Quang Binh Bird Flu Transmission
Recombinomics Commentary
March 20, 2005
>> Hoang Trong Duong, 5, of Tuyen Hoa District was admitted to Hue Central Hospital on Tuesday with typical bird flu symptoms - high fever, coughing, and respiratory problems.
He is being treated in an isolation ward with respiratory support equipment.
Duong's sister, Hoang Thi Huong, was hospitalised with a high fever and died on March 9. According to Quang Binh Health Department's doctors, she had severe pneumonia.
Huong was not tested for the virus, said the institute's deputy director, Professor Pham Ngoc Dinh. <<
The additional detail above once again points toward a bimodal distribution of onset dates. Almost a week after the death of the index case (13F), a sibling (5M) is hospitalized with bird flu symptoms, placed on a respirator, and tests positive for H5N1. This cluster also points toward the index case transmitting H5N1 to a family member.
The report does not mention the status of the third sibling. It also does not update information on the patient admitted on March 17 from the adjacent district, Quang Trach. Since 1-3 of the siblings were initially treated locally in Quang Binh, any connection between the most recent reported admission and treatment of any of the siblings in Quang Binh would be of interest.
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