聯合國警告新的禽流感病毒威脅

聯合國警告說，一種致命的禽流感病毒可能再次引發疫情，包括一個正在亞洲和其它地區蔓延的突變株。聯合國屬下的世界糧食和農業組織星期一表示，在中國和越南出現H5N1禽流感病毒的一種突變株，能夠避開現有的疫苗防禦。該機構還說，這種禽流感今年在柬埔寨已造成8人死亡，包括一名本月死亡的6歲女孩。

H5N1病毒2003年首次被發現，並在2006年進入爆發高峯期，蔓延到63個國家。最後大多數國家通過大規模撲殺家禽而使其銷聲匿跡。但是這種病毒持續在孟加拉國、中國、埃及、印度、印度尼西亞和越南傳播。世界糧食和農業組織說，在2010年和2011年間，有將近800個禽流感病例。

The United Nations is warning of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, including a mutant strain that is spreading in Asia and world body's Food and Agriculture Organization said Monday that a variant strain of the H5N1 virus ((known as H5N1 - )), which appears able to bypass the defenses of existing vaccines, has appeared in China and agency also said bird flu has killed eight people in Cambodia this year, including a 6-year-old girl who died this month.

The H5N1 virus was first detected in 2003, and by the peak of the outbreak in 2006, had spread to 63 nations, before it was eradicated in most of those countries due to a mass culling of domestic the virus continued to infect people in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The agency says there were almost 800 cases of bird flu reported between 2010 and 2011.