Evergreen medical profile
Influenza A (H5N1)
This page is medical background from WHO/CDC citations. It is not current-event intelligence.
- Pathogen
- Influenza A virus subtype H5N1
- Transmission
- Primarily birds; rare mammal and human infections. Sustained human-to-human transmission has not been established in typical seasonal patterns (WHO/CDC).
- Incubation
- Generally 2–8 days for human infections (WHO).
- Typical symptoms
- Fever, cough, shortness of breath; severe pneumonia possible.
- Treatment
- Antivirals may be used; clinical guidance from WHO/CDC.
- Vaccine
- Candidate and stockpile vaccines exist; not a routine public vaccine.
- Historical fatality
- Reported human case-fatality has been high in past outbreaks; depends on surveillance bias.