"And the one we have right now is highly aggressive and especially extremely devastating to the poultry industry. It can kill almost all the birds in a flock very quickly when it gets into it."

The vast majority of human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. have resulted from direct contact with animals, so a few simple precautions can keep most people's risk very low.

A wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall with more than 1,300 exotic and rare birds is on alert after an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in a nearby village. Keepers at Paradise Park in Hayle have introduced strict biosecurity measures to reduce the possibility of the disease infecting the bird collection after the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was found on a poultry farm near Rosudgeon.