Teenage girl infected with bird flu in Vietnam

HANOI (AFP) - A teenage girl in southern Vietnam has been infected with the lethal strain of bird flu that has killed at least 20 people in the communist nation since late last year.


The 16-year-old girl from the rural southern province of Tay Ninh was receiving treatment at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, a doctor there said, requesting anonymity.


"She is suffering from respiratory failure and is in a critical condition. We suspect that she contracted the H5N1 virus after killing and preparing a chicken for cooking," he told AFP.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041230/wl_afp/healthfluvietnam_041230073612

This is potentially serious stuff, and will make SARS look like childs play if it isn't controlled

Isn't this tsunami like, creating an ideal breeding ground for some bad, bad stuff here?

But, on the other hand, that depends on the local bird population. Waterborne diseases are far more likely right now. And those can be controlled.

The problem is, Avian flu has been lurking around for a few years now, and not much attention has been paid to it

If it every because transmittable by human to human contact, we may have a black plauge on our hands again

http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~2618007,00.html

on edit: Here's the scoop from Taiwan:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/12/31/2003217405



Man, between this, Yellowstone the earthquake and the tsunami, I feel like I'm in a fast moving horror movie.

I missed it. I'll go searching now, but if you're still around, please respond.

Check it out:

http://www.earthside.com/yellowstone.html

I'm going to read it now. :hi:

Of course, we're due for a major blowout some time in the next thousand years or so.

If it happens any time soon, we'll see seven or eight digits' worth of fatality statistics, mainly from the Cascades to the Ohio Valley.

I'm not too concerned about Cumbre Vieja on Las Palmas, though. My real nightmares are from the new H5 series of influenzae, the possible disruption of the North Atlantic Thermohaline currents, and the pending decline in oil production capacity.

Between those problems and not being able to find myself a girlfriend, I have a full card for the Dance of Death.

--p!

:cry:

With legions of folks who are stressed out, and with depressed immune systems, seems to make a case of avian flu spreadable in the places affected by the tsunami...

Yes, Thailand already has reported H5N1 cases

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01010503/Tsunami_Monitoring_Thailand.html

H5N1 outbreaks in Indonesia were reported before the tsunami and displacement of people and animals may create more problems

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01010501/Tsunami_Monitoring_Indonesia.html

I would imagine conditions have substantially increased exposure for
residents and aid workers alike. What an opportunity
for the Bird Flu to go global.

The World Health Organization and others gave been warning that the Avian Flu, when it jumps to humans, WILL be the next pandemic because the bird flu is now so widespread in asia and elsewhere. I'm figuring they are right now getting blood samples from those in Vietnam who've died and are trying to get a handle on a new vaccine, but that could take 3 months to develop and produce, and the flu could wipe out millions before that hits the market.
Definitely worrisome, it WILL be the next major disaster, the only question is will it hit THIS winter or next?

Bruce

There already are post-tsunami flu fatalities in Sri Lanka

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01010502/Post_Tsunami_Flu_Fatalities_Sri_Lanka.html

Two new suspect cases of H5N1 reported in southern Vietnam

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01040504/H5N1_Suspect_Vietnam.html

Both are children and one is in critical condition. Human cases in Vietnam probably means human cases in Thailand soon - not good with Tsunami caused over crowding in relief camps.

One of the suspect cases (9 year old boy) has died and tested positive for H5N1

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01040505/H5N1_Fatality_Vietnam.html

Reports on another fatal H5N1 case in Vietnam

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01050503/Second_Case_Vietnam.html

(the report on the 9 year old yesterday may be incorrect. Hospital now saying he died of hepatitis. My guess is the 6 year old was the positive for H5N1 and was confused with the 9 year old who also died).

The 16 year old girl and a 14 year old boy remain in critical condition.

The 5 H5N1 cases in Vietnam form two clusters

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01070503/Cluster_Mekong_Delta_Vietnam.html

Concern is mounting over tsunami driven pneumonias and respiratory infections

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01070506/Tsunami_Pneumonia_Influenza.html

The sixth suspect case in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, a 65 year old male, was described today

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01080501/Sixth_Vietnam.html

How much time might it take to go from 30 dead to 1 million dead?

The tipping point would be acquisition of efficient human to human transmission. To go from a handful to a million dead would take several weeks.

Aren't there a million ways this virus could recombine
to create a benign viral form. What are the chances
that it retains such absurdly high lethalness as it recombines
to aquire the property of efficent human to human transmission.

Only the strongest survive.

The Tet offensive has begun. Number of conformed or suspect H5N1 cases in Mekong Delta is now 14

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=au&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&q=Mekong+Delta+flu&btnG=Search+News

Suspect 15 year old sister of 18 year old confirmed case in hospital with bird flu symptoms

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=nz&q=h5n1&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

H5N1 is rapidly spreadint to communes and people in Mekong Delta

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=mekong+case+h5n1&btnG=Search+News

Even the pets are dying in Ho Chi Minh City

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=mekong+pets+h5n1&btnG=Search+News