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Hot topics Tuesday 8 April 2008 (Embargo lifted at 9.01am AEST) RAPID ROUNDUP: Father probably caught bird flu from his son: Lancet - UK experts comment A report in Lancet found that a Chinese man who contracted bird flu probably caught it from his son. Here are several comments from UK experts, compliments of our colleagues at the UK Science Media Centre. Journalists needing a copy of the Lancet paper or assistance finding an Australian expert to comment, can contact AusSMC on (08) 8207 7415 or by email.
Ian Jones, Professor of Virology at the University of Reading, UK “Although the title of this paper looks chilling its findings are all good. 91 people who had close contact with the son who died did not show any sign of having seen the virus and the son’s father, although infected, made a full recovery. On top of that the virus isolated had no changes to indicate adaptation to human infection. It would seem the father simply caught the avian virus breathed out by his dying son as he, in turn, had acquired it from a bird. Thus, there is no indication from this data that we are any nearer a pandemic.” Professor Wendy Barclay, Chair in Influenza Virology, Imperial College London, UK Although it is possible that the father did catch H5N1 influenza from his son, there is no virological evidence to support the idea that this strain of H5N1 virus has acquired mutations that allow it to pass readily from one person to another. The experience here reinforces the idea that there are still several barriers the virus must overcome before it acquires human transmissibility.”
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