Most pregnant women and unborn babies who contract bird flu will die, study finds

A review of 1,500 research papers found that 90% of women infected with bird flu during pregnancy died, and almost all of their babies (87%) died with them. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

Most pregnant women who contract bird flu will die, according to an Australian review of infections that found most unborn babies with the virus also die.

Caused by influenza A viruses, a severe strain of bird flu known as highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) is spreading globally.