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Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Plague Could Happen, Warns CDC

March 11, 2005

In the past, we reported that the World Health Organization expressed deep concern that the Bird Flu virus could possibly mutate to more efficiently be transmitted from one human to the next. It appears that it is even worse than they first thought. Now scientists believe that it is inevitable “that the virus...will evolve into a pathogen deadly for humans.”

With this currently being the high season for avian influenza in Asia, scientists are expecting to see a host of human cases. They believe that although human-to-human transmissions of the virus are rare, they are still an extremely high threat.

Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had stated that the mortality rate of patients who contract the disease is extremely high—72 percent perish! However, what is even more frightening is the prediction that Dr. Gerberding made: “We are seeing a highly pathogenic strain of influenza virus emerge to an extraordinary proportion across the entire western component of Asia. The reason this is so ominous is because of the evolution of the flu...You may see the emergence of a new strain to which the human population has no immunity.”

Source: MSNBC