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Public Health Solutions
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Crete, NE 68333-2562
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Avian Influenza ("Bird Flu") Update
March 5, Reuters – (International) Indonesia says H5N1 samples show no signs of mutation. Bird flu virus samples that Indonesia sent to a World Health Organization laboratory last month have not shown signs of any mutation, a health ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Scientists need to share and analyze H5N1 virus samples to see if they have mutated to become more easily passed between people as that could mean the start of a pandemic. Such analyses are also needed in the making of vaccines, a chief weapon in the fight against a pandemic. The lack of mutation means the virus remains hard for humans to catch. Worldwide, the virus has infected 368 people in 14 countries since 2003, killing 234, or 64 percent, of them. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSJAK15052820080305?sp=true
(PHS, 2/2/08)
The lack of media coverage on this subject in recent months might lead some to think the situation is over, but Avian Influenza H5N1 continues to be of concern. The World Health Organization reports that at least 219 human deaths have occurred world-wide from avian influenza, almost all of these occurring after direct exposure to infected poultry. Difficulties with controlling avian influenza in bird flocks have been reported recently in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Egypt. Fortunately there have been no human avian influenza cases in the U.S., thus the larger threat to Americans is the seasonal influenza that circulates each year. Stay posted for more updates as they become available.
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