Summary

Also known as the bird flu, avian influenza is a disease that once infected only birds. However, the new avian flu virus that has emerged in Asia can be transferred from fowl to humans and has acquired the ability to infect humans with deadly results. As a result, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are closely monitoring what could be the next deadly flu pandemic. If this virus mutates further, it may acquire the ability to be transmitted from person to person. In Avian Flu, students will learn about the symptoms and treatments of this disease, as well as the history of influenza that led to the current form.

Specifications

Full-color photographs and illustrations. Sidebars. Charts. Diagrams. Further reading. References. Glossary. Resources. Web sites. Index.

About the Author(s)

Jeffrey N. Sfakianos, Ph.D., was trained as a virologist in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he studies epithelial cell morphology and protein sorting. He has authored and coauthored more than 10 peer-reviewed manuscripts in the fields of virology, pharmacology, and cell biology.

Foreword by David Heymann, World Health Organization