human
I've recently heard about a new strain of bird flu that's been affecting birds in Europe. What is it and how does it spread?
assistant
The virus is called H7N9, and it’s a type of influenza virus. It’s similar to the H5N1 virus, which caused the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. H7N9 is a subtype of the avian influenza virus, meaning it infects birds, but not humans. It was first detected in China in 2013, and since then there have been several outbreaks in poultry, as well as human cases.