SINCE 1828
bird flu
nounDefinition of bird flu
: avian influenza
specifically
: severe often fatal influenza A caused by strains of a subtype (H5N1) of the causative orthomyxovirus that have produced epidemics in domestic birds especially in Asia with sporadic associated human infections
Examples of bird flu in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sufficiently capable actors could work to resurrect the deadliest pathogens of the past, like smallpox or Spanish flu, or modify existing pathogens such as bird flu to be more contagious and lethal. — R. Daniel Bressler, Vox, "“Designer bugs”: how the next pandemic might come from a lab," 6 Dec. 2018 In 1985, his continuing hunt for bird flu took him to Delaware Bay. — Washington Post, "Bird flu hot spot: Scientists track virus in huge migration," 28 June 2018 Today’s top concern is a lethal bird flu that jumped from poultry to more than 1,500 people in China since 2013. — Time, "Scientists Seek Universal Flu Shot 100 Years After Deadly Pandemic," 19 Jan. 2018 Flu viruses that spread easily among humans tend not to grow as well in chicken eggs as bird flu strains do. — Jason Gale / Bloomberg, Time, "How Effective Is the 2018 Flu Shot? Here's What You Should Know," 7 Feb. 2018 Now that the ban is lifted, researchers can better study dangerous diseases like bird flu and ebola, which kill thousands of people a year. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Feds Lift Ban on Making Viruses More Lethal," 20 Dec. 2017 Known as bird flu, the illness is carried by birds, wild fowl and some mammals. — Mark Johnson, jsonline.com, "The hunt for a future killer," 15 Dec. 2017 Recent bird flu outbreaks on farms across Europe and Asia have given food companies further cause to stick with egg alternatives rather than risking another supply disruption, industry officials say. — Jacob Bunge, WSJ, "Cheap Eggs Flood U.S. Grocery Stores," 28 July 2017 Next up in difficulty: predicting whether a virus like H7N9 bird flu, which can infect humans but isn’t known to cause major outbreaks, will eventually do so. — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, "Is It Possible to Predict the Next Pandemic?," 25 Oct. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bird flu.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for bird flu
bird flu
noun
\ ˈbərd-
\
\
Medical Definition of bird flu
: avian influenza
specifically
: severe often fatal influenza A caused by strains of a subtype (H5N1) of the causative orthomyxovirus that have produced epidemics in domestic birds especially in Asia with sporadic associated human infections
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