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Of Cambodia's 21 H5N1 cases this year, 11 have been fatal. Since 2005 the country has confirmed 42 cases, 30 of them fatal. Thirty-one have been in children under 14 years old, the statement said.
...just the flu...
Cambodian toddler dies of bird flu, bringing cases to 23 so far this year
2013-11-04 19:30:40
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- A two-year-old girl from northwestern Pursat province died late last month from the H5N1 virus, bringing the number of the cases to 23 so far this year, a joint statement by the World Health Organization and the Cambodian Health Ministry said Monday.
Only 11 cases out of this year's 23 cases survived, the statement said.
Six-Year-Old Girl Among Few to Survive Bird Flu Infection
November 4, 2013
A 6-year-old girl from Battambang province, the 22nd person this year to contract avian influenza, is one of only half to have survived what has been the worst-ever outbreak of the virus in Cambodia.
…Cambodia is the country in the region with the highest number of bird flu cases this year, with 11 fatalities out of 22 cases, Mr. Krishnan said.
The majority of H5N1 cases have been children.
Girl, 6, confirmed as latest infected with H5N1 virus
Mon, 4 November 2013
Health officials confirmed the 22nd case of H5N1 human avian influenza this year in Cambodia on Friday – a 6-year-old girl from Battambang province’s Phnom Proek district.
The number of H5N1 cases this year is already the highest ever in Cambodia, where a total of 43 people have been reported infected.
…Only three recorded cases of H5N1 – all fatal – were confirmed in 2012, WHO found.
…“what is particularly concerning right now is that we’re seeing chickens dying in large numbers in villages,” he said yesterday.
“Normally, ducks can carry the virus for a long period of time but appear asymptomatic, so this is really not a good sign.”
Previous trends point to an increase of cases in Cambodia between November and February, Krishnan added.
H5N1 Bird Flu Genes Show Nature Can Pick Worrisome Traits
...in a study published in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers shows how evolution can favor mutations that make avian flu more transmissible in mammals.
...The deep look into the genes of transmitted H5N1 viruses also reveals the surprising degree to which the virus can mutate and genetically diversify in each infected host, a troubling trait for a pathogen that has so far infected 637 people, killing 378. The team's data emphasize the fact that influenza viruses exist in each infected individual -- bird, human or ferret -- as a population or "swarm" of genetically related, but distinct, mutants.
A mutation occurs somewhere on the viral genome every time a virus infects a cell, Friedrich explains. "You might think they all have the same sequence, but they don't. We found that this diversity increases over time in essentially all infected individuals we examined."
Perhaps their most surprising and troubling discovery was that mutations present in only about 6 percent of the viruses infecting one ferret could be transmitted to another. This suggests that even very rare mutants can be transmitted if they have an evolutionary advantage.
.. It just shows that the virus improves it's ability to replicate by increasing it's resistance.
Cambodia Health Ministry Reports Two More Human H5N1 Cases, Brings Total To 26 This Year
The Cambodian Ministry of Heath (MOH) reported today the confirmation of two additional of human H5N1 avian influenza cases, the 25th and 26th cases of 2013, according to a Joint Press Release from the MOH and the World Health Organization (WHO) dated Nov. 14.
29-year-old man becomes 14th person to die of bird flu in Cambodia this year
…Cambodia's 14 bird flu fatalities and 26 confirmed cases this year are the country's highest annual total since the virus surfaced in 2003, and also the highest for H5N1 for any country this year.
“Multiple research studies have linked increased NF-kB activity with aging,” Leung said. “We found that if we blocked NF-kB activity in elderly laboratory mice by bathing them in the bleach solution, the animals’ skin began to look younger. It went from old and fragile to thicker, with increased cell proliferation.” The effect diminished soon after the dilute-bleach baths were stopped, indicating that regular exposure is necessary to maintain skin thickness.
The researchers are now considering clinical trials in humans, and they are also looking at other diseases that could be treated by dilute-bleach baths. “It’s possible that, in addition to being beneficial to radiation dermatitis, it could also aid in healing wounds like diabetic ulcers,” Leung said. “This is exciting because there are so few side effects to dilute bleach. We may have identified other ways to use hypochlorite to really help patients. It could be easy, safe and inexpensive.”
- See more at: med.stanford.edu...