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By Nancy-Amelia Collins

Online Stock Market Trading International health experts warn that H5NI virus could lead to disastrous pandemic among humans.If you would like to receive late breaking news on health issues covered by AXcess News then you need to subscribe. By joining, you can stay ahead of the pack and receive the latest news in your email in-box first.Print This Page

That cluster of deaths caused fears that the virus was mutating into a form that could be easily transmitted from human to human. However, experts later concluded that was not the case. In this latest outbreak, seven people from the village in the Karo district in Northern Sumatra province have been hospitalized with suspected bird flu, BBC News reported. Officials are waiting for test results to confirm that it is bird flu.

Stock Investing Course Dec 23, 2004 (AXcess News) Bangkok - Vietnam has reported outbreaks of the bird flu virus in six provinces, prompting authorities to cull thousands birds in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.Officials in Vietnam say drastic measures need to be taken to prevent the spread of the H5N1 virus that has killed more than 30 people in Asia this year.Officials in Vietnam are warning the bird flu could spread widely during the country's Lunar New Year holiday unless provincial authorities strengthen surveillance for outbreaks. Before the holiday, which is in February, hundreds of thousands of chickens, ducks, and geese will be transported to markets and butchered, making it easier for the virus to spread.Government veterinarians say the necessary measures include tighter control on poultry transportation and slaughterhouses and disinfecting poultry farms.

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of Thailand Faces Second Bird Flu Outbreak The Thai government has ordered the slaughter of 300, 000 chickens as officials of that country face the second outbreak of bird flu in the past year. "The H5N1 virus was found in chickens in a local farm, " Assistant Agricultural Minister Charal Trinvuththipong told Presse on Sunday. The farm where the outbreak occurred is located in the Nakhon Phanom province, which is to the northeast of Bangkok. "It is the second outbreak [this year] following the one in the Phichit province, Charal added.

Stock Market Game In China, officials say they are gearing up to fight a possible bird flu outbreak this winter. Scientists and health workers across China are being trained to spot the disease in birds and humans.

or "bird flu", is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. While all bird species are thought to be susceptible to infection, domestic poultry flocks are especially vulnerable to infections that can rapidly reach epidemic proportions. December 2003, a growing number of Asian countries have reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in chickens and ducks. Infections in several species of wild birds and in pigs have also been reported.

Stock Investing Game World Health Organization spokesman for the Western Pacific Region Peter Cordingley says although some countries are trying to stop the spread of the disease, poorer nations are not equipped to handle a new outbreak.Advertisement"When we tell these countries you have to be ready because we believe that the pandemic is coming, they look at their national health services, public health situations, they have got big problems on their hands already, " said Mr. Cordingley.

A possible mutation of the bird flu virus may cause it to start infecting humans. Click on the image to see how it may happen. Public health officials are alarmed by the unprecedented outbreaks in poultry for several reasons. First, most but not all of the major outbreaks recently reported in Asia have been caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain. There is mounting evidence that this strain has a unique capacity to jump the species barrier and cause severe disease, with high mortality, in humans.

Journal Prime Rate Street Wall The WHO spokesman says there still is a window of opportunity to stop the disease if affected countries take the necessary measures.

Avian bird flu on the other hand is a form of flu that was originally believed to infect birds only, but turned up among humans in Hong Kong in 1997. Avian bird flu can affect humans, but only when they come in close contact with live infected birds and manage to inhale the virus. fever, malaise, sore throats and coughs.

Stock Market News "All countries that have had this virus and all those who feel that they may have it just have to raise their game," he added.

Stock Investing Basics The World Health Organization, along with other health experts, has been warning the H5N1 virus may change into a form more easily transmitted to humans, leading to a pandemic capable of killing millions of people.But so far, the H5N1 strain of the virus has not been easily transmitted to humans. Most people infected since the virus first came to light in the 1990's caught it from sick birds.

Stock Investing Software Source: Voice of America

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