Avian Flu Outbreak In Vietnam - Japan, Hong Kong Culling Birds

[hatrack]

"An Asian bird influenza has infected and killed at least three people in Vietnam, sharpening fears of a future pandemic.

Hong Kong's National Influenza Center confirmed on Tuesday that samples taken from three people in Hanoi - two children and one adult - who had died from severe respiratory disease were positive for the avian influenza virus strain A(H5N1). Tests are continuing on samples from a further 9 children who died after suffering from respiratory disease, and 2 more who are now sick in hospital. Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases has also received some samples for testing and will look for the virus and antibodies to it over the next week.

Since late last year, the flu has struck hundreds of thousands of birds and prompted widespread poultry culls in South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. In Vietnam, the problem began last October."

EDIT

Fortunately, these viruses lacked the ability to hop easily between people, which helped to contain the problem. But a future strain might pick up this ability, either by mutating, or by mixing genes with a human flu virus. A virus capable of human-to-human transmission could rip through a population with little natural immunity, experts warn. "The ensuing virus would then be highly pathogenic and transmissible. This is why the World Health Organization and the Vietnamese authorities are treating this matter seriously," says Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director for the western Pacific. "

EDIT

http://www.nature.com/nsu/040112/040112-3.html

[Changenow]

1. Scary stuff.

I'm not sure that a vaccine can be made that protects against avian strains since the vaccines are made in live eggs.