Avian influenza A infections in humans differ from seasonal influenza in several ways. The presence of conjunctivitis is Available online http://ccforum.com/content/11/2/209 Number of fatalities (percent) 0 (0) 6 (33) 0 (0) 1 (1) 0 (0) 151 (59) H, hemagglutinin; ILI, influenza like illness; N, neuroaminidase. more common with avian influenza A infections than with seasonal influenza. Gastrointestinal symptoms, as seen with HPAI H5N1, and reports of primary influenza pneumonia and development of ARDS are also more common with avian influenza A infections [65, 67, 69] . Finally, the rapid progression to multi-organ failure and eventually death occurs at a much higher rate with avian influenza A infections [69] .