Four people infected with bird flu in the UK
Four people have tested positive for the low-pathogenic avian influenza virus on a farm in the UK.
Samples from nine people associated with chickens infected with H7N2 on a farm in north Wales were tested by the Health Protection Agency, of which four tested positive. Three of the four infected people were initially hospitalised, but later released.
However, a World Health Organization official says that there is not ebough attention being given to low-pathogenic strains.
“There may be a bit of complacency when it comes to recognizing the pandemic potential of H7 viruses,” WHO expert Dr Michael Perdue. “Here, we’re talking about a small number of birds, and yet we still have four (human) cases. Unless there’s something unusual about the contact with birds, which suggests the virus is finding new ways of getting into humans.”
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