bird flu

noun

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

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

Recent Examples of bird flu from the Web

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. 2017
Mordus said the bird flu is transmitted from chickens to humans through blood contact.

— craig lyons, Post-Tribune, "Hammond man hopes effort to legalize backyard chickens will succeed," 3 Oct. 2017
Infectious disease experts worry that canine flu could one day mutate and become contagious for humans—the way bird flu and swine flu have in the past.

— Health.com, "Why You Should Think Twice About Playing With Pet-Store Puppies Right Now," 12 Sep. 2017

These 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.