Americans Fear Arrival of Bird Flu

While almost two-thirds of Americans expect U.S. birds to become infected with avian flu in the next year, only about half of those polled believe the government will properly handle an outbreak, the Associated Press reports on Yahoo News.

The AP-Ipsos poll surveyed 1,001 adults this week, finding that half of those who participated believe the bird flu will kill them if they contract it, according to the AP.

Countless reports have documented the disease’s spread in Europe, Asia and Africa and the millions of birds that have died from it or been slaughtered in an attempt to prevent its spread. The greatest fear is that it could mutate into a strain that could easily be passed from human to human.

The disease has killed 110 people so far, according to the AP.

In hopes of preventing the strain’s spread among humans, a majority of those surveyed said they support quarantines, school closings, encouraging business people to work from home, and closing borders to visitors from countries struck by the flu, the AP reports.

For related content, read Planning for Pandemic and Researchers: Immunizations, Quarantines Would Stem Flu Pandemic.

For related news coverage, read Distributed Computing Project Targets Bird Flu.

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— Compiled by Dave Gradijan