[Pandemic influenza: impact on health care facilities in Lazio, Italy, and the role of hospitals in pandemic management].

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 has so far caused more than 250 human cases. This virus is not transmitted efficaciously from person to person, but the capacity of human-to-human transmission could be acquired in the future. Consequently, the epidemiological and virological evolution of H5N1 is strictly monitored, insofar as the virus is a potential agent of an influenza pandemic.