CUTTING THROUGH THE BIRD FLU HYSTERIA

CLEAR AND BASIC Q & A ON BIRD FLU SPELLS OUT THE FACTS AS THEY'RE KNOWN FOR BRITS, AS THE VIRUS GETS CLOSER TO UK

Go to the Independent for the Q & A :

"How did this start and where is it going?

H5N1, the current lethal strain, emerged in mid-2003 in South-east Asia, where most of the human deaths have occurred. H5N1 is considered to be endemic among birds in parts of Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Countries as widespread as Turkey, Japan and Egypt have reported outbreaks. And it has now reached Europe.

What is the difference between the current bird flu outbreak and a potential human pandemic?

Bird flu has spread through poultry flocks worldwide and some humans who have come into direct contact with infected poultry have contracted it and died. The big fear is that it will mutate into a lethal strain of human-to-human flu, but there is no evidence of this yet."