Multiple H5N1 mutations found in familial cluster of human transmission

Multiple mutations were found in the H5N1 bird flu virus that killed seven family members in Indonesia, according to a confidential research obtained by the science journal Nature. The analysis presented at a closed door meeting also revealed that 32 mutations accumulated as the virus spread within the family, which started when a 37-year old woman possibly caught the disease from poultry before transmitting it to her family before she died.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), which has admitted that the cluster of cases was probably caused by human-to-human transmission, had said in May that there had been no significant mutations in the strain found the in family.

Nature said although the WHO statement was not incorrect, more could have been said about the changes that were found.

“One of the mutations confers resistance to the antiviral drug amantadine, a fact not mentioned in the WHO statement,” the journal said.

Researchers believe the findings reinforce the need for bird flu data to be more widely available to improve understanding of the deadly virus.

[Main Source: Reuters ]

Tags: avian flu, H5N1, Indonesia, mutations, World Health Organization