Bird Flu Victims Are Mainly Young, WHO Reports

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 11, 2006 -- The average age of bird flu victims is 20, making the current outbreak similar in that respect to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the World Health Organization said Friday.

The current death rate among people with bird flu ages 10 to 19 is 73 percent -- highest of any age group, according to the WHO report cited by the Bloomberg news service. By contrast, most victims of seasonal flu are older than age 65.

Overall, the lethal HN51 strain of bird flu has killed more than half of its victims, according to the WHO report published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record. Since 2003, 228 cases of human bird flu have been reported, including 130 deaths, Bloomberg said.

While the HN51 strain hasn't been detected in the United States, officials say they're taking no chances, according to the Associated Press. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., announced Friday that it was removing all chickens and ducks from its children's petting farm as a precaution. None of the birds is believed infected, a zoo spokesman said.

Source: http://www.msn.com/