Monday, February 25, 2008

Avian Flu Update

The Chinese Ministry of Health has recently confirmed a 29th case of human H5N1 infection in a 41 year old man from the Guangxi Region. The man died 8 days after onset of symptoms, and his infection has been traced to contact with sick and dead poultry prior to his first symptoms. His symptoms were characterized by a pneumonia-like syndrome, which manifested as chills, fever and cough. Of the 29 cases reported so far in this outbreak of H5N1, 19 have been fatal.

In response to the outbreak, the Ministry of Health as well as local Municipal Administrations of Industry and commerce have recently implemented avian influenza prevention measures, including contact tracing. Despite these measures, however, a 30th case of avian influenza is suspected in a women from Guangdong province in southern China (which is where SARS originated).

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2008_02_22/en/index.html

- Claire

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Avian flu is very serious and is easily transmitted through bird droppings. Thank you for keeping the public updated about its threat. It is also very important to note that avian flu is only one of OVER 60 potentially fatal diseases that birds can transmit to humans. We should all be outraged that the media does not alert the public to this threat.


Bird-X