Is the bird flu common

H5N1, Avian "bird" flu is fairly common among birds, especially water birds and poultry, but all birds are susceptible, and bird flu is passed from bird to bird and from bird to people.

It is an extremely virulent influenza virus that can infect birds, occasionally pigs, very rarely humans, and some rare infections in other animals. Fortunately, it does not spread very easily to humans and no human to human transmissions have been known to occur. It does, however, have a very high mortality rate in animals and in humans (50% Death Rate in humans).