How severe is the illness caused by influenza A H5N1?
Influenza virus infection can by asymptomatic or cause illness of varying severity, from a cold to a rapidly fatal pneumonia. Most influenza illnesses, though unpleasant, are self limiting and do not require medical attention. Although two of the four patients with illness found to be due to influenza A H5N1 infection have died, there is still insufficient information to be able to say how severe the illness might be in the population if the infection spread. The only cases identified so far have been in hospital, where patients with more severe illness would be likely to be identified. Is there a vaccine to protect against influenza A H5N1? Not at present. Work is currently underway, as a precautionary measure, to see how best to develop a vaccine. Widescale production would not take place unless there was good evidence of extensive spread of the virus in the human population. What is the role of this year’s influenza vaccine? The current vaccine contains components of three strains o
