Avian flu symptoms may not always be respiratory
Avian influenza may have a wider clinical spectrum than previously thought, say scientists who report a further fatal case of the disease in Vietnam.
A four-year-old boy died after suffering from severe diarrhoea followed
by seizures and a coma. Although the clinical diagnosis was acute encephalitis,
later analysis showed the presence of the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus
in the child’s cerebrospinal fluid and faecal, throat and serum
specimens.
The child’s nine-year-old sister had died from a similar syndrome
two weeks earlier and the researchers say that it is likely that the
two children had the same disease.
Since neither child had any respiratory symptoms, the researchers say
that avian flu may manifest itself in more ways than previously thought.
Furthermore, the presence of viable virus in faecal matter has important
implications for human-to-human transmission, especially in areas where
living conditions are confined and diarrhoea is common (New England
Journal of Medicine 2005;352:686). |
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