Re: Pakistan: December 18+, WHO Begins Investigations
Re: Pakistan: December 18+, WHO Begins Investigations
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (171): PAKISTAN
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Wed 19 Dec 2007
Source: Associated Press (AP) report [edited]
<
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/ap/20071219/tap-as-gen-pakistan-bird-flu-2nd-ld-
writ-d3b07b8.html>
A 2nd team of health experts were on their way to Pakistan on Wed 19 Dec
2007 to analyze samples from suspected bird flu cases to determine how the
virus spread and whether human-to-human transmission may have occurred. The
experts from the United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo,
scheduled to arrive Thu 20 Dec 2007, were expected to retest samples
already gathered from a number of patients who were positive for the H5N1
bird flu virus in initial government analysis. Once the cases are
confirmed, work will begin to piece together how the victims became
infected. Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi, spokesman for Pakistan's health
ministry, said earlier the team had arrived on Wed 19 Dec 2007, but World
Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Gregory Hartl in Geneva said they were
due a day later.
Five brothers became unwell last month [November 2007] in Abbotabad, north
of Islamabad. Two died, one of whom was buried before tests were conducted.
The other 4 tested positive for the virus. Up to 6 more people were
suspected of being infected, including several who were in contact with
poultry. WHO and the health ministry had initially said only 4 brothers
were suspected of being infected, but one patient identified as a cousin
was actually another brother. Outbreaks were reported among birds
[poultry?] in the area before the human cases. However, Abassi stressed
that there have been no new reports of bird flu in poultry or people.
On Tue 18 Dec 2007, a separate WHO team visited a hospital that treated
some of the patients in the north western city of Peshawar. They were
working with doctors and nurses on how to handle suspected cases and
improve infection control measures. "They want to go through the records in
the hospital for the last month or two to see if there's been any upsurge
in respiratory cases that weren't identified as H5N1 but which could
actually be [cases]," said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman in Geneva. The
team will look to see which patients could have been exposed to the virus
by infected birds and also whether human-to-human transmission could have
occurred.
One of the brothers who survived said he was hospitalized with flu symptoms
after slaughtering chickens suspected of carrying bird flu without wearing
protective clothing last month [November 2007]. His brothers who died
visited him in a hospital, he said.
Hartl said no new cases have been discovered, but increased awareness has
led to more people with flu-like symptoms being checked. "What this is
showing is that they're taking everything very, very seriously," Hartl
said. "Surveillance has been enhanced, more people are reporting cases and
more people have been sensitized on the heath care worker side of the need
to notice."
At least 209 people have died worldwide from the virus, which began
plaguing Asian poultry stocks in late 2003, according to the WHO. It
remains hard for people to catch, but scientists worry it could mutate into
a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.
[byline: Margie Mason]
--
communicated by:
Christian Griot <
Christian.Griot@ivi.admin.ch>
[This is another variation on the same theme, which begins with
contradicting statements about the date of arrival of a 2nd WHO team.
Nonetheless, there is now greater hope of clarification of the situation in
the near future.
The 4 brothers at the centre of the outbreak have become 5, and all but one
of the 2 deceased brothers tested positive for H5N1. One other case
previously identified as a cousin has been identified as a 5th brother, but
there is no mention of another brother previously reported to have tested
H5N1 negative on return to the USA.
The relationships of another 6 suspected cases are not stated. - Mod.CP]
[see also:
Avian influenza, human (169): Pakistan 20071218.4072
Avian influenza, human (168): Pakistan 20071217.4059
Avian influenza, human (167): Pakistan 20071216.4049
Avian influenza, human (166): Pakistan, WHO 20071215.4038
Avian influenza, human (165): Pakistan 20071214.4023
Avian influenza, human (163): Pakistan 1st report 20071213.4008]
....................cp/msp/sh
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