@Oberon one word for you "LMAO!"
@Xabba, youre first assumption is definatly wrong
The birdflu is as old the "salmunella" disease (DT104)
Humans has known about it for a very long time as it is not a new disease, the reason why it is pumped up to be big news is the same as with DT104..
...People are infected now ...
Ask yourself why H5N1 and DT104 suddenly are so dangerous.
My guess is cause they are pumping the animals full of "****" (antibiotica) which are only making the diseases stronger and more resistant to other antibiotica, in somecases the diseases even mutates.. DT105.
1000 years ago no one died from eating "bacon and eggs"
(salmunella), nor eating a bird that had caught a cold, simply cause peoples immune-defence were a lot stronger back then or cause the diseases were too weak to have any effect on humans, evolution of mankind changed that.