Mummy, does my chicken have flu?

"Mummy, does my chicken have flu"? My 5-year-old daughter popped this question at me. After SARS the much feared and talked about disease last year, this year we saw the emergence of a new disease avian influenza/bird flu. Though bird flu is a common disease infecting birds and domestic poultry the death of more than 15 people in the affected countries has made it very dreaded, notorious and most talked about disease.

Now turning my attention to my little one I pondered she was too young to understand that bird flu had occurred in the neighboring Asian countries and that the disease had spread to human beings through contact with infected birds. Why the world was worried, was the fear that someone already infected with the human flu will also catch bird flu. The two viruses could swap genes inside the victim's body, producing a very contagious new mutant for which people have little or no immunity. This disease could then spread among the population and trigger a pandemic. But then I had to give her an answer that would quell her doubts. I answered "Baby the virus cannot withstand heat so your cooked chicken cannot infect you, moreover chicken from the affected countries has been banned, so your chicken is very safe.