| Debbie: The bird flu,
or the Avian Influenza virus, known as A(H5N1), belongs
to a group of influenza viruses known as Type A, which are the only ones
that have caused pandemics. It has been steadily advancing around the world,
first appearing in Asia, then Europe and Africa. The apparent lethality
of A(H5N1), combined with its inexorable spread,
are what have made scientists take it seriously. The virus lacks just one
trait that could turn it into a pandemic: transmissibility, the ability
to spread easily from person to person. If the virus acquires that ability,
a worldwide epidemic could erupt.
The A(H5N1)strains
circulating now are quite different from the A(H5N1)
strain detected in Hong Kong in 1997, which killed 6 of 18 human victims.
Over time, A(H5N1) seems to have developed the ability
to infect more and more species of birds, and has found its way into mammals
-- specifically, cats that have eaten infected birds.
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the
world, the universe, and everything else (well,
at least the