So far, a relatively small number of human beings have died from the current strain of avian influenza, and it appears that they have all been in contact with infected birds. But if the virus mutates into a form that is transmissible between humans, the number of deaths could run into the hundreds of millions.
迄今为止，死于当前禽流感病毒的人相对较少，而且这些人似乎都曾与患病鸟类有过接触。但如果这种病毒变异到可以在人间传染，那么死亡数量恐怕就会数以亿计。