Dr. Eileen Fatcheric is a 1988 graduate of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She owned and managed her own small-animal veterinary hospital for 17 years and currently sees patients part time in Syracuse, New York.
The “bird flu”, or avian influenza, has been around for a long time; it’s circulated in wild birds since the late 1990s. But like all viruses, it mutates over time—and influenza viruses are known to mutate very quickly. What’s more, some emerging strains are deadlier than others.