BIZCHINA / Center
H5N1 virus may have mutated
By Teddy Ng and Chen Hong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-17 09:01
The latest human bird flu infection on the Chinese mainland is worrying
as it shows the H5N1 virus may have mutated and become as infectious in
warm months as in cooler ones, Hong Kong's health chief said on Friday.
The virus thrives in lower temperatures and is usually most infectious in
the cooler months between October and March.
But confirmation on Thursday that a 31-year-old truck driver in the
southern city of Shenzhen has been infected has caused uneasiness.
"Is this because the virus has changed, so that it is highly infectious
all year round? Or, if it is happening in summer, winter would be even
worse?" said the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, York Chow.
He said the virus might have become "more virulent and spread wider than
we've expected," though its mutation was not confirmed.
"If that is the case, the risk for humans to be infected in the future is
higher," he added.
The truck driver was admitted to hospital and was critically ill on
Friday. He had visited a market where live poultry was sold and eaten
chicken before he fell ill. But he is not known to have had any other
close contact with poultry.
University of Hong Kong microbiology head Yuen Kwok-yung said the
Shenzhen case was abnormal and worried the disease would spread in winter.
"If there are human infections from June to August, it means the virus is
extremely active. I am worried that a major outbreak will happen in
winter," he said.
In neighbouring Shenzhen, authorities have stepped up virus prevention
and surveillance efforts.
The local government said it will now report the situation relating to
human bird flu cases every day.
The Shenzhen Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has been asked to
enhance its surveillance of any pneumonia-like cases.
So far the city has not reported any poultry infections.
But vendors said they are required to disinfect shelves twice a day and
stop on-the-spot slaughtering. Some supermarkets have stopped selling
live chickens.
"Business is really bad. I didn't even sell one chicken today," said a
vendor at a Xiangmei Road market.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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