# 1159
In my 3-day absence (yes, the beach was fantastic!) the big story appears to be Riau, and reports of up to 8 possible bird flu victims hospitalized.
Coming on the heels of another reported H5N1 death, these reports are always a bit worrisome, even though they often turn out to be false alarms. One of these days, we fear, we could see a large cluster emerge in just this fashion.
Crof and Scott McPherson have both been carrying detailed (or at least, as detailed as we know) accounts of the events in Riau over the weekend.
News reports are now suggesting that two nurses who attended to the H5N1 fatality late last week are suffering from fevers. Tests will be run, and hopefully the results will be made known in the next few days.
While infected HCW's (Health Care Workers) is one of the signs we look for, right now, it is too soon to jump to any conclusions. There are literally dozens of pathogens running around Indonesia that can produce fevers, and nurses in hospitals are routinely exposed to a lot of them.
The other big story over the weekend appears to be the release of a study in the journal Public Library of Science Pathogens, where a team of researchers led by virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine has identified a single change in a viral protein that facilitates the H5N1 virus' ability to infect the cells of the upper respiratory system in mammals.
Admittedly, this isn't exactly new news, it has certainly caught fire in the mainstream press.
Since we aren't in the midst of a pandemic, there are other genetic factors involved, and the virus isn't quite ready for prime time. It does appear, however, to be warming up in the wings.
While hardly a deluge, the steady drip-drip-drip of flu news continues.
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