Bird Flu and Swine Flu mixing

http://www.hstoday.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11277&Itemid=149

Concerns Grow Over Possible H1N1-H5N1 'Reassortment,' Other Mutations


'The obvious risk is of H5N1 combining with the pandemic [H1N1] virus'

Virologists and influenza authorities are becoming increasingly concerned that the 2009 A-H1N1 flu virus could “reassort” with the highly virulent H5N1 avian flu that’s still prevalent in parts of the world like China, and that a mutation could occur resulting in a new strain that has the lethality of H5N1 and the human transmissibility of A-H1N1.

The concerns have grown in the wake of revelations that mutations of the H1N1 flu virus had been found in Norway and elsewhere, leading experts to fear that it might just be a matter of time before there’s a reassortment of H1N1 and H5N1.

This comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) reported very high pandemic activity in Italy, Norway, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation (Urals region), and Sweden.

Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine also reported high pandemic activity.

Meanwhile, authorities said they believe the peak of the A-H1N1 pandemic's second wave hasn’t yet been reached in some parts of the world.

WHO said it’s keeping a "very careful” eye on the reported mutations in order to ascertain whether it is causing more severe illness diseases than the A-H1N1 virus.

**Note** Avian flu has always been something to watch, but hasnt been an immediate worry due to the lack of ease of transfering it from person to person.  There has now been a circle of infection shown in a mutation that goes from person to pig to bird. If the avian flu attaches to the swine flu, we could have not only a deadly avian flu, but one with a high spread rate.  **