WHO Chief Says Risk To Public From H5N1 Remains Low

Reuters (6/12, Tétrault-Farber) reports, “The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the risk to public health from the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus remained low despite its spread among dairy cattle in the United States.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus “said the virus had not shown signs of having acquired the ability to spread easily among humans, with 893 human cases reported since 2003.” He added, “That remains the case, which is why at this time, WHO continues to assess the risk to public health as low.”