Human to Human Transmission of Bird Flu in Hanoi
Recombinomics Commentary
January 20, 2005
>> Hung, admitted to the Tropical Disease Institute on Jan. 13 with symptoms of high temperature and damaged lungs, is now in stable health condition. His life will certainly be saved, local doctors said, noting that he has had no contact with fowls or lived in bird flu-hit areas.
On Thursday, the Tropical Disease Institute received three suspected cases of bird flu infection, of whom one is Viet's younger brother<<
The generations of bird flu transmission are almost certainly human to human transmission. The hallmark of such transmission is the sequential nature of illness. The oldest brother died, but had to be tested three times to get a positive, raising serious questions about the ability of the current assay to detect the current version of H5N1.
Next the brother of the index case became sick after caring for the index case, strongly suggesting human to human transmission.
Now a third brother has been admitted with symptoms.
This is almost certainly human to human transmission of a difficult to detect virus. Had the fatal case not transmitted, he would not have been tested 3 times. Had the middle brother not had an older brother who had died, he would not have been retested.
The multiple negative tests suggest the number of avian influenza cases in Vietnam is markedly higher than the number of confirmed cases.
As noted earlier, the pandemic will spread more quickly because of a failure to monitor, which is beyond scandalous.
.
Media link