H5N1 virus [avian flu] (2006)

acrylic on canvas 610mm x 610mm

H5N1 is a highly pathogenic strain of the influenza virus. Since the appearance of the strain in 2003 hundreds of millions of birds have become infected and died.
While evidence of human to human transmission is contested, a similar outbreak of cross-species influenza in 1918 became a global pandemic responsible for the deaths of over 50 million people.