"No recognized authority on H5N1 considers that living people have any useful resistance to H5N1, except possibly for recent survivors."
In any case, Kilbourne said the makeup of H5N1 itself might dampen its impact. The "N1" part of the virus refers to the classification of a certain protein on its surface. Another kind of N1 human flu virus has been widely circulating since 1977, so it's recognizable to the immune systems of many people.
When the "N" part of the flu virus didn't change between the pandemics of 1957 and 1968, the latter was a milder killer, Kilbourne noted.
So as for the current bird flu, "I am less concerned about all this business than others because I think the N1 immunity that everyone in this population has now ... may well mitigate the effects," he said.
So as for the current bird flu, "I am less concerned about all this business than others because I think the N1 immunity that everyone in this population has now ... may well mitigate the effects," he said. That's just rose-colored speculation, right? In any event, it hasn't much mitigated the effect on those thus far infected.