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Thursday, May 19, 2005Researchers say that there are some indications that the more dangerous, H5N1 virus could be evolving. They say that although they do not have conclusive proof, waiting until the proof arrives may be too late to prevent a pandemic from taking place. Nations need to move ahead as quickly as possible in order to prepare. Some important epidemiological features of human H5N1 infections occurred in northern Viet Nam during January through April 2005 and appeared to differ in some respects from those seen in 2004 in other parts of Asia, and in the concurrent period in southern Viet Nam. These included an increase in the number of case clusters in the north compared with the south, a prolonged interval between the first and last cases in clusters, detection of sub-clinical infections, an expanded age range of cases and fewer fatal cases. Investigators were not able to prove that human-to-human transmission had occurred. However they expressed concerns, which were shared by local clinicians, that the pattern of disease appeared to have changed in a manner consistent with this possibility. It still doesn't appear to be moving from person to person, but from bird to person. And no word on what nations must do to be prepared - aside from developing a vaccine for a virus that has not yet evolved. Sometimes, nature can be brutal, and there's little we can do to prevent it. posted by Sydney on 5/19/2005 09:09:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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