News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – In the influenza literature, it's a given that ferrets are the best animal model for influenza in humans. They show similar clinical signs of disease, such as fever, coughing, and sneezing, and flu viruses that spread among humans usually spread in ferrets as well.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) took pains today to downplay the significance of a new H5N1 avian influenza variant that another major international organization warned about this week.

(CIDRAP News) – An analysis of global human H5N1 avian influenza cases over the past 5 years shows that the overall case-fatality rate (CFR) declined somewhat and that older children and adults were far more likely to die than were children under age 10, says a new report by German scientists.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced H5N1 avian influenza infections in two more Egyptians, one of them fatal, as well as an H5N1-related death in a Cambodian girl.

In a separate report reviewing H5N1 infections that were reported in 2010, the WHO said the epidemiologic picture of human cases hasn't changed, with women having more serious outcomes than men and children more likely to have a mild form of the disease.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed four new H5N1 avian flu cases in Egypt—including a fatality—and one nonfatal case in Bangladesh.

The cases raise Egypt's H5N1 case total this year to 22 and Bangladesh's to 2. In addition, the WHO posted an official notice on its Web site today of a Cambodia case that it had jointly confirmed with Cambodia's Ministry of Health last week.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed three more H5N1 avian influenza infections in Egypt, one of them fatal, that surfaced during the weeks surrounding the country's recent political upheaval.