http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...05/2109911.htm
Quote:
Humans 'may be transferring bird flu'
Posted 8 hours 52 minutes ago
Map: Broadbeach 4218
The convenor of an international medical conference on the Gold Coast says there is evidence that potentially lethal bird flu is being passed from human to human.
Around 1,600 doctors and scientists from 42 countries attended the lung disease conference on the Gold Coast.
Conference convener Professor Paul Reynolds says that in the past human victims of avian flu have contracted the disease through direct contact with sick birds, but that is changing.
"It's usually very close household contacts at this stage," he said.
"Sometimes it's a little bit difficult to tease out, if people are living together in a village, whether the transmission has truly been person to person or the people involved have happened to come into contact with the same infected birds.
"But there are certainly some case reports emerging that are highly suggestive that direct person-to-person transfer is occurring."
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My work in disaster preparedness includes periodic web searches for articles on potential large scale disaster concerns, and I came across the above report today. Apparently, the H5N1 virus has been evolving and developing greater affinity for human-to-human transmission. It has not yet reached the point of easy person-to-person movement, but this is certainly a significant indication that it may soon acquire this ability. I suggest that folks do some background reading on how such a pandemic would likely play out and become familiar with the recommended precautions and preparations you can take.
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