WHO expert says not to give into bird flu fatigue
Reuters
April 26, 2006

The world's fight against bird flu will be long-term and it is important not to give into "fatigue." WHO's Acting Director of Global Infulenza says that it is the tenacity of H5N1 more than a geographical spread which raises the risk of it mutating into a form which could affect humans more easily. the virus was first seen in Asia in 2004 and since then has infected birds in at least 20 more countries and is moving into the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The move to Africa is especially troubling because the resources to fight H5N1 are scarce. Lives have been claimed in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and Azerbaijan as well as China, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Already a sense of fatigue is setting into the various organizations and countries. It is important to recognize that this is not going to be a short-term fight. Because of the ability of the virus to survive and to infect many birds and different species, the risk of the virus mutating and possibly becoming more infectious continues to grow. At this time bird flu is basically an animal disease but since 2003, 113 of 204 people infected with H5N1 have died.