Avian flu 'passed between humans'
likely to be the first of many after researchers concluded a victim
of the virus may have contracted the disease from her daughter.
The news has sent a shiver through the spine of the medical community who now believe the virus has broken down the "final barrier" which prevented it being spread between people.
The news is also likely to create an upsurge in demand for the drug remedy Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate). Tamiflu, manufactured by Roche, has been singled out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as its drug of choice to protect against bird flu.
In 2004, avian flu infected at least 44 people in eight south Asian countries, killing 32. Most of these persons had had close contact with poultry. Until the late 1990s, it had not been thought that the virus strain - H5N1 - could spread to humans.
Four different influenza antiviral drugs (amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir, and zanamivir) are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of influenza. All four have activity against the HN51 viruses. However, sometimes influenza strains can become resistant to these drugs, and therefore the drugs may not always be effective.
The H5N1 virus was isolated from poultry and humans in 2004 and revealed the viruses were resistant to two of the medications (amantadine and rimantadine). Monitoring of avian viruses for resistance to influenza antiviral medications has become a source of concern for the CDC.
The latest case involved an 11-year-old girl who sought medical help when she developed a fever, cough and sore throat in September last year. The girl's mother had cared for her daughter at the hospital for two days before the child died.
Three days later, she too began to experience fever and severe shortness of breath. Approximately a week later, she too died.
The researchers findings are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Whilst the 11-year old girl and her mother, both from Thailand, have become the 12th and 13th human victim from the virus in a month, this is not the first evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus. In 1997, scientists believed bird flu also spread between people in rare cases in Hong Kong.
Only last week, The World Health Organisation (WHO), executive debated on ways to strengthen disease surveillance, boost research on a vaccine and stockpile the drug when it comes onto the market.
In the next few months, researchers at seven US universities will start the first human testing of experimental bird flu vaccines made by Chiron Corp and Aventis Pasteur, the vaccine division of French-based Sanofi-Aventis.
In addition, US company PRB Pharmaceuticals and China's Lee's Pharmaceuticals announced they were working with government and hospital officials in Southeast Asia to provide VIRA 38 for the treatment and prevention of bird flu (H5N1).
VIRA 38, PRB Pharmaceuticals' over-the-counter broad spectrum anti-viral medication contains botanical extracts that inhibit the bird flu (H5N1) virus. Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have previously discovered these same compounds to be effective against a variety of pathogens including SARS CoV, the virus responsible for causing severe acute respiratory syndrome.
