tiadesai Posted August 16, 2005 Posted August 16, 2005 H5N1. A string of numbers and letters that has the World Health Organization deeply concerned. It's one of 15 varieties of avian influenza – bird flu. So far, it's the only one that's shown any ability to directly infect humans. Twice. Hong Kong, 1997. Eighteen people are stricken with severe respiratory disease. Six of them die. The cause – the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. The infection of humans coincides with an epidemic of a particularly nasty bout of avian influenza in Hong Kong's poultry population, caused by the same strain. Health officials determine that close contact with live infected poultry was the source of human infection. It's the first time that evidence can be found that the virus had jumped directly from birds to humans. Health officials order the destruction of Hong Kong's poultry population. More than 1.5 million birds are killed in three days. There are no more cases of direct transmission of the disease from birds to humans. Some health experts say the action may have averted a pandemic. You can find more about Avian Flu here
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