Bird Flu Update

Unfortunately, with the virus now spreading to Turkey, it looks like its mutation into a more easily transmissible agent from human to human has begun:

Genetic tests of samples taken from Turkish victims of the bird flu virus show it has made a small change but probably not enough to make it more dangerous yet, researchers said on Thursday.

The mutation is one that would be expected in a highly changeable virus, the experts said, and is one that would be predicted to eventually allow it to cause a pandemic.
[...]
Scientists are carefully watching the virus to see if it makes the changes needed to allow it to pass easily from human to human, which could spark a pandemic that could kill millions.

And this is the scariest part:

The H5N1 virus remains largely a virus that affects birds. But all influenza viruses mutate and evolve very easily, and regularly change into what are known as pandemic strains, which spread rapidly around the world, infecting and killing unusually large numbers of people.

Did you read that? ALL INFLUENZA VIRUSES MUTATE AND EVOLVE VERY EASILY, AND REGULARLY CHANGE INTO WHAT ARE KNOWN AS PANDEMIC STRAINS.

How long before the mutation is indeed enough to make it more dangerous and start a pandemic? I guess all we can hope for is that when that mutation does occur (at this point it's not even a question of "if" anymore) it mitigates the virus' killing-machine power that currently terminates almost 50% of its victims.