New bird flu strain infects human for first time

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http://www.todayonline.com/daily-focus/health/bird-flu-strain-infects-human-first-time

A strain of bird flu that scientists thought could not infect people has shown up in a Taiwanese woman, a nasty surprise that shows scientists must do more to spot worrisome flu strains before they ignite a global outbreak, doctors said.

The woman, 20, was hospitalised in May with a lung infection. After being treated with Tamiflu and antibiotics, she was released. One of her throat swabs was sent to the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control. Experts there identified it as the H6N1 bird flu, widely circulating in chickens on the island.

The patient, who was not identified, worked in a deli and had no known connection to live birds. Investigators could not figure out how she was infected. But they noted several of her close family and friends also developed flu-like symptoms after spending time with her, though none tested positive for H6N1.

The research was published online today (Nov 14) in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

“The question again is what would it take for these viruses to evolve into a pandemic strain?” wrote Dr Marion Koopmans, a virologist at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands.