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Fact file

Comparing bird flu to the common flu

Source: CDC, MSNBC

The H5N1 bird flu virus has infected at least 117 people in Asia, killing 60 in the last two years. Here are some facts about bird flu and how it differs from common human flu:

SYMPTOMS

Persistent fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, shortness of breath and acute respiratory distress. Patients can develop viral pneumonia, multiple organ failure, especially in the lungs and kidneys, and other severe and life-threatening complications in a matter of days. So far the virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected birds.

Fever, cough, running nose, muscle pain.

MORTALITY RATE

Up to 50 percent. 117 have become infected with H5N1; over 60, mostly young people, have died.

Kills up to 2 percent of people it infects, with elderly, young children and people in developing countries more at risk. Mortality rates in developed countries are much lower but in an average year, influenza still kills between 500,000 and a million people globally.

TREATMENT

Prescription antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and the a lesser extent zanamivir (Relenza) are the only medications that are effective against avian flu. The drugs can prevent infection up to 80 percent and can treat patients who have had symptoms for 2 days or less. However, flu viruses can become resistant to these drugs, so these medications may not always work.

Some vaccines are available to prevent infection. Prescription antivirals antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are approved to treat type A and B influenza, the two types most responsible for flu epidemics. In order to lessen severity of the infection, patients needed to start treatment within two days of the onset of symptoms.