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Tuesday, February 03, 2004Different strains of the flu broaden their options further by swapping genetic material with other flu viruses. They also can jump between species -- while some live in birds, some prefer pigs and some seek out people, some strains can move from one type of creature to another and further meld and swap genes. This is how new varieties of flu arise. Often, these new strains require relatively familiar medical action; there might be a different type of flu vaccine loaded into the flu shot you get one particular winter, and unexpected strains, such as this winter's Fujian A, can cause more severe flu outbreaks than usual. In a few instances, such as the major flu outbreaks of 1918, 1957 and 1968, a new strain can kill thousands to millions of people. ....Most avian flus have shown to be less ready to blend with human flus. Sunday, however, World Health Organization officials confirmed a ``possible'' case of human-to-human transmission in Vietnam, which would mark the first such incidence during this outbreak. Limited person-to-person transmission occurred during a 1997 avian flu outbreak in Hong Kong. Among people who do get infected, bird flu is often deadly. In the 1997 Hong Kong outbreak, which saw 18 people hospitalized, six died. In the current outbreak, at least 12 have died -- many of them children. That virulence, if blended into a flu that easily infects humans, worries doctors. There's more detailed information here. posted by Sydney on 2/03/2004 07:02:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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