Sunday, October 23, 2005

China to mutate killer bird flu virus first

All eyes are on China as the breading ground for the mutation of the bird flu virus.

Virus hunter Dr. Guan Yi and his team the discoverers of masked palm civet, raccoon dog and hog badger as SARS carriers are to set-up operations in China.

They have already recorded about 20 mutations of H5N1 and believe that the overuse of vaccines in China and Vietnam make these locations prime candidates for a pandemic mutation.

Expert Dr. Guan advises a solution to the pandemic threat by killing the entire domestic bird population.

According to Dr. Guan, many mammalian influenza viruses have already mastered the tricky secret of passing easily from person to person. The ideal strategy for the A(H5N1) virus would be to infect a person already carrying a human influenza virus and then swap genetic material with it. Because pigs can readily carry human and avian influenza viruses, they could also be the mixing vessels for a new virus.
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