Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2006 Jun;195(2):45-7.
doi: 10.1007/s00430-005-0008-4.

Will the next human influenza pandemic be caused by the virus of the avian flu A/H5N1? Arguments pro and counter

H W Doerr, Domenica Varwig, Regina Allwinn, J Cinatl
Editorial

Will the next human influenza pandemic be caused by the virus of the avian flu A/H5N1? Arguments pro and counter

H W Doerr et al. Med Microbiol Immunol. 2006 Jun.

Abstract

In 1997, the avian influenza A subtype H5N1 that caused big outbreaks of fowl pest in mass poultry farming had emerged in Hong Kong. Its spread throughout Eurasia had given rise to concerns in terms of the possible imminence of the next human influenza pandemic. In this article, epidemiological and virological arguments supporting or declining this fear are outlined and discussed with regard to viral infectivity and pathogenicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ludwig B, Kraus FB, Allwinn R, Doerr HW, Preiser W. Viral zoonoses—a threat under control? Intervirology. 2003;46:71–78. doi: 10.1159/000069749. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wright PF, Webster RG (2001) In: Knipe DM, Howley PM (eds) Orthomyxoviruses. fields virology, vol 1, 4th edn, pp 1533–1579
    1. Taubenberger JK, Reid AH, Lourens RM, Wang R, Jin G, Fanning TG. Characterization of the 1918 influenza virus polymerase genes. Nature. 2005;437:889–893. doi: 10.1038/nature04230. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tumpey TM, Basler CF, Aguilar PV, Zeng H, Solorzano A, Swayne DE, Cox NJ, Katz JM, Taubenberger JK, Palese P, Garcia-Sastre A. Characterization of the reconstructed 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic virus. Science. 2005;310:77–80. doi: 10.1126/science.1119392. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Horimoto T, Kawaoka Y. Influenza: lessons from past pandemics, warnings from current incidents. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2005;8:591–600. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro1208. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types