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Large Familial Clusters In Turkey Raise Pandemic Concerns
Recombinomics Commentary
January 6, 2006
Yusuf Tunç (5), Sümeyya Pamuk (10), Semra Topçu (35) and Orhan Topçu'ya (38) also kuş gribi (bird flu) treatment carried out begin. Yesterday also Erciş Devlet Hastanesi'nden Türkan Sökmen (59), Doğubayazıtlı Özcan Ailesi'nden mother Refika (33), child Hakan (15), Rümeysa (1), Hatice (15), Ayşegül (9), Yusuf (3), Mehmet (13), Ahmet (11), Mustafa (6), sick chicken meat yedikleri (seven-?) gram? Ümran (17), Zehra (14), Riba (12), Mahmut (5) and Kübra Işık (4) siblings also Van'da treatment altına alındı. Coop bir (together?) chicken to die Yavuz (6) and Ozan Gültepe (5) siblings also
The above machine translation of the H5N1 positive patients in Van indicate that most or all of the cases are from familial clusters, one of which appears to have 10 members.
Large and frequent familial clusters signal efficient H5N1 transmission, either from a common source or human-to-human transmission. Information on disease onset dates would help distinguish the two possibilities, but the clusters indicate transmission to humans is efficient, regardless of source.
This increase efficiency is cause for concern because of the increasing number of poultry outbreaks in Turkey, as well as the temporal relationship with human cases.
These data suggest H5N1 in the migratory birds has changed and this change is causing simultaneous outbreaks over large regions of Turkey.
It is likely that this version of H5N1 will spread beyond the borders of Turkey, significantly increasing the number of countries reporting human H5N1 cases.
Since these human cases have just begun, the stability of this version of H5N1 in birds remains unclear. However, the efficient transmission to humans allow for rapid tracking of this version of H5N1.
Sequence data from H5N1 isolates from the associated birds and people would be useful.
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