WHO: Avian influenza virulence poses growing human threat
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The World Health Organization is calling on national public health bodies to remain vigilant for clusters of influenza-like illness, amid heightened concern over simultaneous outbreaks among poultry populations of the so-called "highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1" in several Asian countries. The WHO's concerns are fuelled by the fact that the virus is proving increasingly pathogenic and becoming more widespread in birds in the region.