ISTANBUL -- Preliminary tests show that the strain of bird flu virus that has hit at least 15 people in Turkey has evolved in a way that could make it somewhat more hazardous to human beings, although it still lacks the capacity to be passed easily from person to person, international health officials said yesterday.
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'It's a little concerning because the virus is still trying new things in its evolution," said Perdue, who is overseeing the agency's response to the Turkish outbreak from WHO headquarters in Geneva.
I'm a very lucky person with every allergy known to man but still happy to be enjoying a wonderful life living in the best place in the world!
The BF is estimated at being like 80% lethal. But these statistics may be grossly inaccurate. The countries where the BF has manifested are generally quite rural, as are the locations of many of the birds that carry the BF. There is no data on how many people actually contact the BF except via the hospitals that treat those patients. Only the sickest individuals make it to the hospital which greatly skews the death rate.
It may be that the fatality rate is actually quite low with many people getting the BF and just passing it off as an ordinary flu and recovering on their own.
Either way, with the EVOLVING of the flu, I think we'll find out.