The virus "bird flu" mutated

In the final report on the investigation of the case of a “bird flu” of one of the families in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, the experts of the World Health Organization recognized that the H5N1 virus has occurred in the body of one of the sick. The report was extended among participants in closed consultations held last week in Jakarta at the request of the Indonesia Government.

Presumably the virus, which struck eight people, seven of whom died, mutated a 10-year-old boy in the body. Then the father of the child became infected. “The case in this family once again reminded us of how important it is to track all the information about the distribution and changes in H5N1,” said David Navarro, the UN coordinator on the spread of bird flu.

This time, according to experts, the mutation of the virus was insignificant and he could not spread beyond the limits of one family. After the death of May 22, the last of the patients took place more than three weeks - twice as much as the incubation period - however, there were no new cases of the disease in the village of Cuba Simbladg. “This variety of the virus is no longer dangerous,” said the epidemiologist of the American Center for Monitoring and Prevention of Tim Wecki.

“In 2003, in Thailand there was already a case when the Bird influenza virus was transmitted from man to person, the sick people had no contacts with a sick bird,” Elena Doroshenko, the head of the scientific and organizational department of the Research Institute of FROM. - However, then there were no epidemics among people. I think that now it is not worth talking about the probability of a big flash. Perhaps these mutations, which caused an increase in the pathogenicity of the bird flu virus, are unstable. In this form, he can disappear, as atypical pneumonia once disappeared. But it is difficult to predict exactly how the virus will behave in the future. ”

In order for the virus to be easily transmitted from one person to another, he needs to endure a number of various mutations, and in this sense the only confirmed WHO confirmed the fact of the mutation, indeed, does not make weather. But it is possible that in the countries of East Asia there were other cases of the transfer of the virus from man to person who were not able to diagnose.

Meanwhile, the number of registered WHOs this year by the Bird flu disease is already approaching last year’s mark: if for the entire 2005 there were 95 sick years, then over the past six months already 84, and the number of deaths has exceeded the 2005 indicator. Then the dead counted 41, and this year 54 people had already died from the "bird flu".

06/26/2006 / Anton Shalaev, Elena Ogneva, the material was published in the newspaper No. 109 dated 06/27/2006.