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Cluster to Cluster Transmission of H5N1 in Sagdic Dogubeyazit?
Recombinomics Commentary
January 15, 2006
Ozcan family's 15 yr old daughter Hatice Ozcan, who lives in the Sagdic village, won the battle against BF. After coming home from the hospital, Hatice was distraught with the news of her cousins death. Fatma Ozcan was put to rest yesterday afternoon in Sagdic village.
The above comments suggest that Hatice Ozcan had bird flu symptoms when she was hospitalized in Van. The test result showing no H5N1 was probably false since the two siblings hospitalized with her on January 4 were both placed in the ICU and both tested positive for H5N1. False negatives at Van were common. All four fatal cases initially tested negative and eventually tested positive for H5N1. Like Hatice, the youngest sibling of the Kocyicit cluster tested negative, even though he had symptoms and all three of his older siblings died and eventually tested positive.
These data suggest that the other 7 members of the Ozcan family that were hospitalized 1 to 2 days after Hatice also had symptoms and also were infected with H5N1, even though they tested negative. Thus, the three families, Kocyicit and the two Ozcan families, had 16 family members hospitalized and 7 tested positive for H5N1, including the four fatal cases.
The above comments also suggest all three families lived in the Sagdic village section of Dogubeyazit, since Fatma was buried there and at least one of the Ozcan families lived near the Kocyicit family.
Although all three families had contact with dead or dying chickens, the proximity and relationship between the three families raises the possibility of cluster to cluster transmission of H5N1 in the Sagdic village section of Dogubeyazit..
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