Fatal H5N1 Case in Shandong China Increases Concerns

Commentary

Recombinomics Commentary 15:46
January 18, 2009

The 27-year-old woman surnamed Zhang, from Jinan, capital of China's eastern Shandong province, died on Saturday after falling ill on Jan. 5

The above comments describe the third confirmed H5N1 case in China this month (see updated map). This case is in addition to the fatality in Beijing (19F) and the critical case originating in Hunan (2F) and all three follow confirmation of two bird outbreaks in Jiangsu last month. The outbreaks in Jiangsu involved asymptomatic ducks infected with clade 7, a clade that is significantly different than the clade 1 and clade 2 targets of avian and human vaccines, raising concerns that clade 7 is silently spreading in China and cause fatal infections this month.