avian influenza

American  

[ey-vee-uhn in-floo-en-zuh] / ˈeɪ vi ən ˌɪn fluˈɛn zə /

Also avian flu

noun

Pathology

1. a form of influenza that afflicts poultry and other birds, and that is transmissible to humans.

   An earlier outbreak of avian influenza had been reported in the Northeast last month.

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Etymology

Origin of avian influenza

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

avian influenza

What has helped is that the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has faded.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026

More than 50 skuas died in Antarctica during the summers of 2023 and 2024 after becoming infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2026

Professor Brown told the BBC that the current virus was "as super-infectious as any high pathogenicity avian influenza we've ever seen".

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025

It added it also was affected by the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza and pneumoviruses within the poultry industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

Over time mutation lets animal diseases jump to people: avian influenza becomes human influenza, bovine rinderpest becomes human measles, horsepox becomes human smallpox.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann