More H5N1 H2H?

It looks like there may be another instance of limited human-to-human transmission of avian influenza A(H5N1) in Indonesia, where the very first episode of limited H2H transmission took place earlier this year. On Sunday a 23 year-old man in West Java died of bird flu, and two of his siblings were hospitalized shortly thereafter when they also became ill with the disease.

Since avian H5N1 is now endemic to Indonesia, the chances that the virus will recombine with human flu viruses to produce an easily-transmitted killer strain increase daily (indeed, today we learn that the sister of the bird flu victim mentioned above has tested positive for H1N1). Not good news as we approach the 2006-07 flu season...