Abstract Background The ongoing H5N1 panzootic in mammals has amplified zoonotic pathways to facilitate human infection . Characterising key epidemiological parameters for H5N1 is critical should it become widespread. Aim To identify and estimate critical epidemiological parameters for H5N1 from past and current outbreaks, and to compare their characteristics with human influenza subtypes and the 2003 Netherlands H7N7 outbreak. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library for systematic reviews reporting parameter estimates from primary data or meta-analyses. To address gaps, we searched PubMed and Google Scholar for studies of any design providing relevant estimates. We estimated the basic reproduction number for the recent outbreak in the United States (US) and the 2003 Netherlands H7N7 outbreak. In addition we estimated the serial interval for H5N1 using data from previous household clusters in Indonesia. We also applied a branching...
Media Monitoring for Signals about Emerging Threats