Confirm a case of H5N1 flu transmitted from human to human

Through systematic research and statistical analysis, US infectious disease experts have identified a case of H5N1 bird flu in Indonesia in 2006 due to human-to-human transmission.

According to AFP news agency, this information was published by Dr. Ira Longini and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (USA) on August 28, 2007. According to health experts, since the outbreak of bird flu since 2003, 322 people have been infected and 195 people have died. Most of these cases are caused by H5N1 infection directly from poultry.

US researchers say they have evidence of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 virus in Sumatra, Indonesia.(Photo: Viewimages.com)

However, there are still some cases that are being carefully considered by experts, because they fear that the H5N1 virus is capable of transmitting, transmitting easily and directly from one person to another. When that happens, the world will face an extremely dangerous flu pandemic.

Dr Ira Longini and colleagues studied the two most typical cases of H5N1 flu - the first of eight in a family that died in Sumatra last year, and the second in Turkey, in 4 people died out of 8 people with the same family.

According to the research team, in April 2006, in Sumatra, one of the islands in Indonesia, a 37-year-old woman - often exposed to poultry carcasses and chicken manure - passed H5N1 flu to her 10-year-old nephew. , and this boy continued to pass on to his father . DNA test results show that the virus that kills the father is very similar to the strain found in that boy's body.

Recent studies and analyzes have helped experts determine that the above-mentioned case of H5N1 flu is transmitted from human to human; however, they are still trying to find more evidence.

In a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the team wrote: 'We have evidence of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 in Sumatra, but there is no evidence. for the case in Turkey '.

'But that does not mean that there is no low-level human-to-human transmission of the disease, but just because we have not found evidence of that spread.'

In a related report, Dr. Longini said: 'In the case of Sumatra, the H5N1 virus has been transmitted for 2 generations and stopped, but in other cases it can spread at an uncontrollable level. OK'.

He remarked remarkably: 'In the case of Sumatra, the world has really avoided a bullet fired at people, but in the next, maybe we will not be lucky anymore'. What international health experts are worried about is that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus has been spreading in swarms from Asia to Africa.

Since the outbreak of bird flu since 2003, 322 people have been infected and 195 people have died.(Photo: ens-newswire.com)

According to AFP, secondary infection rates, that is, transmission from one person to another, are estimated by the research team at 20% - equivalent to the estimated level of seasonal influenza A infection in the United States. Meanwhile, according to an article in Science Daily, this rate is 29%.

Through this study, experts have also designed a software called TranStat , which helps experts quickly implement the real-time data collection, storage and analysis of outbreaks of diseases. infectious, thereby predicting the next course of the disease.

The research team will provide this software for free on the Models of Infectious Disease Agent website of MIDAS (National Research Institute for Infectious Diseases) of National Institutes of Health, directly under the Ministry of Health and Translation. US human service.

Elizabeth Halloran, a member of the research team, said: 'The key to effectively preventing an epidemic is early detection, immediate control and repel disease by antiviral therapy. Therefore, this software will be an effective tool to help doctors, epidemiologists and other health professionals improve the effectiveness of bird flu prevention.

Quang Thinh