SCIENTIST WHO FIRST IDENTIFIED H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA STRAIN GOES HARDCORE ON THE DOOM AND GLOOM

WHEN SARS MEETS BIRD FLU

"Nature is getting the better of us. . . It's there all the time, it lurks..." said Professor Kenny Shortridge.

"...Sars and this new strain of bird flu are both trying to get into humans at the same time, the pressure on humans and health systems could reach a critical level . . . The symptoms of Sars and the bird flu are similar: high fever, sore throat, a cough, aches and pains, exhaustion but they spread very differently. So sorting out whether Sars or bird flu or both are emerging is critical. The world could face a catastrophic situation. Sars will help to beget flu and the two will act in tandem".

Professor Kennedy Francis Shortridge's scientific detective work in 1997 was vital to the early identification and detection of H5N1 bird flu. He is now widely regarded as the man who used his groundbreaking research to stop a potentially devastating late 1990s avian influenza pandemic.



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