Bird flu pandemic no longer imminent

In the best news yet in the bird flu scenario, international scientists have now downgraded the risk of an imminent pandemic, saying the indications are that the virus has not mutated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) team of virologists and epidemiologists from Britain, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States left Vietnam yesterday after deciding that the threat posed by the H5N1 strain to humans was lower than previously thought.

The WHO had previously said that millions of people might die if the avian virus mutated to become easily transmissible between humans, and could cause a global pandemic.

Hans Troedsson, WHO representative in Vietnam, says according to preliminary findings, they could not find any indication showing that the virus has actually extended its range in humans.

He says they can now rule out the immediate risk of a pandemic, but as the virus is widely spread, the risk is still there.

The UN health agency had last month called on countries around the world to proceed with preparations for a flu pandemic, after a study showed signs of greater risk of human to human transmission of the virus.