WHO says risk of bird flu 'still low' after US reports its first human death

euronews (in English)

The H5N1 virus has affected mainly farmworkers in that came into close contact with poultry flocks and cattle herds. However, the WHO has stated that the risk to the general population remains low.

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00:00A day after the United States reported its first human death from avian flu, the UN World

00:08Health Organization insisted that the risk to the general population remains low.

00:13WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the H5N1 virus causing

00:20the disease is mainly a concern for those who work in animal industries who need to

00:25be better protected.

00:27It's not circulating in humans, but it is jumping into humans who are exposed, particularly

00:31those exposed to poultry or to the dairy cattle, the two sort of groups where we're seeing

00:37most of the movement from animal to human, but we're not seeing sustained circulation.

00:44The patient who died of the disease in Louisiana was over 65 and reportedly had underlying

00:49medical conditions, Dr. Harris said.

00:53According to the health authorities, he had been exposed to chickens and wild birds.

00:58Reports of bird flu cases also rose in Europe towards the end of last year, although numbers

01:03remain lower than in previous years.

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