Bird Flu: A Birding Threat

[Bird flu: a real or imaginary threat?].

Alarm bells ring over bird flu threat

Recent cases of bird flu infecting humans in southeast Asia have raised fears about the possibility of a new strain of human flu that could spark a pandemic. The new outbreaks of the influenza virus (strain H5N1) in poultry in Asia were linked by sporadic reporting of human cases of infection with this virus in Vietnam and Thailand last year. By the end of last month, there had been 54 cases of...

Bird Flu: A recent threat to human health

Description: With more than 100 million birds either dead from infection or culled, the present outbreak of avian influenza in Asia is unprecedented in size. Influenza virus belongs to the viral family, Orthomyxoviridae having single-stranded RNA genome in an enveloped virion. These viral particles are pleiomorphic and many of them are spherical or ovoid with 80-120 nm diameter. However, other ...

The Bird Flu Threat - Why Aren't We Worrying?

The World Health Organization (WHO) and influenza experts worldwide are concerned that the recent appearance and widespread distribution of an avian influenza virus, influenza A/H5N1, has the potential to ignite the next influenza pandemic. It is estimated that even in the best-case scenarios, the pandemic will cause 2 to 7 million human death and tens of millions would require medical attentio...

A flap over bird flu

most of the year kept prospectors at bay, there was little to regulate. But as global warming thaws the ocean’s layers, oil giants, shipping companies and even the odd enterprising tourist operator are casting their eyes towards the high north. The biggest boom could be in oil and gas. The US Geological Survey surprised some experts when it declared that a quarter of the world’s undiscovered re...