birdflu pandemic could trigger second depression: , page-5

re: freddie is the imu vaccine the real deal? Bird flu in Europe only question of time

World Health Organization experts say the bird flu virus is now endemic in parts of Asia despite the slaughter of tens of millions of domestic fowl, which are able to pass the virus on to humans.

It has now been confirmed that the deadly bird flu virus -- the H5N1 strain of the influenza virus -- has reached Russia. It has already killed almost 60 people since sweeping through Asia since 2003.

Last week the European Union already banned the import of live birds and feathers from Russia and Kazakhstan. But German disease watchdogs say that an outbreak of bird flu is only a matter of time.

"All experts agree that the possibility of an outbreak is larger than ever before in the past 50 years," said Reinhard Kurth, director of the Robert-Koch-Institute in Berlin. "They say -- and I fully agree -- that this is going to happen, but whether this year already or in the next three years remains unclear."

Virus more likely to mutate into deadly form

Health experts fear that the longer the virus survives, the more likely it is to mutate into a form which can pass easily between humans.



"We are concerned that the virus infects a human that already has contracted a strain of normal influenza and this influenza will mix with this avian form," said Dick Thompson, a spokesman for the World Health Organization. "As a result, a new strain could be formed that the human immune system has never seen before and that would ignite a pandemic."

On Friday German disease-control experts were set to propose detailed plans to prevent an outbreak of bird flu among local bird populations and come up with ways to protect the German population. On Thursday they had criticized authorities for being unprepared to meet a possibly major health crisis.

EU countries are expected to meet next week to discuss ways of better coordinating their strategies for dealing with the illness.