Bird Flu Expands Range
Joan Stephenson, PhD
JAMA. 2006;295:1239.
Reports last month that H5N1 avian influenza had been detected in poultry in Africa and elsewhere heightened concerns about the threat the virus poses to human and animal health.
As of mid-February, the H5N1 virus had been detected on farms in three states in Nigeria and another five states had suspected cases, according to news reports. Authorities were also investigating several suspected human cases.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Jong-Wook Lee warned that in Africa, where many individuals are infected with HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infections, "we simply do not know what the impact of exposure to avian influenza will be on the many people who may be already immunocompromised and in a fragile state of health."
On February 18, India also reported detecting H5N1 influenza in birds—part of what the WHO described as "a recent pattern of rapid geographical spread of the virus in wild and domestic birds." In addition to India, Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, and France have all reported their first case of H5N1 infection in birds since the beginning of February.
Updated information about avian influenza is available at
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/.
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