First case of human-to-human bird flu?

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 02 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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The World Health Organization (UK spelling: Organisation) Sunday confirmed two Vietnamese women recently died from bird flu, and said they may have caught the illness from their brother.

The two sisters, ages 23 and 30, both fell ill on Jan. 10, the WHO said. They were admitted to a hospital three days later and died on January 23.

Of Vietnam's 10 confirmed human cases of avian influenza, 8 have died, one has recovered and the other remains hospitalized.

The WHO said it is still trying to confirm the source of the infection for the two sisters.

'WHO considers that limited human-to-human transmission, from the brother to his sisters, is one possible explanation,' the organization's statement said.

The sisters are part of a cluster of four cases of respiratory illness in Thai Binh province, including their brother and his wife.

The brother died shortly before his sisters were hospitalized, but it is not clear if he was infected with the H5N1 bird flu because no samples are available to test.

His wife was admitted at the same time as the two sisters, but has since recovered.

'The investigation failed to reveal a specific event, such as contact with sick poultry, or an environmental source to explain these cases,' according to the WHO statement. 'At the same time, such exposures cannot be discounted, either.'

Bird flu has spread in poultry across Asia, but so far Vietnam and Thailand are the only two countries with confirmed human cases.

Thailand confirmed its second fatality from bird flu, local television reported on Monday.

Officials in Cambodia this week reported two boys who played with chickens are suspected of having come down with the virus.

In additional to Laos, Thailand and China, the flu has been discovered in Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. A different strain of bird flu has been detected in Taiwan.

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