W.H.O. Flu puzzle in Turkey (013006)

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

    Turkish bird flu cases pose age puzzle for WHO

Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:30 PM GMT

GENEVA (Reuters) - "The World Health Organisation said on Monday it 

was not sure why children had been the main victims of the recent 

outbreak of bird flu in Turkey.

The WHO said it had found no clear evidence of human-to-human 

transmission of the virus and no sign it was now spreading more easily 

from birds to humans.

The WHO's British laboratory has confirmed 12 of the 21 H5N1 bird flu 

cases reported by Turkey's Health Ministry, including the deaths of four 

children from the eastern town of Dogubayazit.

"The vast majority of cases have occurred in children aged 15 years or 

younger. This age pattern remains puzzling, as adult members in some 

families were engaged in such high-risk behaviours as the slaughtering 

of obviously ill birds, yet did not develop infection," the WHO said in a 

statement.

"This raised the possibility of an as yet unidentified 

genetic or immunological factor influencing the likelihood of human 

infection."

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?

type=worldNews&storyid=2006-01-30T193040Z_01_L3024650_RTRUKO 

C_0_UK-BIRDFLU-TURKEY-WHO.xml

---

Published: January 30, 2006

The disease may be spreading widely � and undetected � among birds 

in the countries of central Asia.

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/

2006/01/30/international/middleeast/

30cndiran.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=5b9874c8Q2FQ22BckQ22Q5Bf_saff8x

Q22x44PQ224Q25Q22Q204Q22028ca2t80f2tQ27Q22y0Q5BQ5BQ27ccts

8Q22Q204_2Q5BK0at2Ni8yQ27

----------------------------

Evololutionary Biology - insights 

�The model does not aim to predict the emergence of 

new strains of influenza, but it does suggest that a 

short-lived general immunity to the virus might affect 

the virus's evolution.� 

�We therefore inferred that there must be some other 

form of interaction between strains happening in the 

population,� he said. �The best fit to genetic data 

was obtained when a secondary, non-specific immune 

response was included in the model, on top of the 

normal adaptive immune response which recognizes 

individual virus strains. 

This secondary response gives a person complete 

protection against nearly all variants of the 

influenza virus, but only for a short period of time. 

This kind of protection, said Ferguson, would last 

only for perhaps weeks after infection, after which it 

would fade, rendering a person vulnerable to 

reinfection with a different viral strain." 

Edited by Rick

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: W.H.O. Flu puzzle in Turkey (013006) Posted: January 30 2006 at 12:40pm
	Turkish bird flu cases pose age puzzle for WHO Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:30 PM GMT GENEVA (Reuters) - "The World Health Organisation said on Monday it was not sure why children had been the main victims of the recent outbreak of bird flu in Turkey. The WHO said it had found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus and no sign it was now spreading more easily from birds to humans. The WHO's British laboratory has confirmed 12 of the 21 H5N1 bird flu cases reported by Turkey's Health Ministry, including the deaths of four children from the eastern town of Dogubayazit. "The vast majority of cases have occurred in children aged 15 years or younger. This age pattern remains puzzling, as adult members in some families were engaged in such high-risk behaviours as the slaughtering of obviously ill birds, yet did not develop infection," the WHO said in a statement. "This raised the possibility of an as yet unidentified genetic or immunological factor influencing the likelihood of human infection." http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx? type=worldNews&storyid=2006-01-30T193040Z_01_L3024650_RTRUKO C_0_UK-BIRDFLU-TURKEY-WHO.xml --- Published: January 30, 2006 The disease may be spreading widely � and undetected � among birds in the countries of central Asia. http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/ 2006/01/30/international/middleeast/ 30cndiran.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=5b9874c8Q2FQ22BckQ22Q5Bf_saff8x Q22x44PQ224Q25Q22Q204Q22028ca2t80f2tQ27Q22y0Q5BQ5BQ27ccts 8Q22Q204_2Q5BK0at2Ni8yQ27 ---------------------------- Evololutionary Biology - insights �The model does not aim to predict the emergence of new strains of influenza, but it does suggest that a short-lived general immunity to the virus might affect the virus's evolution.� �We therefore inferred that there must be some other form of interaction between strains happening in the population,� he said. �The best fit to genetic data was obtained when a secondary, non-specific immune response was included in the model, on top of the normal adaptive immune response which recognizes individual virus strains. This secondary response gives a person complete protection against nearly all variants of the influenza virus, but only for a short period of time. This kind of protection, said Ferguson, would last only for perhaps weeks after infection, after which it would fade, rendering a person vulnerable to reinfection with a different viral strain." Edited by Rick