Bird Flu (HUMAN TO HUMAN TRANSMISSION )
 

WHO: Human bird flu link possible
Sunday, February 1, 2004 Posted: 7:31 AM EST (1231 GMT)


(CNN) -- The World Health Organization Sunday confirmed two Vietnamese
women recently died from bird flu, and said they may have caught the
illness from their brother.

The two sisters, ages 23 and 30, both fell ill on Jan. 10, the WHO
said. They were admitted to a hospital three days later and died on
January 23.

Of Vietnam's 10 confirmed human cases of avian influenza, 8 have died,
one has recovered and the other remains hospitalized.

The WHO said it is still trying to confirm the source of the infection
for the two sisters.

"WHO considers that limited human-to-human transmission, from the
brother to his sisters, is one possible explanation," the
organization's statement said.

The sisters are part of a cluster of four cases of respiratory illness
in Thai Binh province, including their brother and his wife.

The brother died shortly before his sisters were hospitalized, but it
is not clear if he was infected with the H5N1 bird flu because no
samples are available to test.

His wife was admitted at the same time as the two sisters, but has
since recovered.

"The investigation failed to reveal a specific event, such as contact
with sick poultry, or an environmental source to explain these cases,"
according to the WHO statement. "At the same time, such exposures
cannot be discounted, either."

Bird flu has spread in poultry across Asia, but so far Vietnam and
Thailand are the only two countries with confirmed human cases.

Thailand confirmed its second fatality from bird flu, local television
reported on Monday.

Officials in Cambodia this week reported two boys who played with
chickens are suspected of having come down with the virus.

In additional to Laos, Thailand and China, the flu has been discovered
in Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. A
different strain of bird flu has been detected in Taiwan.