10 pandemics have happened in the last 300 years, 3 of those in the last 100 years; 1967 mild, 1958 mild and 1918 which claimed 50 million lives, it mutated enough by the time it got to Australia a few years later that it became mild as well. I understand this particular strain is genetically close to the one that happened in 1918. BTW, this bird flu has been around for almost 8 years, it’s just in the last 2 years it’s been mutating enough picking up steam and spreading to the domestic poultry with a 100% fatality rate. It will continue to mutate and hopefully for all of us into a milder form as well.  If this is infecting the wild birds is there a specific species it’s happening too? I wanted to ask about how long the virus stays active in a bird once that infected bird dies?  I was searching for this information on http://www.drugdelivery.ca/bird-flu.aspx but there was nothing about it there and neither one other site.  Can anyone answer this to me?

I can’t answer most of your questions but the difference between the ‘67 and ‘58 influenze pandemics are that the virus didn’t turn the body’s own immune system against itself as it did in 1918.  This is the reason why scientists are so worried about this virus.  It kills those with the healthiest immune systems.  This is why you’re not hearing Avian Flu being compared to other pandemics other than the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed mostly people in their teens, 20’s and 30’s who have the strongest immune systems.  Additionally, the influenze outbreaks in ‘67 and ‘58 were influenzas that were passed from pigs to humans.  Similar to the swine flu outbreak in the 70’s.  Less deadly for a reasons someone way more knowledgeable than me can explain, but my understanding is that swine influenzas are far less deadly to humans than avian influenzas. 

Anytime a virus makes the jump between animal and human it doesn’t matter how long it has been in existence. It is new to the human immune system.