Bird flu viruses could re-emerge in upcoming flu season

International experts recommend vigilance and promote targeted surveillance, market restructuring to fight H7N9, H5N1 and other threats. FAO has issued a new warning to the international community that the H7N9 and H5N1 avian influenza viruses continue to pose serious threats to human and animal health, especially in view of the upcoming flu season. The world is more prepared than ever before to respond to bird flu viruses in light of a decade of work on H5N1 and the recent response to H7N9,” said FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth at a joint meeting with United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Heads of FAO Reference Laboratories in Australia, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America were also in attendance, along with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of...