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Investigators Find No Evidence Bird Flu Virus Has Mutated

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 22, 2006

Bird Flu • Bird Flu Not the Only Animal Disease Threat • Bird Flu Vaccine Trials 'Encouraging' • FDA Frets about Flu Drugs' Side Effects • World Not Ready For Bird Flu • Researchers: Bird Flu Pandemic Inevitable • Bird Flu Scare in Virginia • FDA Issues Flu Vaccine Guidelines • FDA Approves First Bird Flu Vaccine • More Flu Bugs Show Resistance To Anti-Virals • Seasonal Flu Shot Might Offer Some Bird Flu Protection • Experts Concerned about Tamiflu Overuse • Study Finds Much Bird Flu Planning is Misplaced • U.S. Orders More Bird Flu Vaccine • Scientists Identify Genetic Changes That Could Lead to Bird Flu Pandemic • Drug Interaction Can Render Tamiflu Ineffective • New Bird Flu Variant Renews Pandemic Concerns • Researchers Find New Weapon Against Flu Virus • Researchers Test Spreadability of Bird Flu Viruses to Humans • GlaxoSmithKline Claims Bird Flu Breaththrough • Global Corporations Struggle to Plan For Pandemic • Flu Pandemic Is "Inevitable," EU Experts Warn • Bird Flu Virus May Have Mutated In Indonesian Cases • Indonesian Nurse May Have Bird Flu • Study Warns of "Chaos" and "Panic" If Bird Flu Strikes • Investigators Find No Evidence Bird Flu Virus Has Mutated • Scientists Fear Bird Flu Virus May Have Mutated • Airlines Queasy About Quarantining Bird Flu Victims • More ...

The World Health Organization says it does not believe the bird flu virus has mutated and doubts the cluster of bird flu cases confirmed in Indonesia was the result of human-to-human infection.

Clusters of human infections are a concern because they could indicate the virus is mutating into a form that is easily transmissible among humans.

Six members of one family in a village in North Sumatra were infected, and five have died. A seventh family member, a 37-year-old woman, was thought to have been the first victim in the cluster.

The WHO said it has sent a team to the area and says its scientists have found no evidence that the H5N1 bird flu virus has mutated.

The scientists on the scene say the source of the cluster of infections is unknown but the most likely reason is exposure to infected birds or their feces.

It's the largest bird flu cluster to date and could be the result of a large family gathering on April 29 where there was a shared environmental exposure.

So far, investigators say no infections have been identified outside the family cluster. If the virus had mutated, there would probably have been more infections among other family members, close friends, neighbors, other villagers, or health care professionals who had been attending the infected patients.

A senior Indonesian health official has promised complete transparency should human-to-human transmission of bird flu occur and says efforts to raise awareness among the public will include a robust campaign on the dangers of bird flu.

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