Scientists doubt if anti-viral medication would have any effect in the case of a bird flu pandemic, as the virus is known for its extraordinary ability to mutate very fast.

University of Colorado at Boulder scientists analyzed nearly 700 avian flu genome sequences from bird, cat and human hosts, discovering about one-third of them had mutations to resist the effects of popular flu drugs.

Avian influenza has been widely debated in the last years, as it can spread to humans, not only poultry. The H5N1 virus has killed 248 people worldwide since 2003 and scientists are afraid that the virus might mutate into something more dangerous and cause a pandemic.

Presently, the virus is mostly a threat to birds, but most cases of humans infected with the virus proved to be fatal.

Sure, the thought of a bird flu pandemic sounds scary, but if some basic hygienic measures are respected this should not happen. Basically, the best tips are to cook your meet properly and to not play with dead birds you may come across.

National health authorities are worried by the fact that the H5N1 virus has the potential to mutate. If bird flu can be transmissible from one human to another, things can get pretty bad.

Another problem would be that modern anti-viral medicines could become useless after it has been widely use to cure the possible disease. The virus might get accommodated with the medicine and become immune.