Why has the high pathogenic Asian H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus received so much attention from the medical community and the media?
A much greater concern than the negligible risk of widespread high pathogenic Asian H5N1 transmission from wild birds directly to the human population is the risk that the virus could change and acquire the ability to efficiently jump from human to human. Experts are concerned that under these conditions, the virus could spread rapidly among humans resulting in a global pandemic (in other words, infection occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting a high proportion of the population). This has not occurred during the nine years since high pathogenic Asian H5N1 has emerged but it remains a possibility, and health officials must prepare for the worst-case scenario. This fact is the basis for the widespread concern and publicity that has been reported throughout the world during the last year. World health authorities are intensively monitoring the possible occurrence of a new pandemic strain emerging. Top Are North American waterfowl hunters at risk of contracting the high patho
Related Questions
- Why has the high pathogenic Asian H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus received so much attention from the medical community and the media?
- Why has the high pathogenic H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus received so much attention from the medical community and the media?
- What is the high pathogenic Asian H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus?
