Egypt Seeks UN Bird-Flu Probe After Non-Fatal Cases (Update1)

By Jason Gale
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Egypt asked the World Health Organization to help investigate an outbreak of bird flu after a dozen non-fatal cases of the disease this year prompted speculation the virus may be becoming less virulent.

Two WHO doctors and a scientist will travel to Cairo later this week at the request of Egypt’s Ministry of Health, said Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the United Nations agency in Geneva, in an interview today. The UN team will assist local authorities identify how the patients were infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza and whether there have been any significant changes in disease patterns or in the virus itself.

Scientists have been following H5N1 for more than a decade because of concern it could spark a pandemic if it becomes as infectious for humans as it is for poultry. A less lethal strain could be more contagious because people would have longer to transmit it through coughing and sneezing. None of the 12 Egyptian cases reported to the WHO this year has been fatal.

“These data do indeed suggest that there may have been a reduction in the virulence of the outbreak strain, and there is a perceived risk of progression of the virus to a less virulent but more transmissible form,” the International Society for Infectious Diseases said today in an e-mail via its ProMED-mail program.
The survival of H5N1 patients in Egypt also may reflect early treatment with antiviral medicines, ProMED said.

At least 417 people in 15 countries have contracted the virus since 2003. Three of every five cases worldwide were fatal. Most cases were caused by contact with infected poultry, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or plucking feathers, according to WHO.

FAO Assistance
H5N1 is continuing to circulate in poultry in Egypt, though there is no evidence so far of any significant changes in the virus, said Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization. The Rome-based UN agency has also agreed to a request by Egypt’s government to provide technical assistance, Domenech said in an interview today.

Egypt has the highest number of avian-flu cases outside Asia, with 63 cases reported to WHO since 2006 of which 23 were fatal. In comparison, more than 80 percent of the 141 people reported to have been infected in Indonesia died.

Roche Holding AG says its Tamiflu antiviral medicine can reduce the severity and duration of flu symptoms if taken within 48 hours of the onset of disease. Early treatment for H5N1 may improve survival, some uncontrolled studies have shown.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net