WHO Confirms Human-to-Human
Transmission of Bird Flu in Pakistan
[Posted 04/11/2008]
World Health Organization
(WHO) officials have confirmed by serological
testing that a man in northwest Pakistan who
contracted avian flu from contact with infected
birds in late 2007 subsequently passed the virus on
to three brothers, two of whom died. This was the
first confirmed case of human-to-human transmission
of the bird flu virus in Pakistan. The outbreak was
believed to have been contained within the man’s
family and did not extend into the community.
Since 2003, WHO officials
have confirmed 379 cases of Avian Influenza H5N1
resulting in 239 deaths. Several outbreaks
worldwide have been suspected to result from
human-to-human transmission, but no samples have
been available for testing, and suspicions could be
neither confirmed nor ruled out.
The first confirmed case of
human-to-human transmission of avian flu was in
Indonesia in 2006.
Related Links:
Pakistan News.Net
World Health Organization: Avian Influenza
New York Times Article from June 2006
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