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What's New with the Bird Flu?

March 8, 2007
Current events and news reports regarding the H5N1 Virus
By Kristy Baumgart, Epidemiologist, St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment

Please note there is new information almost daily. For the most current and accurate information, visit http://www.pandemicflu.gov, and look under the heading "Monitoring Outbreaks". The USGS site is very helpful in tracking current wildlife outbreaks and news stories. The WHO site gives the most current and accurate lab confirmed human case and human death totals.

Current human death rate from the H5N1 strain is 60.6% (277 cases, 168 deaths).  An additional human case in Egypt has been discovered in a 5 year old girl, who remains hospitalized in stable condition. The girl was exposed to sick birds 1 week prior to her illness. All contacts are being monitored and have remained healthy. The 23rd human case in China has also been diagnosed in a 44 year old woman, who remains in critical condition in a Chinese hospital. The woman is a farmer with known exposure to birds.

The previously reported human case from Laos, died on March 7. This is the first reported human case and death for the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

WHO Laboratory Confirmed H5N1 Human Cases As of 2/27/07

Country 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total
cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths cases deaths
Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 8 5
Cambodia 0 0 0 0 4 4 2 2 6 0 6 6
China 0 0 0 0 8 5 12 8 21 0 23 14
Djibouti 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 10 1 1 23 13
Indonesia 0 0 0 0 19 12 56 46 6 5 81 63
Iraq 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 2
Lao People's Democratic Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
Thailand 0 0 17 12 5 2 3 3 0 0 25 17
Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 4 0 0 12 4
Viet Nam 3 3 29 20 61 19 0 0 0 0 93 42
Total 4 4 46 32 97 42 114 79 4 3 277 168

Total number of cases includes number of deaths.
WHO reports only laboratory-confirmed cases.


Read more What's New with the Bird Flu? articles . . .