How Easily Is Bird Flu Spread?
Study in Vietnam Shows Handling of Sick or Dead Birds Is the Biggest Risk
Handling sick or dead birds was the riskiest practice studied.
People reporting direct contact with sick or dead birds were most likely to also report flu-like symptoms. Those who had sick or dead birds at home -- but didn't touch those birds -- were less likely to report flu. Keeping healthy poultry at home wasn't linked to flu.
The flu-like illnesses were "much more mild" than confirmed human cases of the H5N1 virus in Vietnam and Thailand in 2004, Thorson and colleagues write.
Sick or dead poultry may have been responsible for 650 to 750 cases of flu-like illnesses in their study, the researchers estimate.
"The results suggest that the symptoms are most often relatively mild and that close contact is needed for transmission to humans," they write.
Thorson's team calls for studies that include lab tests to check their findings.
How Easily Is Bird Flu Spread?
Study in Vietnam Shows Handling of Sick or Dead Birds Is the Biggest Risk
Biggest Problem: Handling Sick, Dead Birds
Handling sick or dead birds was the riskiest practice studied.
People reporting direct contact with sick or dead birds were most likely to also report flu-like symptoms. Those who had sick or dead birds at home -- but didn't touch those birds -- were less likely to report flu. Keeping healthy poultry at home wasn't linked to flu.
The flu-like illnesses were "much more mild" than confirmed human cases of the H5N1 virus in Vietnam and Thailand in 2004, Thorson and colleagues write.
Sick or dead poultry may have been responsible for 650 to 750 cases of flu-like illnesses in their study, the researchers estimate.
"The results suggest that the symptoms are most often relatively mild and that close contact is needed for transmission to humans," they write.
Thorson's team calls for studies that include lab tests to check their findings.
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