Harare – As authorities in Hong Kong, China culled 17,000 chickens this week following the death of a 39-year -old bus driver diagonised with bird flu, Zimbabwe’s Health Minister has expressed that he is not aware of any disease outbreak in the country.
His statement also follows news that a parliamentarian from his own party, MDC-T, died of bird flu this week.
“The Epidemics and Disease Control centre has not informed me about any outbreak, but they are closed and we can only know that after the holidays,” Health minister Henry Madzorera said today.
This week the MDC-T party’s Bulawayo Women’s Assembly chairperson and Senator for Mabutweni, Gladys Dube Gombami, 48, died of bird flu, according a report by the MDC-T party.
(Snip)
“We were finally given post mortem results and they show that she was taken away by bird flu,” said Samuel Gombami, a family spokesperson of the Gombamis. Hon Gombami died after complaining of dizziness. According to a relative, the moment of illness and death took place in less than 20 minutes. She was travelling home to Bulawayo from a funeral in Gokwe.
There are concerns following Gombami’s death that there could be an outbreak of bird flu in the country. (Snip) there are worrying scenes developing as there has been no public official word from the responsible authorities.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=43225
China
• Report: Hong Kong suspends poultry imports from some areas in China
• Video: Shenzhen confirmed cases of human infection of bird flu deaths – Government to be prepared to combat the epidemic (translated title)
• Cause of bird flu death in S China still unclear
• First victim of bird flu in China
• Bird Flu is China’s First in 18 Months
• Bird Flu death man ‘caught virus after jogging in park’ in China
Malaysia
• Health D-G: No fear of bird flu spreading from China
Vietnam
• CIDRAP: Vietnamese study finds high H1N1 seroprevalence in slaughterhouse pigs
Zimbabwe
• Health Minister unaware of Bird Flu outbreak
• Madzorera denies bird flu death
• Thousands bid farewell to Senator Gombami
Research
• CIDRAP: Study – H1N1 transmissibility likely due to constellation of genes
• CIDRAP: H1N1 antibody response in kids may correlate with disease severity
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The only clear deduction I can make
on how the bus driver became infected is H2H. Here’s what I think for what it’s worth.
A rundown of what happened:
December 21, 2011 had no incentive to fever, self-medication and outpatient emergency treatment did not improve.
(was already sick. Took sick leave. I believe it was at some point he fell at home trying to move around being extremely sick with high fever and fell injuring his ankle. I don’t think it had anything to do with jogging or excerising. he was too sick for that prior.)
December 25, 2011 Check Bao’an District People’s Hospital, appeared in respiratory failure, heart, kidney and other organ failure, shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation(http://www.f-paper.com/).
December 26, 2011 the development of ‘severe pneumonia’, transferred to the intensive care unit treatment.
December 30, 2011 Guangdong Expert Group on the diagnosis of suspected human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza infection.
December 31, 2011 bird flu prevention and control of the Ministry of Health expert group to determine the cases of human infection of highly pathogenic avian influenza confirmed cases.
11 am, Guangdong human avian influenza medical care members of the Group, Shenzhen City, the medical treatment of human avian influenza team leader Zhou Boping said in an interview with reporters, the patient’s condition is very critical, life-threatening at any time. It is reported that the date of the patient’s condition continued to increase, heart, lung, liver damage increase, increased shock, pulmonary fibrosis, effusion increased.
At 13:33 on December 31, 2011, the patient’s condition rapidly worsened after he died.
snip
Reporters learned from the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control, surnamed Chen December 21 last year, fever after five days because of a sprained foot and will rest at home. ‘Chen’s wife during the day, Mr(News News http://www.f-paper.com/). Chen alone at home.’ Guangdong Provincial Communicable Disease He Jianfeng, director of prevention and control of the chief physician, said Chen’s wife said he usually does not eat birds, last month the family has not eaten chickens, ducks and other birds.
Patients as a bus driver, and a large number of passengers per day in the car with a dense bus passengers be considered close contacts it?
http://www.f-paper.com/?i11113…
(I tried to find out just what kind of bus he drove, ie worked for a bus station, city transportation. It seems he drove a bus for city transportation. I’m not sure if poultry is allowed on the buses or not in the Bao’an district. Even if they are, he wouldn’t have direct contact with the birds. I believe he come into contact with something on the bus that another infected person touched, and he ate or touched his face without washing his hands. It is classic H2H transmission. I do not believe we will hear any further follow ups on his wife. -cottontop)
