# 1896
ProMED-mail is a global reporting and alert system created by the International Society for Infectious Disease. Members receive email notification of just about any outbreak of infectious disease in the world, with expert analysis.
Today ProMed released a very strange tale out of Peru, where Peruvian Health Officials reportedly have declared an epidemic alert and have quarantined at sea the crew of a fishing vessel in which two Chinese people died.
The following article appears on G1 at globo.com, a Portuguese news site. The translation and commentary comes from ProMed Mail.
Date: 19 Apr 2008
From: Mirian M. De MouraSource: G1 [in Portuguese, trans. Mod.JW, edited]
2 people died on board a vessel with suspected flu virus.
Ship stranded on the high seas near the port of Callao, Peru.
Peruvian health authorities declared an epidemic alert and quarantined at sea the crew of a fishing vessel in which 2 Chinese people died, apparently due to a type of influenza virus, the newspaper "La Republica" reported this Saturday [19 Apr 2008].
The alert forced the Peruvian Navy to isolate the 22 crew members of the ship on the high seas and 30 Peruvians, among sailors and health staff, who entered the ship when the death of the cook and a fisherman was reported, 9 Apr 2008.
According to "La Republica", "a strange mutant virus was the cause of the agonizing death of 2 Chinese crew of the fishing vessel 'Chan An 168', who died on 9 Apr 2008, off the coast of the port of Callao."
The vessel was isolated 12 km off the main Peruvian port and is guarded by the Navy, while Peruvian sailors and medical personnel are being observed to see if they have been infected.
The newspaper's description of `a strange mutant virus' is certainly eyecatching, and I'm sure will sell papers, but there doesn't appear to be any laboratory testing or genetic sequencing to back that claim up.
Frankly, there are a whole host of things that could have caused these deaths, including food poisoning. It isn't clear why anyone would jump to the conclusion that they were caused by a `strange mutant virus'. The quarantining at sea of the vessel and its crew until the cause of these deaths can be determined, however, seems prudent.
Additionally, the two deaths aboard ship were reported on April 9th, more than 10 days ago. Typically, the incubation period of influenza viruses is less than that. The fact that there is no mention of anyone else falling ill would seem to cast doubt on the `flu virus' theory.
For now these remain undiagnosed deaths, and a bit of a mystery. The fact that the vessel hailed from China probably set off some alarm bells among the public health officials in Peru. Hopefully we will learn more about these cases in the coming days.
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