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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffPeople with bird flu may develop life-threatening complications, including:
- Pneumonia
- Collapsed lung
- Respiratory failure
- Kidney dysfunction
- Heart problems
Although bird flu kills more than half the people it infects, the number of fatalities is still low because so few people have had bird flu. According to the World Health Organization, a few hundred people have died of bird flu since 2003.
In contrast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that seasonal influenza is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year in the United States alone.
- Key facts about avian influenza (bird flu) and avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm. Accessed Sept. 15, 2009.
- Areas with confirmed human cases of H5N1 avian influenza since 2003. World Health Organization. http://gamapserver.who.int/mapLibrary/Files/Maps/Global_H5N1inHumanCUMULATIVE_FIMS_20090506.png. Accessed Sept. 15, 2009.
- Beigel JH. Influenza. Critical Care Medicine. 2008;36:2660.
- Influenza, Avian. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/160112679-3/888248314/2088/347.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00018-6--s1115_7157. Accessed Sept. 15, 2009.
- Stephenson I. Epidemiology, transmission and pathogenesis of avian influenza. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2009.
- Stephenson I. Avian influenza vaccines. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2009.
- Stephenson I. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of avian influenza. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 15, 2009.
- What consumers need to know about avian influenza. FDA. http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm085550.htm. Accessed Sept. 16, 2009.
- Flu (Influenza): What's the difference between seasonal flu, pandemic flu and avian (bird) flu? National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Flu/understandingFlu/DefinitionsOverview.htm. Accessed Sept. 16, 2009.
- FDA clears rapid test for avian influenza A virus in humans. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm149557.htm. Accessed Sept. 17, 2009.
- Stephenson I. Treatment and prevention of avian influenza. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 17, 2009.
- Avian influenza (bird flu). World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/print.html. Accessed Sept. 17, 2009.
- H5N1 influenza virus vaccine questions and answers. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm080753.htm. Accessed Sept. 17, 2009.
