Avian influenza A H5N1 virus.
Although influenza A viruses of avian origin have long been responsible for influenza pandemics, including the "Spanish flu" pandemic of 1918, human infections caused by avian subtypes of influenza A virus, most notably H5N1, have emerged since the 1990s (H5N1 in 1997; H9N2 in 1999; and H7N7 in 2003). The wide geographic distribution of influenza A H5N1 in avian species, and the number and severity of human infections are unprecedented. Together with the ongoing genetic evolution of this virus, these features make influenza A H5N1 a likely candidate for a future influenza pandemic. This article discusses the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of human infections caused by influenza A H5N1 virus.
Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 77555-0740, USA. mjloeffe@utmb.edu <mjloeffe@utmb.edu>
Michael J
MJ
Loeffelholz
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012698:Serologic Tests