Bird flu expected to turn into pandemic
Bird flu, or the H5N1 avian flu virus, is the most likely cause for the next human flu pandemic, according to the head of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global influenza programme, Dr Klaus Stohr.
The expert believes the pandemic is not if a question of “if” but one of “when,” fearing a repetition of the 1918–1919 flu pandemic that took an estimated 20 million human lives. The virus has mutated considerably during the past two years and transferred to other animals, gaining the resilience and versatility to sweep through populations with no immunity. “There are estimates that would put the number of deaths in the range between two and seven million and the number of people affected will go beyond the billions as 25% to 30% will fall ill” Dr Stohr said at the
