Black Megan, Armstrong Paul
New South Wales Public Health Officer Training Program, New South Wales Department of Health.
N S W Public Health Bull. 2006 Jul-Aug;17(7-8):99-103. doi: 10.1071/nb06024.
There are many types of influenza viruses, which cause illness in a variety of birds and mammals. New strains are constantly evolving, causing seasonal influenza epidemics in humans. This article provides information about influenza and influenza viruses, and the three influenza pandemics of the twentieth century. Pandemic influenza is differentiated from avian influenza, which is a viral disease that primarily infects birds. The current outbreak of avian influenza H5N1 in poultry flocks across the world is unprecedented in its spread. Human infection with avian influenza is rare and for most strains the symptoms are usually mild. A notable exception is HN51, where almost 60 per cent of the currently recorded 251 human cases have died. While the risk of a pandemic occurring in the current circumstances is unknown, there is a high level of concern worldwide.
流感病毒有多种类型，可在多种鸟类和哺乳动物中引发疾病。新的毒株不断演变，导致人类季节性流感疫情。本文提供了有关流感和流感病毒的信息，以及20世纪的三次流感大流行情况。大流行性流感与禽流感有所不同，禽流感是一种主要感染禽类的病毒性疾病。目前全球家禽群中H5N1禽流感的爆发，其传播规模是前所未有的。人类感染禽流感很罕见，而且大多数毒株的症状通常较轻。一个显著的例外是H5N1，在目前记录的251例人类病例中，近60%已经死亡。虽然在当前情况下发生大流行的风险尚不清楚，但全球都高度关注。
