The swine flu virus could transform into a more serious “Armageddon virus” if it mixes with avian flu which is circulating in southeast Asia, a leading virologist said on Wednesday.
Health officials believe it is only a matter of time before swine flu reaches countries where avian flu is endemic, raising the prospect of the viruses merging into a lethal strain.
John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary, University of London, said an Armageddon virus was a worst-case scenario, but could not be ruled out.
“My concern is that in the rush and worry over pig flu, we forget about avian flu. There’s a temptation for everyone to stampede in response to the immediate threat and take their eye off bird flu and that could easily bounce back to bite us,” he said.
Fears that a bird flu pandemic was imminent led many countries to draw up the emergency plans that have swung into action this week. In Britain, the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza were stockpiled in anticipation of bird flu emerging from Asia.
This year, the bird flu virus, known as H5N1, has infected seven people in China and killed four. All three people who contracted the virus in Vietnam this year have died. A further 16 cases have been reported in Egypt, though none have been fatal.
The swine and avian flu viruses could merge if both infect the same animal at the same time. The most lethal result could be a virus that is as infectious as swine flu and as deadly as avian flu.
If the swine virus does change dramatically as it spreads, it will cause an even greater headache for manufacturers who are already expecting to face difficult decisions over which vaccine to prioritize. Most companies have just begun making seasonal flu vaccine for the winter, but may have to stop.
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,
French singer Kendji Girac, who was seriously injured by a gunshot this week, wanted to “fake” his suicide to scare his partner who was threatening to leave him, prosecutors said on Thursday. The 27-year-old former winner of France’s version of The Voice was found wounded after police were called to a traveler camp in Biscarrosse on France’s southwestern coast. Girac told first responders he had accidentally shot himself while tinkering with a Colt .45 automatic pistol he had bought at a junk shop, a source said. On Thursday, regional prosecutor Olivier Janson said, citing the singer, that he wanted to “fake” his suicide
Le Tuan Binh keeps his Moroccan soldier father’s tombstone at his village home north of Hanoi, a treasured reminder of a man whose community in Vietnam has been largely forgotten. Mzid Ben Ali, or “Mohammed” as Binh calls him, was one of tens of thousands of North Africans who served in the French army as it battled to maintain its colonial rule of Indochina. He fought for France against the Viet Minh independence movement in the 1950s, before leaving the military — as either a defector or a captive — and making a life for himself in Vietnam. “It’s very emotional for me,”