Limited human-to-human transmission could not be ruled out for some family clusters of bird flu where there was close contact between family members. However, none of these clusters have led to larger outbreaks in the general community indicating that the virus does not spread easily among people.

The disease has hit hardest in China, especially in Hong Kong and the southern province of Guangdong. But there has also been a number of cases in Hanoi and in Singapore. The outbreak nearest to the United States has been in Toronto. Updated information about international cases can be found on the World Health Organization Web site at http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en.

Last year there were almost 10,000 human cases of WNV detected, including 262 deaths in the United States.

ThinPrep Pap specimens and specimens collected with the hc2 DNA Collection Device are approved for testing with Digene Hybrid Capture 2 DNA Assay. ThinPrep Pap specimens must be less than three weeks old. There must also be sufficient quantity remaining after processing the pap smear to perform the HPV testing. Also, tissue specimens (paraffin embedded) can be tested for high and low risk HPV using the in situ hybridization. Tissue specimens are stable indefinitely.

WNV was first identified in Maine in 2001. During 2003, West Nile Virus was documented (through testing of dead birds and mosquitoes) in twelve of Maine’s 16 counties. In 2005, 22 birds tested positive for WNV in Maine, one in Cumberland County, and the rest in York County. Experts believe that WNV is well established in the ecologic systems of most areas in the United States and that it continues to spread and that it will remain with us for many years to come.

Until now there has been no clear evidence to support this opinion but we can't ignore this possibility entirely. It seems that the spreading of the virus in South-East Asia is the result of transporting sick birds among farms. The locations in which the virus was isolated do not correspond with migration time and direction of wild birds. Nevertheless the recent cases in Europe were identified in locations that overlap with migration trails (including the Danube Delta).

The influenza virus is primarily spread by airborne droplets, which easily infect your sensitive spots such as your eyes, nose, and mouth. Touching contaminated surfaces and touching your face can spread the influenza virus.

If the H5N1 virus, or any other avian flu virus, develops the ability to spread from one person to another, we may be faced with a flu pandemic. Pandemics occur when new flu viruses emerge because people have no immunity to the disease. In the previous century, there were three flu pandemics: 1918, 1957, and 1968. The 1918 flu pandemic was the most deadly of the three, killing between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide.

The avian influenza virus is different from the human influenza virus; it normally attacks only birds, rarely humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized that the current avian and human influenza viruses impose the need for increased vigilance because of the possibility of genetic material being exchanged between the viruses.

Although H5N1 can cause serious problems to human health, it is difficult to be infected with the virus and, until now, there has been no evidence that it can spread from one person to another. The problem would become most critical if the virus were found to be transmitted from human to human. In the past 100 years there were 4 A-type influenza pandemics that resulted in many deaths around the world.

Human Papilloma virus one of the most common viral infections transmitted most commonly through sexual contacts. There are more than 90 strains or types of HPV but only some have the capability or predilection to infect the genitals. The overwhelming HPV infections are asymptomatic and pass off quickly once the body develops its immunity against the viruses.

VALTREX is the only medication proven to reduce the risk of spreading genital herpes to a partner. Safer sex practices should be used with daily therapy. Always practice safer sex, even if you've been in the same relationship for a very long time. Do not have sex if you are having an outbreak or think you are about to get one. Always use a condom when you have sex. Take VALTREX every day as prescribed. It is not known if VALTREX reduces the risk of spreading genital herpes in same sex couples.

The risk of spreading the herpes-simplex virus is greatest when fluid has already formed in the blisters and these then burst.

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS; HIV weakens several body systems and destroys the body's immune system, making it easier for life threatening cancers or opportunistic infections to invade the body.

No, the human influenza vaccine currently available does not protect against bird flu viruses. Clinical trials are underway now for a human vaccine to protect against the "bird flu".

We don't think so. It is assumed that a person would develop a natural immunity to future infection by the virus, and that this immunity would be lifelong. However, this immunity may wane in later years. Infections with West Nile Virus may, or may not, produce illness. A few people who get ill may seek medical care. Those with severe enough disease that has the appearance of West Nile and similar viruses may have blood or spinal fluid sampled for testing.

The usual indication is what we call clusters. This is where groups of people get sick. What we see with the H5N1, the avian flu, is individual cases -- somebody that has been on a chicken farm, someone that has been with chickens that have been dying, has close contact because they look after the birds or they slaughter the birds. They are just solitary cases.

Viruses are notorious shape-shifters, able to constantly rearrange their genes and swap genetic material with different strains. Virologists are watching carefully for evidence that the microbe has begun swapping genetic material with a human virus — that’s when it could turn deadly for people. One worrisome sign: This summer there were reports out of Indonesia that the virus was found in pigs, which often act as incubators for human infections.

So far, human infections with avian H5 influenza viruses have not started jumping from human to human. There have been some instances of multiple cases in one family, but no evidence of a chain of two or more successive human to human transmissions.

The most important way to keep from spreading TB is to take all your medicine, exactly as told by your doctor. Keep all of your clinic appointments. Your doctor needs to see how you are doing. You may need another chest x-ray or a test of your phlegm. These tests will show whether the medicine is working. They will also show whether you can still give TB bacteria to others.

HIV is spread through sexual contact, sharing contaminated needles, heavy exposure to infected blood or body fluids and transfusion of infected blood or blood products. It is not spread by simple kissing or hugging, sharing eating utensils or toilets. Caregivers who are exposed to urine, blood or feces should use latex gloves. If possible, abstaining from intercourse is recommended, as the only 100% safe sex is no sex at all.

It is quite difficult to estimate the likelihood of when it will happen. Bird virus has been around at least since 1996; we haven't had that event despite very close contact between humans and birds in Southeast Asia and China. We have had a nine-year period where no event has occurred. Now, the next nine or ten years, the likelihood is that it will occur. But we are not certain what the product will be that comes out.

Most women never know they have HPV. It usually stays hidden and doesn't cause symptoms like warts. When HPV doesn't go away on its own, it can cause changes in the cells of the cervix. Pap tests usually find these changes.

Protection against disease transmission is much less effective against such sexually transmitted diseases as Herpes and the Human Papilloma Virus, which can be located on skin surfaces not covered or protected by a condom. The female condom theoretically may be more effective in this situation because it covers a greater area.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is fragile. Once the virus is outside the body in a dry form, it dies immediately. Even in a wet state, it does not live long when exposed to heat, detergents, or disinfectants. When stored in blood banks at 4°C, it can live for about 3 weeks (or longer), or till the white cell disintegrates, but in a frozen state it can survive for years.

Fortunately, most people who become infected with West Nile virus do not get sick--their body fights off the infection and protective antibodies develop. About 20% (1 person out of 5) develop West Nile fever with symptoms that may include fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, rash, and joint pain. Some people with West Nile fever are quite ill for up to several weeks and may see their doctor, but hospital care is not usually needed.