Toronto – Bird Flu Fears Puts Couple In Isolation

Fears a couple that just returned from Bangladesh could have avian flu are inaccurate, according to a Toronto hospital.

The elderly couple was admitted to Toronto East General Hospital Tuesday night after complaining of flu-like symptoms and apparently isolated.

However speculation that they could be suffering from a human form of the H5N1 virus is unfounded, the hospital said in a statement released Wednesday.

“Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH) is concerned about inaccurate media speculation and reporting regarding human cases of avian flu. TEGH has no reason to speculate that any patients in the hospital have avian flu,” the statement read.

“Furthermore, media reports are indicating that the individuals suspected to have avian flu had recently traveled to Bangladesh. It is important to clarify that, according to the World Health Network, there have been no reported human cases of H5N1 avian flu in Bangladesh.”

Officials did say they were dealing with an increased number of patients with seasonal flu-like symptoms.

They’re still waiting for test results to confirm what the couple is ailing from, but they insist bird flu is not a possibility.

The H5N1 virus spreads quickly and has a mortality rate as high as 70 per cent..

Health experts fear avian flu is the most likely source for the next pandemic.

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Indonesia: Rampant Bird Flu Raises Pandemic Risks

Efforts to contain bird flu are failing in Indonesia, increasing the possibility that the virus may mutate into a deadlier form, the leading U.N. veterinary health body warned.

The H5N1 bird flu virus is entrenched in 31 of the countrys 33 provinces and will cause more human deaths, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement released late Tuesday.

“I am deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic,” FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said.

Indonesia “has not succeeded in containing the spread of avian influenza,” Domenech said, adding that there must be “major human and financial resources, stronger political commitment and strengthened coordination.”

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 236 people in a dozen countries worldwide since it began ravaging poultry stocks across Asia in 2003. It has been found in birds in more than 60 countries, but Indonesia has recorded 105 deaths, almost half the global tally, according to the World Health Organization.