If Avian Influenza changes and becomes contagious human to human it would start a flu pandemic. An especially severe influenza pandemic could lead to high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts can range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

The avian influenza virus must change. The virus can change to become more contagious among humans in two ways. The first is a "reassortment" event, in which genetic material is exchanged between human and avian viruses during co-infection of a human or pig. Reassortment could result in a fully contagious pandemic virus.

A: Ichthyosis is definitely not contagious. It is not caused by a bacteria, virus, or germs, and thus it cannot be passed from one person to another.

No, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), the cause of feline AIDS is not the same virus as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of human AIDS. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, your cat may be at risk for feline AIDS. Consult with your veterinarian to see if your cat is a candidate for a new vaccine, Fel-O-Vax FIV, which offers protection against feline AIDS.

Most cases of tonsillitis are caused by bacteria that normally are found in the mouth of dogs and humans. Therefore, it is not contagious unless it is caused by an unusual bacterium.

No, epilepsy is never contagious. You cannot catch epilepsy from someone else and nobody can catch it from you.

In many respects, yes. If you have one on your feet, it would be unwise to pick at it and it can spread to someone else if that person has the potential towards getting that virus in the same way certain people have the potential for catching a certain cold. The wart virus likes to linger around moist environments such as pools, spas, locker rooms, public showers (such as those at the gym). Wearing flip flops or crocs in these areas is always a good idea.

You are most contagious one day before your symptoms start and up to about seven days after their onset. You are most contagious earlier in your illness rather than later.*

No, Ginger Kids are born with Gingervitis. It is hereditary and cannot be contracted in any other way.

Yes. About 1% of the population carries MRSA on the skin – they are considered to be ‘colonized’ with MRSA and are generally asymptomatic. People who are exposed to the organism from a carrier generally do not get sick from it, or develop only mild illnesses (similar to normal staph infections). However, if a minor infection is not cared for, or if there are other factors (e.g., compromised immunity), then the infection may become more serious.

EMS is not a contagious disease. There should not be fears about that. Naturally, chronic diseases such as EMS may have profound effects upon close family members of the sick person and might contribute to feelings of depression, anxiety, problems with children accepting the illness, or other physical and emotional conditions in loved ones. But this occurs with any chronic illness that goes on for many years - which is what a chronic illness is, an ongoing one.

Vitiligo is NOT contagious. If it were, many more people in the world, including doctors who treat vitiligo and family members of those with vitiligo, would have the condition. There are many theories about what causes vitiligo, but many experts believe, and data supports the theory, that one must be genetically susceptible, in order to develop vitiligo.

While the exact cause of the disease is not known, what is known indicates that Parkinson's is not contagious. Parkinson's is a neurological, not a mental, disorder. In the majority of cases, it slows the body, not the mind. However, when brain cells are affected by medication, some emotional changes can be expected. Anxiety and depression are very common among people with Parkinson's and may occur due to seratonin imbalance, a side effect of certain medications.

No, it's important to note that BSE is not a contagious disease; spread occur through the ingestion of infected material, generally brain or spinal cord tissue.

No. Shingles occurs only when the virus that caused chicken pox, which has stayed in the body for many years, becomes active. You cannot get shingles from someone else. You can only get it from the varicella zoster virus in your own body.

Smallpox is less contagious than chickenpox or measles. The great majority of people in a large room will become infected if even only one person has measles, whereas the highest risk for smallpox is face-to face contact, i.e. within 2 meters (6.5 feet). If there is personal protective equipment (fit-tested N-95 masks, gloves, etc.) on you and the patient, the risk of airborne spread becomes very low.

Yes, definitely. But they can't jump from head to head and they can't fly. The only way they can be transmitted is by direct contact (heads touching) or indirect contact (a hat passed around which has been worn by a person with headlice).

About one in five people infected by the virus develop West Nile fever, a typically mild illness that causes fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache and joint pain. These persons recover fully and do not require hospital care. A smaller number of infected persons, 1%, develop encephalitis or meningitis with symptoms of high fever, neck stiffness, confusion, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis.

Avian flu currently poses only a small danger, as the virus does not normally infect animals other than birds or pigs. However, human beings have been infected in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, although these cases were linked to direct contact with dead or diseased poultry. One case of human-human contact was suspected in Thailand in 2004. There is no vaccine to prevent H5N1 infection in human beings, although there are drugs to treat the illness.

Sandy, my daughters dog does not like men. She has been this way since she was about 9mths.old, she is now 2. She is very aggressive towards any man or even a large teenage boy, she growls, gets real tense, she will even snap at them and has even bitten a couple men, not bad, but bad enough to cause concern. Sandy is great with kids and females, she is loving and wants to be cuddled, keeping in mind this dog weighs about 90lbs, when shes around these people shes like a big puppy.

Yes, some forms of bacterial meningitis are contagious. The bacteria are spread through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions (i.e., coughing, kissing). Fortunately, none of the bacteria that cause meningitis are as contagious as things like the common cold or the flu, and they are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been.

Lupus is not contagious and it is not cancer. You cannot "catch" lupus, or give it to another person.

The flu virus becomes contagious one day before you feel sick. The virus enters through your nose, throat, or lungs from the air. It then begins to multiply, usually causing symptoms within a day or two. Children, on the other hand, can pass the virus on for more than a week. You can contract the flu if you touch a surface that has the flu virus on it and then touch your nose or mouth.

Yes, smallpox is contagious. Smallpox normally spreads from contact with infected persons. Generally, direct and fairly prolonged face-to-face contact is required to spread smallpox from one person to another. People infected with smallpox exhale small droplets that carry the virus to the nose or mouth of close contacts. The greatest risk comes from prolonged close contact exposure (within seven feet) to an infected person.

A person with smallpox is sometimes contagious with onset of fever (prodome phase), but the person becomes most contagious with the onset of rash. The infected person is contagious until the last smallpox scab falls off.

No, asshand is a result of surgical grafting of ass skin onto the hand, and is in no way communicable to others. It is just gross.