Avian Flu: The Next Epidemic?

A deadly influenza outbreak may be on the horizon.

Since 1997, a strain of avian flu known as H5N1 has spread rapidly among birds in East Asia, reaching as far north as Siberia. If this strain, which has killed 55 percent of its known human victims, mutates into avirus easily transmitted by people, the resulting pandemic could kill millions and would have staggering global social and economic impacts.

On Monday,September 19, a panel will discuss the costs and consequences of an avian flu outbreak at the first meeting sponsored by the Wilson Center's new Global Health Initiative, from noon - 1:30 p.m. in the Wilson Center's 6th Floor Flom Auditorium. View the webcast live at http://www.wilsoncenter.org.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has launched the Global Health Initiative(http://www.wilsoncenter.org/globalhealth) to provide a forum for an interdisciplinary examination of health challenges facing the United States and the world. Delving into such topics as AIDS orphans, bioterrorism, child mortality, and gene therapy, the initiative seeks to promote dialogue about pressing health issues among the foreign policy community.