| WASHINGTON, November
2, 2004: Avian influenza has all the makings
of the next great pandemic flu outbreak, Dr. Klaus Stohr,
influenza coordinator for the World Health Organization
(WHO) told a joint meeting of the American Society for
Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Avian flu which has already been responsible for the
death of tens of millions of birds and 32 people in
Asia, has been tagged by the scientific community for
its outbreak potential. The current strain can only
been passed from bird to human but were the strain to
evolve to allow human to human passage it could quickly
kill millions, experts warned.
Scientists have been on the lookout for the next great
disease epidemic which is long past due according to
an average cycle of every 27 years. The last one was
1968. Doctors at the meeting also expressed concerned
over a lack of available vaccinations should an outbreak
occur.
This story was originally reported by the Associated
Press read the entire story at:
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=291
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