Discussion of avian flu
Discussion of avian flu by Yoshihiro Kawaoka In the New England Journal of Medicine 2025 Bottom line: More mutations will be needed for avian flu viruses to be highly transmissible in humans. But, for now, pasteurize milk and thoroughly cook poultry and meat. We are dealing with an H5N1 virus, a subtype of influenza A virus known for primarily infecting birds. It’s called H5N1 because of two surface glycoproteins on the virus. Hemagglutinin — H, and neuraminidase — N. Avian flu refers to influenza viruses that circulate among birds. There are 19 H types and 11 N types. H5N1 is just one of them. They can sometimes cross species barriers and infect mammals, including humans, but are considered avian because birds are their natural host where they replicate most efficiently. When we say highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses,that means highly pathogenic for poultry. There are two kinds of avian influenza viruses in terms of path...