More Detail on Suspect H5N1 Patients Hospitalized in Calcutta
Recombinomics Commentary 01:05
February 4, 2008
A senior health department official said Tarak Nath, 29, was brought to the hospital after he complained of high fever and headache. Tarak was part of the culling operation in Budge Budge. He reportedly did not continue the anti-viral Tamiflu tablets during and after the operation.
The above comments provide additional detail on one of the three cullers hospitalized in Calcutta. Like many of the cullers in West Bengal, he did not receive a full course of oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Budge Budge is in suburban Calcutta and near the site of teal deaths (see satellite map here and here).
High fever and headache are early symptoms of avian influenza, raising concerns that the lack of a full Tamiflu course contributed to an H5N1 infection. It is unclear if the other two patients also failed to take a full course of Tamiflu while culling.
H5N1 in a Calcutta culler would create considerable concern. In addition to the confirmed poultry deaths, there have been reports of dead resident and migratory wild birds in the city.
More detail on these patients would be useful.
Media Links
Recombinomics Presentations
Recombinomics Publications
Recombinomics Paper at Nature Precedings