Pandemic Québec

Since appearing in Asia in 1996, the strain of the influenza A avian virus that is worrying public health authorities has been under close scrutiny.

Over the last few months, despite spreading from Asia to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, this strain has remained genetically stable without increasing its ability to infect humans.

For the H5N1 avian virus to cause a pandemic in humans, it would first have to change its genetic characteristics and become transmittable between humans.

Given the avian flu’s mode of transmission and the surveillance measures now in place, the Québec population need not be concerned with contracting avian flu.