Published Date: 2007-01-15 00:00:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human (13): Egypt, Indonesia
Archive Number: 20070115.0198
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (13): EGYPT, INDONESIA
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[1] Egypt - suspected case
[2] & [3] Indonesia - One member of cluster tests negative
******
[1] Egypt - suspected case
Date: Mon 15 Jan 2007
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Bloomberg News Agency [edited]
<http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/070114/x011404A.html>
Egypt: suspected human case of avian influenza
----------------------------------------------
A 20 year old woman is being treated for suspected avian flu at a hospital
in Fayoum, south west of Cairo, the government-run newspaper Al-Ghomhuria
reported, without citing a source for the information. [Previously] a 23
year old woman died from virus in the same province, Al-Ghomhuria said. The
World Health Organization office in Cairo and Egypt's Health Ministry
wouldn't confirm the report.
The health ministry also found 4 poultry outbreaks in the delta governorate
of Qaliyoubia, in northern Egypt, the newspaper said. Almost all human H5N1
cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as
children playing with them or adults butchering them or plucking feathers.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Excluding the current suspected case, there have been 18 confirmed human
cases of H5N1 avian influenza in Egypt, 10 of which were fatal and all
occurring during 2006. - Mod.CP]
******
[2] Indonesia - One member of cluster tests negative
Date: Sun 14 Jan 2007
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: CBC News online, Canadian Press [edited]
<http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/070114/x011404A.html>
Indonesia: father ruled out in latest cluster of avian influenza cases
-----------------------------------------------
An Indonesian man investigated as a possible case of avian flu in the
latest family cluster of infections does not have the H5N1 virus, a senior
health ministry official said on Sun 14 Jan 2007. The man, whose wife died
last week and whose son is battling the disease, will soon be released from
hospital, said Dr Nyoman Kandun, Indonesia's director general of disease
control and environmental health. "The husband is negative," Kandun said
from Jakarta. "Only the son is positive. He (the husband) will be
discharged tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. He's all right now."
Kandun said 3 rounds of testing on the man, 46, failed to produce a
positive test. Specimens were also taken for testing from a number of other
family members and close contacts. "All of them are negative," Kandun said.
The family lived in Tangerang, in Banten Province. They recently purchased,
slaughtered and ate chickens believed to be infected with H5N1. The man's
wife, 38, died on 11 Jan 2007. Their son, 18, tested positive for the virus.
After several months of no human cases, Indonesia has seen a resurgence of
infections since the start of the new year [2007]. To date this year, the
country has confirmed 5 cases: the mother and son; a 14 year old boy from
West Jakarta; a 22 year old woman from Banten Province and a 27 year old
woman from South Jakarta. All but the 18 year old died last week.
Kandun said Indonesia has recorded 79 H5N1 cases since its 1st human
infections in July 2005. Of those, 61 people have died. Confirmation of the
latest 2 cases came on the weekend and had not yet been incorporated into
the World Health Organization official case tally on Sunday [14 Jan 2007].
The agency lists 265 cases and 159 deaths across 10 countries since H5N1
flared up in Asia in late 2003.
******
[3] Indonesia - One member of cluster tests negative
Date: Mon 15 Jan 2007
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Bloomberg News Agency [edited]
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080>
Indonesian cluster
------------------
In Indonesia, a man whose wife and teenage son were infected with H5N1
tested negative for the virus, easing concern that the cases may indicate a
change in the virus's ability to sicken people.
Disease trackers were monitoring the 42 year old [father] closely. Had he
tested positive, it might have indicated the virus was capable of infecting
those without genetic susceptibility to infection, a theory doctors have
used to explain previous clusters among blood relatives.
The concern is that the virus may eventually overcome a "genetic component"
that has appeared so far to limit its ability to infect people, Michael
Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious
Disease Research and Policy in Minneapolis, said in a 12 Jan 2007
interview. "If that happens, then to me that is the really 1st worrisome
piece of information that the pandemic may be pending."
The south east Asian nation attracted international attention in May 2006
when blood relatives from the island of Sumatra contracted the H5N1 virus,
6 of them fatally. The cases represented the largest reported cluster of
infections and the 1st laboratory-proven instance of human-to-human
transmission. Whether a genetic predisposition to H5N1 infection exists
among individuals and family members "is a question that's been open ever
since clusters have 1st been identified, and right now it simply remains an
open question," WHO's Fukuda said. The latest cluster of cases in Indonesia
was probably caused by common exposure to a sick bird, he said.
[byline: Karima Anjani]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The male parent in this 3-member "cluster" of cases has tested H5N1 virus
negative. This outcome is not compatible with an inference that the virus
may have overcome a "genetic component that so far has appeared to limit
the ability of the virus to infect humans." In relation to a previous
comment by the Moderator, a ProMED-mail correspondent has pointed out in
addition that a woman in any suspected cluster is likely to test positive
as a result of exposure to infection as a consequence of her dual role in
poultry rearing and food preparation and not exclusively as a consequence
of genetic relationship. - Mod.CP]
See Also
Avian influenza, human (12): Indonesia 20070114.0187Avian influenza, human (11): Indonesia, WHO 20070113.0173
Avian influenza, human (10): Indonesia, WHO 20070112.0161
Avian influenza, human (09): Indonesia 20070111.0133
Avian influenza, human (07): Indonesia, China WHO 20070110.0109
Avian influenza, human (05): Indonesia, WHO 20070109.0090
Avian influenza, human (04): Indonesia 20070108.0080
Avian influenza, human (03): Indonesia 20070107.0069
2006
---
Avian influenza, human (192): Egypt, WHO 20061228.3634
................cp/msp/sh
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