Bird Flu: probable man-to-man infection
Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) The World Health Organization (WHO) believes it is possible that 2 sisters, who died of avian influenza in Vietnam, contracted the virus from their brother, who had previously died probably of the same disease. The two sisters, ages 23 and 30, had come into contact with chickens and this makes is difficult to establish the origin of infection.
Experts cannot rely on lab analyses, since their brother died before he could be tested and was then cremated, rendering further investigation impossible.
This could be the first case of man-to-man infection, which health experts consider deadly, especially if the virus combines with that of the common flu.
Meanwhile another 18 year-old boy died of the bird flu this morning. The boy, who checked into Ho Chi Minh City's Tropical Disease Medical Center on Jan. 29, had eaten meat from a chicken that had died of the virus. If the WHO confirms that it was the H5N1 strain, it will be the second occurrence of human death in the southern part of the country. The other deaths were confirmed in the north.
Infections and deaths continue to increase in Thailand as well, where 3 adults in 5 suspected new cases have died. The other two suspected involve two children, aged 1 and 5. Some days ago 2 small children died, both 6 years old. The WHO considers the mass elimination of animals as the only the only efficient measure to prevent such a virus from further spreading. Therefore, 18.4 million birds were culled in Thailand, as Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra urged citizens to remain calm, assuring them that the situation was under control.
In China, suspected or confirmed cases of infection have spread to 10 provinces, with 5 new breading grounds for the disease: Yongkang (Zhejiang), Yichang (Hubei), Chenggong (Yunnan), Pingyu (Henan) and Xinjiang. Meanwhile, measures are being taken to contain the virus, despite reluctance on the part of animal farmers who still hope for financial assistance to help pay the costs of vaccinations which they must pay.
Yesterday, policed ordered the area around the market in the district of Chaoan (Guangdong) to be isolated, due to a suspected infection occurring on a goose farm in the village of Guxiang. Furthermore, yesterday farms and markets were ordered to be disinfected and animals vaccinated in the village of Putuan, 30 km from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, where centers of infection were found. The WHO has criticized China's withholding information and has asked the government to release more information regarding vaccinations.
The government in Hong Kong has banned poultry imports coming from China. Poultry salesmen in the region state having high standards of hygiene and are confident they have no infected birds. The Hong Kong government has offered free vaccinations to all local farms.
Joseph Sung Jao-yiu, president of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at the Chinese University, said the probability of human-to-human infection will increase if the virus is transmitted from birds to pigs, as happened in Hong Kong in 1997. (MR)
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03/02/2004
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