16/07/04

Bird flu ruffles feathers in Asia again

Chickens on sale in a Vietnamese market Copyright: N. Rubery/FAO

Send to a friend

The details you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited email, and will not be sold to a 3rd party. See privacy policy.

Over the past two weeks China, Thailand and Vietnam have each announced new outbreaks of the avian influenza (H5N1) virus.


H5N1 killed at least 23 people and led to a cull of over 100 million chickens and ducks when it swept through Asia earlier this year. Scientists fear that if the virus evolves the ability to spread easily between humans, a pandemic could result.


The World Health Organisation has asked the countries so far affected to provide samples of the virus to help study the disease and assess the threat it poses. But despite months of being asked, a number of them have failed to comply.


Link to full news story in Science


Reference: Science 305, 321 (2004)