It is worth keeping our fears about this disease in perspective! As yet we have had no outbreak in the UK. In countries such as Russia, Turkey and Romania where there have been outbreaks, the disease is still only one affecting birds, with no human cases reported as yet. In south-east Asia where the disease has been present for some time there has been a very small number of cases in humans. However we must remember that these people tend to live in very close proximity to their birds! As yet the disease seems to be one which is difficult to pass from bird to human and nearly unheard of to pass from one human to another.
Of course we would have a problem if the virus mutates and becomes a disease which passes easily from one person to another but as yet it has not done this. Nobody knows if this will happen or not, but the possibility that it could is there. I still don't think we should be panicking about it all too much yet. It does seem that the people most at risk if the disease does get a foothold in this country are those who work closely with birds, not the general public (unless the virus mutates). Anyone who does work closely with birds should obviously take good hygienic precautions as a matter of course in their daily work.
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