Argentina Flu Death Mystery Sparks Probe for Virus Mutation

Argentina Flu Death Mystery Sparks Probe for Virus Mutation
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By Eliana Raszewski and Jason Gale

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Scientists wondering why swine flu has killed more people in Argentina than almost any other nation are studying whether a more dangerous mutant has emerged.

The Latin American country has reported more than 130 deaths from the pandemic H1N1 flu virus since June. Analyses of specimens taken from two severely ill patients showed subtle genetic differences in the virus, the International Society for Infectious Diseases said in a report via its ProMED-mail program yesterday.

Scientists from Columbia University and Argentina’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases now plan to decode the complete genomic sequences of at least 150 virus samples over the next 10 days to gauge the frequency of the changes and whether they are linked to more severe illness. Major changes in the pandemic virus could erode the effectiveness of vaccines being prepared to fight the scourge.

“We are cautious about the findings until we have more sequences,” said Gustavo Palacios, assistant professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University, who is participating in the study. The changes already noted haven’t previously been associated with greater virulence, he said today in a telephone interview from New York.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aljo5vnxK3z8

now and I am worried about the large HIV population in some places and the lack of health care infrastructure there.
WHO said today that they expect a third of the world's population to be infected before it is all said and done.

...and that doesn't consider the possibility of a mutated strain with a higher case fatality ratio.

mild first wave, followed by a killer mutation.

24 JULY 2009 | GENEVA -- The number of human cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 is still increasing substantially in many countries, even in countries that have already been affected for some time.

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/h1n1_situation_20090724/en/index.html