The virus is easily passed from person to person by breathing in air containing virus produced when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. It can spread through hand/face contact after touching a person or surface contaminated with the virus.

All natural H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infections in domestic cats reported to date appear to have been associated with outbreaks in domestic or wild birds and acquired through ingestion of raw meat likely infected with the H5N1 HPAI virus. Fortunately, there is no evidence to date that domestic cats play a role in the natural transmission cycle of H5N1 HPAI viruses.

There is not enough information available about H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection in dogs to know how infection would develop. Domestic cats in Europe appear to have become infected by eating infected poultry or wild birds. Details concerning a case of H5N1 infection in a dog in October 2004 were recently published; the dog was infected after it ate the carcass of an infected duck. View the report on the CDC Web site.

No. Only 121 cases have occurred in the current outbreak despite huge numbers of birds being affected and numerous associated opportunities for human exposures, especially in backyard flocks. It is not understood why some people but not others become infected with similar exposures.

HIV is transmitted through contact with the blood, semen, vaginal secretions or breast milk of an HIV infected person.

To help prevent its spread, many Governments and health officials are working hard to bring about a greater civilian awareness of the dangers of avian flu and the importance of swift precautionary action when new cases are identified or infections suspected in both birds and/or humans.

Limited human-to-human transmission could not be ruled out for some family clusters of bird flu where there was close contact between family members. However, none of these clusters have led to larger outbreaks in the general community indicating that the virus does not spread easily among people.

ThinPrep Pap specimens and specimens collected with the hc2 DNA Collection Device are approved for testing with Digene Hybrid Capture 2 DNA Assay. ThinPrep Pap specimens must be less than three weeks old. There must also be sufficient quantity remaining after processing the pap smear to perform the HPV testing. Also, tissue specimens (paraffin embedded) can be tested for high and low risk HPV using the in situ hybridization. Tissue specimens are stable indefinitely.

WNV is spread to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. A mosquito becomes infected by biting a bird that carries the virus. You or your child cannot get WNV from a person who has the disease. WNV is not spread by person-to-person contact such as touching, kissing, or caring for someone who is infected.

There is no evidence that bird flu is a risk to dogs. Recently, there have been reports of a canine influenza virus in the U.S. but this is a different flu virus that affects only dogs. There is evidence from the Asian outbreak that the bird flu virus might affect cats fed raw poultry, but there is currently no cause for concern because the virus is not present in the U.S.

present there is no indication for spread of bird flu from one human being to the other However, this can happen in future. The influenza virus type A and its various subtypes can in the presence of another influenza virus merge with it through mixing and reassortment. This can lead to appearance of a new virus with characteristics that are different from the parent viruses. Since the population has no immunity to the new virus subtype it can appear as a serious life threatening disease.

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