Russians warned about a new pandemic
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An infectious disease specialist warned Russians about the possibility of a new pandemic due to a strain of bird flu
A new pandemic may arise in Russia due to the H7N9 strain of avian influenza virus. This was stated by the director of the Scientific Information Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Infections Georgy Vikulov in an interview with NSN.
The specialist warned that the flu has not disappeared anywhere, and has even returned – viruses of this type have a constant evolution, as a result of which new strains appear.
“For example, H7N9 of Asian origin is potential for a new pandemic. It is registered in Taiwan, China, and Southeast Asia,” the specialist explained, adding that with additional genetic transformation it could become a pandemic strain.
The infectious disease specialist also noted that so far avian influenza viruses are not transmitted from person to person, but if this begins to happen, it will become a serious problem. The mortality rate in humans from such an infection, according to Vikulov, is about 50%, while with a normal infection it is no more than 0.5%.
Also, the specialist warned, the Yamagata strain of influenza B virus continues to circulate. He noted that several influenza viruses are the most relevant in the current epidemic period – two subtypes of the influenza A virus and two subtypes of the influenza B virus.
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