As best as I have been able to work out, the name of the avian influenza virus reported in the trib this month was incorrect.

The Trib named it as "hn51", but as far as I can work out, the strain is actually called "h5n1", where "h5" refers to one component of the virus, and "n1" refers to another.

Latest news indicates that the virus was last seen in Russia, and India is on "high alert", while europe prepares for the possibility that migratory birds may carry the virus over the mountains and into europe.

The danger isn't the h5n1 avian flu virus itself - so far there have been only 60 or so known fatalities from the virus, and not a single case of human to human transmission has been seen. The danger is that the vrus will mutate through combining with a human flu virus, which could potentially create a deadly strain and an ensuing pandemic. However, in mutating with a human flue virus, while it would still undoubtedly be nasty, it's equally possible that the virus could become more contagious but less lethal. One of the reasons scientists are particularly concerned about this virus is because Influenza pandemics happen on a quite regular basis (every 40 years or so) and we are well overdue for a pandemic that historical evidence suggests would kill millions.