| Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) have acquired the unprecedented and alarming capability to infect humans. By establishing a permanent ecological niche in wild birds, HPAIV will pose a continuous risk for poultry and fatal human infections, especially if these birds excrete HPAIV without showing any clinical signs of disease. These changes in the ecology of the disease and behaviour of the virus may create opportunities for a pandemic virus to emerge... |