WHO confirms avian flu outbreak in Hanoi
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《英国医生杂志》
Hong Kong
The World Health Organization has reported that there are three confirmed cases of H5N1 avian influenza in Hanoi, Vietnam, after samples from five patients were sent to Japan and Hong Kong for testing. This comes at the same time as an outbreak of H5N1 avian flu in the poultry population in southern Vietnam, which has killed at least 40 000 birds and led to the culling of 30 000 more. A WHO epidemiologist and infection control expert, Dr Philippe Calain, has arrived in Vietnam to help trace the source of the confirmed human cases.
Since October 2003 there have been 14 cases of severe respiratory disease in and around Hanoi, 12 of whom have died. All but one of the cases are children. One of those who died was the 30 year old mother of one of the children who had died. Both mother and child are among the confirmed cases of H5N1. It is not yet known whether the other 11 cases of severe respiratory disease are also caused by H5N1 avian flu or whether more samples are being tested at the National Influenza Centre in Hong Kong and Japan's National Institute for Infectious Diseases.
The most likely source of infection seems to be poultry. "The poultry outbreak in southern Vietnam is very far from Hanoi, and there have been no official reports of an avian flu outbreak in Hanoi, but four out of five families interviewed reported chickens dropping dead," said Peter Cordingley, WHO's spokesman in Manila.
There is no evidence at this stage of human to human transmission, and none of the healthcare workers treating the patients have become sick. The fact that most of the infections occurred in children is significant, added Cordingley. "We think that they may have become infected by playing in yards where chickens are also kept and have come into contact with infected faeces," he said.
WHO is very concerned about the outbreak—in particular, the risk of human to human transmission. "We are principally worried about the possibility that the avian virus could acquire full capability to transmit from one person to another," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific. "The ensuing virus would be highly pathogenic and transmissible. This is why WHO and the Vietnamese authorities are treating this matter seriously."
There have been major outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu in South Korea, where more than a million chickens and ducks died or were slaughtered last year, and Japan confirmed its first outbreak on 12 January. No human infection has been reported in either country.
So far there has not been a repeat of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in Hong Kong that caused six deaths and led to the mass slaughter of more than one million chickens in late 1997 and early 1998. The Hong Kong government announced on 13 January that it would ban imports of poultry from Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam and that all poultry imported from China would be vaccinated against the virus from 15 January onwards.(Jane Parry)
The World Health Organization has reported that there are three confirmed cases of H5N1 avian influenza in Hanoi, Vietnam, after samples from five patients were sent to Japan and Hong Kong for testing. This comes at the same time as an outbreak of H5N1 avian flu in the poultry population in southern Vietnam, which has killed at least 40 000 birds and led to the culling of 30 000 more. A WHO epidemiologist and infection control expert, Dr Philippe Calain, has arrived in Vietnam to help trace the source of the confirmed human cases.
Since October 2003 there have been 14 cases of severe respiratory disease in and around Hanoi, 12 of whom have died. All but one of the cases are children. One of those who died was the 30 year old mother of one of the children who had died. Both mother and child are among the confirmed cases of H5N1. It is not yet known whether the other 11 cases of severe respiratory disease are also caused by H5N1 avian flu or whether more samples are being tested at the National Influenza Centre in Hong Kong and Japan's National Institute for Infectious Diseases.
The most likely source of infection seems to be poultry. "The poultry outbreak in southern Vietnam is very far from Hanoi, and there have been no official reports of an avian flu outbreak in Hanoi, but four out of five families interviewed reported chickens dropping dead," said Peter Cordingley, WHO's spokesman in Manila.
There is no evidence at this stage of human to human transmission, and none of the healthcare workers treating the patients have become sick. The fact that most of the infections occurred in children is significant, added Cordingley. "We think that they may have become infected by playing in yards where chickens are also kept and have come into contact with infected faeces," he said.
WHO is very concerned about the outbreak—in particular, the risk of human to human transmission. "We are principally worried about the possibility that the avian virus could acquire full capability to transmit from one person to another," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific. "The ensuing virus would be highly pathogenic and transmissible. This is why WHO and the Vietnamese authorities are treating this matter seriously."
There have been major outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu in South Korea, where more than a million chickens and ducks died or were slaughtered last year, and Japan confirmed its first outbreak on 12 January. No human infection has been reported in either country.
So far there has not been a repeat of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in Hong Kong that caused six deaths and led to the mass slaughter of more than one million chickens in late 1997 and early 1998. The Hong Kong government announced on 13 January that it would ban imports of poultry from Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam and that all poultry imported from China would be vaccinated against the virus from 15 January onwards.(Jane Parry)