Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a test tube labelled "Bird Flu", in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's leading experts on influenza met this week to discuss the threat posed to humans by a strain of H5N1 avian flu that has caused record numbers of bird deaths around the world in recent months.

The group of scientists, regulators and vaccine manufacturers meets twice a year to decide which strain of seasonal flu to include in the vaccine for the upcoming winter season, in this case for the northern hemisphere.