Possible Human To
Human Transmission of Bird Flu In Indonesia - Cluster - Stock Up On
Disaster Supplies Recommended By US Authorities
May 18th 2006
|
 |
|
WHO Threat Chart |
|
The World Health Organization (WHO) has not ruled out human-to-human
transmission in a recent outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu. Six family
members have died since they met at a family gathering on April 29th,
while a seventh victim is still alive. This is the largest cluster of
cases, closely related in time and place, reported to date.
The researchers are not sure how the initial case was contracted.
Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick
or dead birds. The WHO speculates that these cases may have been due to
a “shared environmental exposure”.
One fatal case involved a 38-year old woman in the city of Surabaya,
East Java. The other six cases were from a village, Kubu Sembelang, in
the Karo district of North Sumatra. It is believed that one of these
family members, a 37 year old woman, was the initial case.
According to the WHO, the six confirmed cases in Sumatra include the
woman’s two sons, aged 15 and 17 years, who died respectively on 9 May
and 12 May. The 28-year-old sister of the initial case died on 10 May.
This sister had an 18-month-old girl, who died on 14 May. The fifth
confirmed case, who is still alive, is the 25-year-old brother of the
initial case. The sixth confirmed case is the 10-year-old nephew of the
initial case. He died on 13 May.
This brings the total cases in Indonesia to 40, of which 31 have been
fatal. Investigators have found no evidence that the virus has spread
outside the family. If human-to-human transmission has occurred, it has
not been either efficient or sustained. The WHO ranks the seriousness
of the avian influenza on their
website. So far, we are in a stage of “No or very limited
human-to-human transmission”.
Hopefully the H5N1 does not mutate to a form easily transmitted from
human to human in our lifetime. If it does, experts believe there could
be chaos and our hospital system could become quickly overwhelmed. It
is recommended that Americans store at least 2 weeks worth of food and
water just in case any disaster occurs. The Associated Press reports
that the latest government response plan includes a suggestion that
coworkers stay 3 feet away from each other and not shake hands.
Authorities also say that shutting the U.S. border will not prevent the
pandemic from striking us. They say that people can spread the flu a
full day before they show symptoms and 1.1 million people enter the
country legally each day.
There are some things we can do as individuals, like stay home from work
if possible. The Internet has made this easier than ever, and some
companies have already considered this option.
According to a recent ABC News Nightline broadcast, grocery stores may
provide home deliveries. It still may be a good idea to stock-up in the
event that there are delivery delays. Stocking up on freeze-dried
fruits, flour, condensed or dry milk, water, canned fruits and
vegetables, water and other non or slow perishable goods may be a good
idea.
Dan Wilson
Best Syndication
Books on Bird Flu Pandemic at Amazon
Keywords and misspellings: anti-biotics anti-virul
virus viral drugs online without a presciption |
