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1. Chicken
Avian flu may not be the headline-maker now, but it has caused hundreds of human deaths over just the past decade, with chickens being the most common source of contagion.
"Many birds are susceptible to influenza strains that may transmit to humans, but butchering, handling and other forms of close contact heighten the risk," April Johnson told Discovery News. Johnson is an assistant professor of epidemiology and public health in the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Comparative Pathobiology. "The H5N1 avian virus continues to be of concern because 60 percent of all humans who have contracted this illness died after becoming infected."
Tags: Animals, Flu, Health and Illness, Pandemic, Swine Flu
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