More Symptoms in Hospitalized Calcutta Cullers
Recombinomics Commentary 22:36
February 4, 2008
The South 24-Parganas district health administration on Monday collected the blood samples of one more culling team member, who is suffering from fever, cough and joint aches. Aminuddin is now admitted to Muchisha Block Hospital and is under surveillance. The district health authorities do not know whether Aminuddin had taken the dose of Tamiflu that was prescribed to him before he went for culling.
The above comments describe symptoms of another culler hospitalized near Calcutta (see satellite map here and here). It is not clear if there are two or three cullers hospitalized, but the above symptoms are similar to those of the first culler, and the issue of complete courses of oseltamivir is still open.
The repeated references to blood samples for testing also remain confusing. Virus is typically detected in throat swabs, so it remains unclear if throat swabs are being collected from the suspect patients. India has never reported H5N1 in a wild bird or patient, and testing conditions and procedures may be a factor. H5N1 is rarely isolated from blood samples, and is more commonly found in throat swabs or lung fluid collections if there are lower respiratory symptoms.
Earlier, patients were called influenza patients, but it s not clear that any of the patients has been positive in influenza tests.
More detail om testing procedures and results would be useful.
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