Symptoms of Fatal Suspect H5N1 Case in Nadia West Bengal
Recombinomics Commentary 21:44
January 22, 2008
Salim Malik Sheikh (8) who had been admitted to Berhampur hospital with fever, numbness and cough on Friday, did not respond to treatment and the doctors advised his immediate transfer to Infectitious Disease (ID) hospital at Beliaghata here. Salim died late on Saturday while on his way to the ID hospital, reports said.
Parents of the victim claimed that the doctors at the district hospital suspected symptoms of human flu in Salim. However, the same couldn't be confirmed.
The above comments provide additional detail on the fatal suspect H5N1 case, which was dismissed earlier by State health minister Dr Surjya Kanta Mishra who said: “This is not a case of a human death caused by avian flu. No such case has been reported in the state so far.”
The fact that the physicians at the district hospital suspected seasonal flu indicates H5N1 is a possible etiological agent in the above case..
Human H5N1 infections would not be a surprise. The H5N1 in India is likely to e similar to the H5N1 in Pakistan, which was linked to ten lab confirmed cases, including two fatal cases.
The child discussed above was in Nadia, where H5N1 is widespread, so exposure could have come from multiple sources (see satellite map). Collecting samples at this point may be technically challenging, but there seems to be little evidence fro excluding H5N1. As H5N1 continues to spread and apprioach Calcutta, more human cases may become more evident.
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