Bird Flu strain cannot be passed to humans

Posted by Linda Curtis On Monday, January 2nd 2012 in Health

A Chinese bus driver died on Saturday after suffering complications from a bird flu virus. The country’s health officials announced that after undergoing genetic analysis they have established the strain cannot be passed forward to other humans. The country’s official Xinhua News Agency announced the man was infected after coming in contact with infected poultry.

“Though it is highly pathogenic to human beings, the virus can not spread among people,” the Shenzhen Disease Control Center said in a statement, according to Xinhua. “There is no need for Shenzhen citizens to panic.”

Since 2003, there have been 593 bird flu cases confirmed. Moreover 336 people have died.

“I am impressed at how thoroughly the Chinese government has investigated this case and how they’re taking the necessary precautions,” said Dr. William Schaffner, the chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Philip Alcabes, the professor of public health at Hunter College said it is very important that H5N1 is an animal virus and only rarely makes people sick.

“When it does, it is almost never transmitted to another person, as the evidence from China regarding this new case corroborates,” said Alcabes. “From a public health standpoint, H5N1 flu is of concern for reasons of animal health, economics and safety of humans who are in close contacts with birds. Surveillance of H5N1 activity is sensible, but worry about outbreaks among humans is not.”

Schaffner pointed out that this event shows how important public health surveillance activities are and how they should “continue to function optimally to get early information on all these sorts of events throughout the world.”