Deadly Bird Flu Can Spread Between People
Deadly Bird Flu Can Spread Between People
Jan. 24, 2005 -- A deadly bird flu virus can spread from person to person, say global health experts. That could mean it's a race against time to stop the virus before it gains a foothold among people, with the potential to strike millions.
The virus is called influenza A (H5N1). In 2004, it infected 44 people, killing 32, in eight Asian countries. Most of those people had close contact with poultry, which probably gave them the disease.
But two people who died apparently had no direct exposure to birds, suggesting they got the virus from another person, say researchers in the Jan. 27 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Luckily, the bird flu virus doesn't seem to be very good at jumping between people. It doesn't spread efficiently between people, say the researchers, who included Kumnuan Ungchusak, MD, MPH, of Thailand's Ministry of Public Health.
At least, not yet.
The clock is ticking, says Arnold Monto, MD, of the University of Michigan. No one knows if or when the Asian bird flu virus will start spreading among humans, he writes in an editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine.
"But we must be ready to stop it if we can," says Monto, "and if we cannot, at least to mitigate its effects through the use of stockpiled antiviral drugs and, eventually, ... vaccine."
"We need to put up safeguards while the storm is still gathering," agrees Klaus Stöhr, PhD, writing in the journal. Stöhr works with the Global Influenza Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has warned that millions of people -- and maybe even tens of millions -- could die if this strain of bird flu spreads among humans. This strain appears to be more resistant to older antiviral medications like amantadine or rimantadine, says Monto.
That could match the toll of past flu pandemics. In 1918, the so-called Spanish flu killed 20 million to 40 million people. Flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968 each claimed about 1 million lives. All three diseases came from bird viruses, says Monto.
The virus is called influenza A (H5N1). In 2004, it infected 44 people, killing 32, in eight Asian countries. Most of those people had close contact with poultry, which probably gave them the disease.
But two people who died apparently had no direct exposure to birds, suggesting they got the virus from another person, say researchers in the Jan. 27 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Luckily, the bird flu virus doesn't seem to be very good at jumping between people. It doesn't spread efficiently between people, say the researchers, who included Kumnuan Ungchusak, MD, MPH, of Thailand's Ministry of Public Health.
At least, not yet.
Information, Action Needed Now, Say Experts
The clock is ticking, says Arnold Monto, MD, of the University of Michigan. No one knows if or when the Asian bird flu virus will start spreading among humans, he writes in an editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine.
"But we must be ready to stop it if we can," says Monto, "and if we cannot, at least to mitigate its effects through the use of stockpiled antiviral drugs and, eventually, ... vaccine."
"We need to put up safeguards while the storm is still gathering," agrees Klaus Stöhr, PhD, writing in the journal. Stöhr works with the Global Influenza Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has warned that millions of people -- and maybe even tens of millions -- could die if this strain of bird flu spreads among humans. This strain appears to be more resistant to older antiviral medications like amantadine or rimantadine, says Monto.
That could match the toll of past flu pandemics. In 1918, the so-called Spanish flu killed 20 million to 40 million people. Flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968 each claimed about 1 million lives. All three diseases came from bird viruses, says Monto.
Source...