- Hello, Jeff - If you remember, Dr. Niman
discussed the dangerous issue of H7/H5 recombination in August, 2005 regarding
Finland.
-
- See: http://www.rense.com/general67/H5N1nowinfinland.htm
-
- Dual infections can also lead to recombination,
where portions of genes are swapped.
-
- H7 is dangerous to humans because it
can be easily transmitted human-to-human, which is a property that is lacking
in H5N1.
-
- However, a dual infection involving H5N1
and H7N7 could lead to recombination where H5N1 acquires the human receptor
binding domain from H7. The H5N1 at Qinghai Lake, China has already acquired
mammalian polymorphisms from European swine, providing further evidence
for dual infections and recombination. Thus, having H5N1 in a region that
has had recent problems with H7N7 is a definite cause for concern.
-
- The earlier migration of H5N1 from northern
Siberia to Finland would suggest that similar migrations between northern
Siberia and Alaska are possible and/or likely. H5N1 in Alaska would lead
to H5N1 in British Columbia, which had an H7N3 outbreak in 2004. That outbreak
also led to infections in poultry workers and underscores the potentially
dangerous situation involving co-circulation of H5 and H7 in Lebanon.
-
- These combinations provide more opportunities
for the generation of efficiently-transmitted H5N1, which could touch off
the worldwide human pandemic we have been warning about all this time.
-
- Here is the story of H7 apparently found
in Lebanon -
-
- H7 Found In Lebanon
-
- From ProMED-mail
- promed@promedmail.org
- 4-2-6
-
- Source: Poultrymed.com, accessed 1 Apr
2006 http://poultrymed.com/files/index.html
-
- The above website included, in its page
"Infectious diseases", the following news item from an unspecified
source:
-
- LEBANON -- Avian Influenza Detected In
South Lebanon
-
- The laboratory of the American University
of Beirut has detected the virus H7 on several samples of domestic poultry
from the South of Lebanon.
-
- The Ministry of Agriculture has agreed
for sending samples from the affected poultry to the Weybridge Laboratory
in UK or IZS-Venezie laboratory in Italy for further testing.
-
- _____
-
- ProMED-mail
-
- If confirmed, this becomes a significant
finding and a cause for concern. All HPAI strains isolated to date have
been either of the H5 or H7 subtype, therefore classified by the OIE as
notifiable avian influenza (NAI).
-
- The major outbreak in the Netherlands,
2003, was caused by H7N7. Since H5 and H7 strains might be also of low
virulence, it is essential that, as well as their identification, their
pathogenicity is determined as early as possible.
-
- Confirmation of the above data or otherwise
is anticipated; any available information on the issue would be greatly
appreciated.- Mod.AS
-
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle DVM, PhD
- Bus Admin, Tropical Agricultural Economics
- Univ of West Indies
-
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases"
message board at:
- http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/index.php
- Also my new website:
- http://drpdoyle.tripod.com/
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
-
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