Bird Flu Fatality Rate in Humans Climbs to 64%

May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu has killed 64 percent of those people known to be infected with the virus this year, according to World Health Organization statistics, with the number of fatalities since Jan. 1 surpassing 2005 levels.

At least 47 of 73 people known to be infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza are reported to have died in the first five months of this year, the WHO said on its Web site yesterday. In 2005, 41 of 95 -- or 43 percent -- died.

Health officials are worried the lethal H5N1 virus may mutate into a form that's easily spread among people, touching off a pandemic similar to the one that began in 1918 in which as many as 50 million people died.

In Indonesia, where the rate of fatalities among H5N1 patients is 78 percent, officials are investigating a suspected 33rd death in the country.

A 20-year-old man died in East Java's city of Surabaya today after he had been treated in the Budi Mulia Hospital since May 9, the Antara state news agency said. Samples from the man were sent to Jakarta for testing to confirm H5N1 infection, the report said.

Eleven other people are being tested, including three who are under quarantine in Surabaya with avian flu-like symptoms, Antara reported.

Since 2003, 123 of the 217 people known to be infected with bird flu have died, the WHO said on its Web site. Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Djibouti this year joined Vietnam, Thailand, China, Indonesia and Cambodia in reporting human H5N1 cases.

Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or taking off feathers, according to the WHO. Cooking meat and eggs properly kills the virus.

Romania

In Romania, the manager of an industrial poultry farm was arrested yesterday on charges of allowing the farm to sell chickens possibly infected with avian flu, Agence France-Presse reported, citing unidentified prosecutors in the town of Brasov.

The manager is the third person from the poultry business in Codlea to be arrested in the last few days, AFP reported.

Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said yesterday that the avian flu virus had continued to spread across the country, with 20 outbreaks confirmed in the past week, bringing the number of localities affected to more than 60, AFP reported. Two possible outbreaks are being investigated on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, along with 26 sites other sites, it said.

I'd like to know the results of the blood tests of those 57 villagers who had contact with the family cluster, not to see if the virus has spread (I think we'd know by now), but just to see if any may have had the virus at some point and had antibodies.  As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong)

May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu has killed 64 percent of those people known to be infected with the virus this year, according to World Health Organization statistics, with the number of fatalities since Jan. 1 surpassing 2005 levels.

At least 47 of 73 people reported to have contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza died in the first five months of this year, the WHO said on its Web site yesterday. In 2005, 41 of 95 -- or 43 percent -- died.

Health officials are worried the lethal H5N1 virus may mutate into a form that's easily spread among people, touching off a pandemic similar to the one that began in 1918 in which as many as 50 million people died. Human infections are being reported more frequently this year as the virus spread to wild birds and poultry in more than 30 countries on three continents.

In Indonesia, where the rate of fatalities among H5N1 patients is 78 percent, officials are investigating a suspected 33rd death in the country.

A 20-year-old man died in East Java's city of Surabaya today after he had been treated in the Budi Mulia Hospital since May 9, the Antara state news agency said. Samples from the man were sent to Jakarta for testing to confirm H5N1 infection, the report said.

Romania

Eleven other people are being tested, including three who are under quarantine in Surabaya with avian flu-like symptoms, Antara reported.

Since 2003, 123 of the 217 people known to be infected with bird flu have died, the WHO said on its Web site. Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Djibouti this year joined Vietnam, Thailand, China, Indonesia and Cambodia in reporting human H5N1 cases.

Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or taking off feathers, according to the WHO. Cooking meat and eggs properly kills the virus.

In the Romanian capital of Bucharest, the districts of Andronache and Luica were sealed off today pending the results of tests on poultry for avian flu, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Constantin Savu, a senior veterinary official said.

Ban on Fowl?

About 2,000 people live in the semi-rural areas on the northeast and southern edges of the city, AFP reported. Quarantine and sanitization measures are being implemented and traffic is being diverted, it said.

Mayor Adriean Videanu said yesterday that about 50,000 fowl are raised in Bucharest and officials are seriously considering banning them, according to the report.

Yesterday, the manager of an industrial poultry farm in Romania was arrested on charges of allowing the farm to sell chickens possibly infected with avian flu, AFP said in a separate report, citing unidentified prosecutors in the town of Brasov.

The manager is the third person from the poultry business in Codlea to be arrested in the last few days, AFP said.


To contact the reporter on this story:
Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 20, 2006 17:12 EDT


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