Bird flu or Avian flu, also avian influenza, bird influenza, means flu from viruses adapted to birds, but is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to both other flu subsets such as H5N1 flu or the viruses that cause them such as H5N1.

Laos bird flu case h5 type avian flu

Bird Flu :: Laos bird flu case h5 type avian flu

A woman who fell ill last month is probably the second human victim of bird flu in Laos, although conclusive test results are still pending, a Health Ministry official said on sunday, reported by Times of India.

Laboratory results showed that the woman from the capital province of Vientiane tested positive for an H5-type flu virus. However, it will take about six more days to know if she has the virulent H5N1 subtype, Dr Bounlay Phommasack said.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as A(H5N1) or H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus that can cause illness in humans and many other animal species. H5N1 is a subtype of the species Influenza A virus of the Influenzavirus A genus of the Orthomyxoviridae family. Like all other influenza A subtypes, the H5N1 subtype is an RNA virus.

Since 2004, some 270 humans have been infected with bird flu in 10 countries, with about 167 fatalities, mostly in Asia, according to the World Health Organization.

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