Samples of H5N1 bird flu collected from a severely ill patient in Louisiana reveal signs of mutations that may make the virus more transmissible to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
 |
| Genetic analysis suggests the H5N1 bird flu virus has the capacity to mutate in ways that could make it easier to spread to humans – CDC |
The patient, unidentified, who was hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms, is believed to have contracted bird flu after being exposed to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.
The patient has not been identified , however, is reportedly above 65 with underlying health problems and is the second person in the United States (US) who has been hospitalized with the virus.
The Louisiana patient was infected with a strain of the virus which differs from the one affecting dairy cows and resulting to sporadic cases in farmworkers in the U.S.
Two samples of genetic analysis collected from the Louisiana patient suggest that the virus may have the ability to cling to cells in the human upper airway.
Infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. William Schaffner, said: “There’s no evidence that there’s been spread from this person to others, and that’s a good thing.
“It clearly means that we have to keep our attention on this, and if anything, ratchet it up even more.”
