes links to related information. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health.This page provides links to descriptions of activities, frequently asked questions, reports, fact sheets, news and events regarding avian influenza, as well as contacts and cooperating partners in the various WHO programmes and offices working on this topic. Also shown are links to related web sites and topics.

"The global electronic reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases & toxins." The site provides up-to-date information on emerging infectious diseases around the world. Contains news, discussion group announcements, recent recalls and alerts, links to maps of outbreaks, a FAQ, and related links. The archive of the mailing list is searchable. Available in several languages. A program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID).

A special issue of the news magazine addresses the topic with a series of articles. Check your local library for the hard copy of the issue.

An in-depth account of the deadly influenza epidemic of 1918, a plague that took the lives of millions of people around the world, examines the causes of the pandemic, its devastating impact on early twentieth-century society, the researchers who risked their lives to confront the disease, and the lasting implications of the crisis and the scientific discoveries that resulted.

An acclaimed science reporter for The New York Times describes the great flu epidemic of 1918, an outbreak that killed some forty million people worldwide, and discusses the efforts of scientists and public health officials to understand and prevent another lethal pandemic.

A history for the non-specialist that tells of the long connection between animal-carried diseases and humans, including salmonella, H5N1 bird flu, Lyme disease, and the plague.

Describes the 1918 influenza pandemic, from how World War I soldiers spread the disease to recent scientific efforts to understand the virus that took between twenty and forty million lives worldwide.