Human to human avian flu transmission?
Health officials have confirmed that bird flu has killed six members of a single family in rural Indonesia, and doctors have tried to determine whether the virus was passed from person to personWhile not great news, I wouldn't be too worried yet, either. There has been apparent human-to-human spread before. From the WHO
Though rare, instances of limited human-to-human transmission of H5N1 and other avian influenza viruses have occurred in association with outbreaks in poultry and should not be a cause for alarm. In no instance has the virus spread beyond a first generation of close contacts or caused illness in the general community. Data from these incidents suggest that transmission requires very close contact with an ill person.As long as this strain of influenza stops in this family I don't think it is any big news. Note also that all the family members were in close proximity to poultry, so they may have all gotten it directly from the birds.
posted by Dr. Andy @ 1:44 PM
4 Comments:
I wondered if this cluster actually represents a mutation in the FAMILY and not the virus. A mortality rate of 75% is high even for the H5N1 virus and the transmission does seem to be of a different sort than other human-to-human reports (which are rare).
A ray of hope which I had been unaware of was reported in Nature. It appears that the current virus sets up shop very deep in the lungs. While this may add to the lethality of the virus, it may reduce the transmissibility since we tend to cough particles from the upper airways, not lower. Interesting stuff. Personally Avian flu has me more worried than I have been in a long time. When a pandemic hits, it will be unlike anything my generation has experienced or is capable of understanding.
I would assume the same that the family all got it from the birds. Until it is confirmed to be spreading from human to human, I will just have to wait and watch like the rest of us!
is it possible doc ?
I was diagnosed as HEPATITIS B carrier in 2013 with fibrosis of the
liver already present. I started on antiviral medications which
reduced the viral load initially. After a couple of years the virus
became resistant. I started on HEPATITIS B Herbal treatment from
ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC (www.ultimatelifeclinic.com) in March, 2020. Their
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the 6 months long treatment and tested negative to the virus. Amazing
treatment! This treatment is a breakthrough for all HBV carriers.
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