Bird flu may not yet be human pandemic, but fear is harming world poultry trade.(MARKET TRENDS)

Quick Frozen Foods International, April, 2006

The number of bird flu deaths worldwide is going up. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the deaths of five people in Azerbaljan and one each in China and Egypt have pushed the overall number of human fatalities to 105, and there could be more in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the first study of a human vaccine showed that even a massive dose failed to protect nearly half of those inoculated. The vaccine for the avian flu strain known as H5N1 was far less effective than the standard seasonal flu vaccine, which protects 70% to 90% of the people who get the shot, according to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Worries about bird flu have dampened trade prospects for American poultry producers who already are facing lower prices, according to...

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