Three Main Differences between Swine Flu and Bird Flu
People tend to use the words “swine flu” and “avian flu” interchangeably, especially in light of the current H1N1 outbreak that is making people all over the world sick with the virus. However, these two are not the same and are actually two distinct strains of the influenza virus.
There are three main differences between swine flu and avian flu. The first is their geographic spread. Swine flu originated in the Northern American continent and its spread is more confined in that continent. Avian flu, on the other hand, is more common in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Swine flu and avian flu also have many genetic differences. They mainly do not have the same amount of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Swine flu is designated as H1N1 while avian flu is H5N1.
Lastly, avian flu is considered to be more dangerous than swine flu. That is because humans have been afflicted by the swine flu virus for a long time now and have already developed antibodies against it. Avian flu, on the other hand, is something that humans are new at and for which have not yet developed antibodies.
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