Recombinomics: Confirmation of Toddler H5N1 Transmission in Beheira Egypt

Commentary

Confirmation of Toddler H5N1 Transmission in Beheira Egypt
Recombinomics Commentary 16:24
April 8, 2009

But Jabbour said there was still no evidence of the disease being passed from person to person in Egypt. He added that two toddlers from the northern province of Beheira infected within days of one another in March were cousins.

The above comments on the Beheira cluster leave little doubt that the infections involved toddler to toddler transmission, based on the four day gap in disease onset dates. Local media reports indicated the two cases were next door neighbors, and the above comments state that they were cousins, yet neither the SAIDR updates, nor the WHO update by its Mediterranean branch mention that these two cases were cousins and almost certainly had contact, supporting human to human transmission.

The failure of these government agencies to include this most relevant information, and the delay in posting situation updates for the three most recent confirmations in Egypt by WHO in Geneva, creates significant cause for concern.
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