- "China on Thursday reported its sixth human case
of bird flu and a new outbreak in a flock of ducks. The latest human infection
is a 35-year-old man in Suichuan County in the eastern province of Jiangxi."
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- The above comments may signal a new wave of H5N1 in poultry
and people in China. After a lull of about 2 weeks, today's OIE report
of an outbreak among ducks as well as the six human case suggests more
migration of H5N1 infected wild birds. OIE reports were also filed
today by Romania and Croatia, confirming new H5N1 outbreaks in Europe.
Romania has warned Bulgaria of southern movement of infected birds into
that country. Similarly Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia are reporting
new outbreaks including one or more clusters of human cases in Indonesia.
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- China's reported human cases have been limited to the
eastern portion of the country and there have been about one person per
recent outbreak. The growing number of provinces with human cases
suggest the wild birds are transporting and transmitting a version of H5N1
capable of causing human infections, but China has yet to release sequences.
Recent reports indicate the human cases involve H5N1 that is amantadine
sensitive, which is consistent with sequences from H5N1 from wild birds.
There have been similar reports on human cases in Indonesia.
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- As the peak flu season approaches, more reports of H5N1
infections are expected in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
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- © 2005 Recombinomics. All rights reserved.
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