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WHO: avian influenza virus (H5N1) poses no risk to human health
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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The mutated strain of the bird flu virus (H5N1) does not pose an increased risk to human health, AFP reports, citing the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The new strain of the H5N1 influenza virus was first detected in Vietnam in 2009. In late August 2011, the FAO reported that this strain of the bird flu pathogen had become prevalent in the country - the new virus had been detected in 16 Vietnamese provinces.
Following this, some media outlets published reports about the threat posed by the spread of the new virus. WHO and FAO denied these reports. According to the organizations, experts do not yet have data confirming the increased danger of the mutated H5N1 flu virus to humans.
According to WHO, Vietnam ranks second after Indonesia in terms of bird flu mortality. In particular, since 2003, Vietnamese doctors have registered 59 fatal cases of the infection. In total, more than 500 cases of H5N1 influenza virus infection have been confirmed worldwide, and at least 300 infected people have died.