Bird Flu Human Death Toll Rises To 23 In Indonesia

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Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Article Date: 27 Mar 2006 - 14:00 PDT

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Health Authorities in Indonesia have confirmed that a one-year-old girl died as a result of H5N1 infection, bringing the total number of human deaths in the country to 23.

Hong Kong authorities have lifted a three-week ban on live poultry from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The ban was imposed after a man died as a result of bird flu infection in Guangdong's provincial capital, Guangzhou, on March 2. Chicken from Guangdong is a major source of food in Hong Kong. 20,000 live chickens have been brought in from the province by truck. The last time a human was infected with bird flu in Hong Kong was in 2003.

Authorities in Hong Kong have confirmed that a falcon has died of H5N1 infection.

As bird flu accelerates its spread around the world, now spanning from south east Asia to Western Europe and West Africa, scientists say the risk of a mutation is greater. For the H5N1 virus to mutate, it would ideally need to infect a human who has the normal flu virus. The two viruses could then exchange genetic information (mutation). If the mutated H5N1 virus could pick up, from the normal human flu virus, the ability to spread from human-to-human, we could then be facing a serious flu pandemic.

However, a recent study has shown that the H5N1 virus has to reach deep down in the human lung to infect a person. When a person is infected and sneezes, hardly any viruses are expelled into the air (because they are so deep down). This is why it is virtually impossible for a human to infect another human and very hard for humans to catch bird flu from birds. Since 2003 hundreds of millions of birds have died as a result of bird flu infection, but only 105 humans.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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