Fears of a fresh outbreak of bird flu this year have been raised
by the United Nations, after an increase in the number of deaths
and, crucially, the emergence of a new, mutated strain of the
disease. Although in six countries Bangladesh, China, Egypt,
India, Indonesia and Vietnam it is known to be endemic (present
all the time albeit in smaller numbers), at least eight people
have died of bird flu in Cambodia this year alone. Of note – the
emergence of a new, mutated strain of the disease for which the
existing vaccines do not work. Just as a reminder, the H5N1 bird
flu virus spread across Asia in the last few years, killing
millions of fowl and several hundred people but never gained
genes to spread easily among humans. This is unlike the swine
flu virus (H1N1) which readily affects humans and spread rapidly
in 2008 from Mexico to the US and beyond, killing thousands.
While it is expected that the the new Avian mutant virus may not
be so transmissible to humans, it is difficult how dangerous it
potentially