UPDATED (see bottom)
# 1899
Right now, this is just a suspected case, but reports have appeared in several Korean media sources over the past few hours.
Cullers in South Korea are routinely given Tamiflu as a prophylactic against the H5N1 virus, and that may be clouding any lab tests right now. It is also possible that this soldier could have a respiratory infection caused by something other than bird flu.
Officials say it may be 1 to 3 weeks before a definitive test can be run, so they apparently are waiting on antibody titers (really, the gold standard test), which don't rise until 2 to 4 weeks post infection.
Thanks to Crof on Crofsblog for picking up this account from the JoongAng Daily.
Soldier may have first human case of bird flu here
April 22, 2008
A soldier who helped slaughter poultry infected with avian influenza might have the first human case of the disease in Korea, the Health Ministry said yesterday.
The soldier slaughtered poultry on Friday and Saturday, and his symptoms meet the criteria of a suspected avian influenza patient under the World Health Organization manual, the ministry said in a release. His condition, however, is close to that of a bacterial pneumonia patient, so we are closely monitoring him.
The ministry quoted the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as saying a soldier had respiratory complications after killing infected chickens and ducks last week.
The soldier is being treated and monitored in a quarantine ward. The ministry said tests are being conducted and it will take one to three weeks for a final confirmation.
Since April 1, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry has confirmed dozens of outbreaks of the highly contagious strain of the virus called H5N1, which is capable of infecting humans. Most outbreaks have been in South and North Jeolla.
The first H5N1 outbreak occurred in Korea in 2003, but there has never been a confirmed human case here. The virus has killed 207 people in 12 other countries since November 2007, according to World Health Organization data.
The release said the soldier's condition improved after he received antibiotics and that everyone who had contact with him were also given medicine and will be monitored for 10 days. The ministry issued the statement following a story in yesterday's editions of the Seoul Shinmun, a daily newspaper, which reported that a 22-year-old corporal in Sunchang, North Jeolla, may have gotten avian influenza.
Quoting a government report, the newspaper identified the corporal only by his family name, Cho.
After returning to his base after the culling, Cho developed a high fever starting on Sunday and was transported to the Army Hospital in Seongnam, the report said.
Cho's temperature went up to 39.8 degrees Celsius [103.6 F] and he fell unconscious, so we suspected it was an avian influenza infection, Capt. Wi Seong-hyeon of Cho's unit told the newspaper.
We transported him to the army hospital and reported the case to the Sunchang health authorities.
The ministry later denied that the soldier in question became unconscious.
UPDATE: Yonhap News Agency is reporting this story with an indication that this patient may have tested positive for the H5N1 virus. Despite these two `positive tests', this article still refers to Cho as a `suspect case'.
A Hat Tip to Ironorehopper on FluTrackers for posting this article.
Soldier suspected of contracting bird flu
SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- A soldier who showed symptoms of avian influenza is being treated a military hospital, authorities said Monday.
An army corporal, identified by his surname Cho, has been suffering from a high fever since Sunday after participating in the culling of AI infected chickens and ducks in Sunchang, North Jeolla province.
Cho showed symptoms of AI infection in the primary and secondary tests but a definite conclusion will be made after the results of a serum and virus cultivation test are made known three weeks later, according to military authorities.
(END)
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