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update:Jun 13, 2006
Cluster case started from contact with sick chicken
Chickens are dying in unusually large numbers in the same part of
Indonesia where as many as seven people were killed by the H5N1 avian influenza
virus. Experts now believe that the first victim in this cluster case was
probably infected by a diseased bird.
Health experts are still investigating the case, which has drawn strong
interest because it is the largest known family cluster involving H5N1. The
World Health Organisation (WHO) said this week that limited human-to-human
transmission between members of the family might have occurred, although the
organisation is not planning to increase the global bird flu alert
level.
The United Nations agency currently rates the level of pandemic
threat at three on a scale of six, meaning some very limited human-to-human
transmission has occurred. Level four would signal evidence of increased
human-to-human transmission.
Since re-emerging in Asia in late 2003,
the virus has infected at least 218 people worldwide, killing 124 of them. Most
of the cases occurred in places with outbreaks of the disease in poultry and
victims were infected after direct contact with sick
chickens.
Experts are at odds on the issue, with some fearing the
virus could spark a global pandemic in which millions could die if it mutates
into a form that passes easily from person to person. Others believe that the
virus is simply causing a pandemic of fear, saying that significant viral
mutations would have to occur before such an outcome would be
possible.
Genetic analysis of the strains of the virus found in the
cluster case has not indicated that any significant mutations have
occurred.
Editor WorldPoultry
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