What is the difference between avian flu and pandemic flu?
A. To put it simply, avian flu affects birds, and a pandemic flu would affect people. It is a bit more complicated than that, but the important thing to know is that just because birds are sick doesn’t mean there is a health risk to humans. It is very likely that wild birds in San Juan County will be infected with avian flu someday. It is much more uncertain as to whether the avian flu virus will mutate to where it can easily spread from person to person and become a pandemic flu strain.