BMJ  2005;331:921 (22 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7522.921

News

East Asia is most at risk of human flu epidemic, experts say

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) is flying experts on influenza to East Asia in a bid to boost flu surveillance programmes, so scientists will be able to pick up signs if a pandemic is about to ensue.

The westward spread of the H5N1 strain of avian flu—which has already killed 60 people—from China to Europe's borders in just 18 months has alarmed veterinary experts and virologists. The UK government published guidance for doctors on its website on Thursday this week, after the BMJ went to press.

However, it is in China, Vietnam, and Hong Kong where most infected flocks persist and where World Health Organization experts say the bird virus is most likely to recombine with human influenza to form a pandemic strain.

The MRC's chief executive, Colin Blakemore, announced on Monday that a team of senior scientists, including the MRC's influenza expert John Skehel, would be visiting China, . . . [Full text of this article]

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