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Science Forum Index » Agriculture - Poultry Forum » Bird Flu Human Deaths Confirmed, Pakistan
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| Old Codger |
 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:18 am |
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Bird Flu Human Deaths Confirmed, Pakistan
04 Apr 2008
H5N1 Bird flu (avian flu) did kill some family members in Peshawar,
north-west Pakistan last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has
confirmed after carrying out tests at its WHO H5 Reference Laboratory
in Cairo, Egypt, and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and
Research on Influenza in Atlanta, USA.
Last year the north-west and southern areas of Pakistan were hit by
bird flu. Tens of thousands of birds were destroyed in an attempt to
stem the spread of the disease. Last Thursday WHO confirmed that
people had died as a result of bird flu infection.
However, according to WHO "The preliminary risk assessment found no
evidence of sustained or community human to human transmission." In
other words, the infection did not extend into the community.
In an interview with the BBC, Mukhtiar Zaman Afridi, Head of Isolation
Ward, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, where the patients were
being treated, said that an infected poultry worker seems to have
passed the infection on to relatives. The patient then made a full
recovery. Unfortunately, his brother became infected and later died.
Two more brothers became infected, one of whom died while the other
made a full recovery. As only the first infected person had had
contact with sick/dead birds, the others must have got the bird flu
from him or each other.
Here are the results of the four cases of the family cluster in
Peshawar
Case 1 (Index case, first infected person)
Onset date - 29 Oct 07
Outcome - Fully recovered
Exposure - Direct contact with sick/dead birds
Status - Confirmed (serology)
Case 2 (brother)
Onset date - 12 Nov 07
Outcome - Dead (19 Nov 07)
Exposure - Close contact with Case 1, no known contact with sick/dead
birds
Status - Probably (no sample available)
Case 3 (brother)
Onset date - 21 Nov 07
Outcome - Dead (28 Nov 07)
Exposure - Close contact with Case 1&2, no known contact with
sick/dead birds)
Status - Confirmed (PCR)
Case 4 (brother)
Onset date - 21 Nov 07
Outcome - Fully recovered
Exposure - Close contact with Case 1&2, no known contact with
sick/dead birds
Status - Confirmed (serology)
*Serology - the technique of determining antigens or antibodies in
serum
What is Bird Flu (Avian Influenza)
Bird flu (avian influenza) is a disease cause by viruses. It is a
contagious disease which infects only birds, and occasionally pigs.
The avian influenza viruses attack specific species - they have
sometimes jumped the species barrier and infected people. However,
this has been extremely rare, and continues to be rare.
As far as farmed birds are concerned (poultry), there are two main
types of avian influenza - one is fairly mild while the other is
deadly (for birds).
Mild
Low pathogenic forms of bird flu may cause a bird to have more ruffled
feathers and lay fewer eggs. This form is often undetected among
farmed poultry (in many cases the bird is infected, and then gets
better and nobody noticed).
Deadly (H5N1)
The highly pathogenic form of bird flu is much more dangerous. It has
a mortality rate of virtually 100% and spreads very rapidly among
flocks of birds. A bird infected with the more virulent type of bird
flu (the highly pathogenic form) experiences deterioration of many
internal organs.
Written by - Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102915.php
Main News Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Appears In: Respiratory / Asthma, Infectious Diseases /
Bacteria / Viruses, |
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