Many people are aware that flu is supposedly a seasonal disease, waxing and waning with temperature and seasons. But whose seasons? When CARE first started working on AI, Maryann and I looked into understanding the "flu season" in other parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia.
The truth is, no one really knows a lot about the seasonality of flu in the southern hemisphere or in tropical climates. It's not a well studied phenomena there.
So, what does that mean for a potential pandemic? Researchers had previously been working under the assumption that colder months would be more likely for reassortment (where, in one host, the H5N1 virus may mix genetic material with a human flu virus, making it more powerful and possibly creating a pandemic). With this new article from CIDRAP, researchers are assuming less about seasonality and pointing to other important characteristics.
Read more at:
"Researchers warn H5N1 reassortment can occur beyond winter months"
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/jul2507seasonal.html
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