2006-07-13 07:02:10 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
It started as a virus that came from birds in Southeast Asia. The orgininal virus was unable to infect humans. Pigs contracted the virus from the birds, and the virus was thought to have mutated (and very quickly... viruses can do that, especially a flu virus) within the pigs. The mutated virus was then able to affect birds AND humans. To date, the only people reported to have contracted the bird flu virus from birds. Nobody (yet) has gotten the virus from another human.
2006-07-13 07:08:06 · answer #1 · answered by Huey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's natural.
Once these kind of flu viruses get into a bird or a person, they make copies of themselves to infect other cells in the body, but they are often "sloppy copiers." So the virus can start out as one thing when it first infects someone and then mutate slightly when it reproduces in the body.
There are several other species that have contracted bird flu too. There were about 50 tigers in a zoo in Asia (Thailand, I think) that were fed chicken that turned out to be infected. All of the tigers died.
In Europe an animal called a Stone Marten (something like a weasel) was found to be infected.
Just in the last few months, there have been a few clusters where limited human-to-human transmission has occurred.
In one cluster in Indonesia, a woman became infected (they aren't sure how-possibly by a bird) and six of her family members were infected by her.
It is when the virus mutates to become easily transmissible from person to person that we will have a pandemic.
2006-07-20 00:58:58 · answer #2 · answered by starlight 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the bird flu came from china
2006-07-13 14:05:40 · answer #3 · answered by Rayman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolved.
Viruses are large in number and can evolve much faster than, say, a kangaroo, because of these high numbers.
2006-07-13 14:06:04 · answer #4 · answered by Texas Cowboy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok scientists engineer some viruses, but not one like this. this one evolved.
2006-07-13 14:04:51 · answer #5 · answered by shiara_blade 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it came from asia.. they need to clean their act up.. they caused the pubonic plague aka the black death too which killed millions world wide.. disgusting!
2006-07-13 14:07:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From the wild.
2006-07-13 14:05:20 · answer #7 · answered by ag_iitkgp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
evolved? evolved? living things can't do that
2006-07-13 14:05:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think it mutated.
sars however....
2006-07-13 14:05:28 · answer #9 · answered by rishathra7 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋