Commentary
Suspect
H5N1 Cluster in Dong Thap Southern Vietnam
Recombinomics Commentary
15:10
March 20, 2009
When hospitalized on March 19, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen suffered breathing difficulties as a result of serious pneumonia. Initial examinations show that the little girl did not eat poultry but there were three dead birds found 100m from her house.
The above translation describes the hospitalization of another patient (4F) from the same district as the confirmed fatal case (3M) who died yesterday. Other local reports describe the admission of an adult from the same district, but the translation may be describing the above patient, since she is older than the fatal case.
In either event, the clustering of the confirmed and suspect cases in the Chau Thanh district in Dong Thap in southern Vietnam (see updated map) represents a marked change. All prior confirmed cases this year were in northern Vietnam, as were the vast majority cases last year.
This clustering may represent increased transmission efficiency. More information on the hospitalized case(s) and relationship, if any to the confirmed fatal case would be useful.
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