| The list of countries
known to have the relatively new and deadly
strain of bird flu is rapidly growing. The focus now is on
Indonesia where tests will soon confirm whether or not the bird
flu which killed several million chickens there is the often fatal
H5N1, already confirmed in 5 other countries in the region. Reports
of an outbreak in Laos are also being
investigated.
A spokesman for the World Health Organisation told the BBC it
was clearly spreading, causing
serious concern. As new information was emerging, it was becoming
clear, he said, the strain had been around in the region much
longer than first thought. That multiplied
the risk of human infections, he added, and of the virus
mutating, perhaps by attaching
itself to human flu, and becoming far more deadly. So far seven
people have died, six of them in Vietnam, after being infected
with the strain.
But so far there's no evidence of direct human to human
transmission. Were that to happen, the death rate amongst
people could multiply dramatically.
This new strain first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. Scientists
then went on to create a prototype vaccine
but that's now become redundant
because the virus has since mutated. Between 10 and 20 million
chickens across the region have died or been killed in an attempt
to stop the spread of the virus.
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deadly strain: a variety of the disease
that may be fatal, i.e. cause death
an outbreak: a sudden occurrence of something, usually
unpleasant
investigated: looked into, examined
spreading: beginning to affect
wider areas
multiplied the risk: considerably
increased the possibility
mutating/mutated: if an organism
mutates, it changes its original genetic make-up and develops
new characteristics; for example, if a virus mutates, it may no
longer respond to drugs or vaccines in the same way as before
transmission: here - passing of
the virus, infecting
a prototype vaccine: the first version of the vaccine;
a vaccine is a substance which is given to people to prevent them
getting the disease
redundant: here - ineffective and
therefore not usable
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