FAO Issues Dire Warning: Indonesia Could Be Brewing Pandemic-Inducing Virus

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) has issued a dire warning concerning the spread of H5N1 avian flu and specifically its rampant spread across Indonesia. Indonesia's geography makes containing any virus an immense logistical challenge with over 6000 populated islands. However, when you combine their difficult geography with a severe lack of resources you have essentially a perfect recipe for brewing a potential pandemic-inducing mutated strain of avian flu.

The latest data out of Indonesia is not encouraging as 31 out of 33 provinces in the country have had cases of H5N1, and that has prompted the FAO to issue this latest warning.

"I am deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic," FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said in a statement. "The human mortality rate from bird flu in Indonesia is the highest in the world and there will be more human cases if we do not focus more on containing the disease at source in animals ... We have also observed that new H5N1 avian influenza virus strains have recently emerged, creating the possibility that vaccines currently in use may not be fully protecting poultry against the disease,"

via [hindu.com]
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FAO Issues Dire Warning: Indonesia Could Be Brewing Pandemic-Inducing Virus

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