Potentially Deadly Bird Flu Virus on the Horizon

The bird flu virus called H5N1, which has proved fatal to humans in Thailand and Vietnam, has the potential to spread globally, new research suggests.

The bird flu virus called H5N1, which has proved fatal to humans in Thailand and Vietnam, has the potential to spread globally, new research suggests.The H5N1 virus has become widespread in southern China and is not easily eradicated, the authors note in the science journal Nature. The virus spreads like wildfire among chickens, ducks and other birds, and as experience has shown, it can infect humans.So far, the virus cannot be passed from person to person, but that may change if the virus gets a chance to swap genes with other flu viruses — a process called genetic reassortment — in humans or other mammals.”These developments,” the authors of the report say, “pose a threat to public and veterinary health in the region and potentially the world, and suggest that long-term control measures are required.”Researcher Dr. Yi Guan told Reuters Health that “the most important factors to prevent the spread of the H5N1 influenza virus to humans include reducing contact with live poultry and vaccinating humans to prevent the possible reassortment event between this new H5N1 influenza virus and the current human” flu viruses.Guan, from The University of Hong Kong, and colleagues compared H5N1 viruses isolated recently from poultry in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam as well as from humans in Thailand and Vietnam, with viruses obtained in previous years.The researchers identified various genetic factors that seemed to help the H5N1 viruses survive. In addition, they found evidence that the viruses were evolving to become stronger.Given the potential of H5N1 viruses to cause a global outbreak in humans, “it is imperative that outbreaks of H5N1 disease in poultry in Asia are rapidly and sustainably controlled,” the researchers emphasize.Guan added that “hospitals should have the diagnostic ability not only for current human influenza viruses,” but also for recent bird flu viruses, such as H5N1.(Source: Reuters, Nature, July 2004)