Scientists Say Bird Flu Poses Human Pandemic Threat

Scientists say the H5N1 avian influenza virus has the potential to infect and spread among humans, raising the possibility of a catastrophic global pandemic. This and other findings about H5N1 were published this week in the journal Science, less than a year after their release was withheld at the request of US government and World Health Organization officials, over concerns that the information could fall into the hands of terrorists.

In a series of articles published in Science, researchers describe how the H5N1 avian flu virus is capable of jumping species and being spread by airborne transmission among mammals -- including humans.

Dutch and British researchers conducted experiments with ferrets, small mammals that provide a good model for human illness. The scientists found they could infect the upper airways of the animals with a mutated H5N1 virus. Scientists say none of the ferrets died.