Re: Bird flu scare: Human spread? You're right, Henry

[Guest guest]

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MAY. 24 10:25 A.M. ET Stocks in companies with bird flu drugs in

development rallied Wednesday on fears that the World Health

Organization may have discovered cases of human-to-human

transmission of the deadly virus in Indonesia.

One of the leaders was Malvern, Pa.-based Novavax Inc., which

announced in April that it brought one of its plants up to code to

make bird flu vaccines, based on recently issued Food and Drug

Administration guidelines.

Novavax shares rose 62 cents, or 13.3 percent, to $5.30 in morning

trading on the Nasdaq.

Also up were shares of Hemispherx Biopharma Inc., which rose 23

cents, or 8.6 percent, to $2.91 on the American Stock Exchange. AVI

Biopharma Inc. shares climbed 26 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $4.88 on

the Nasdaq. Shares of Generex Biotechnology Corp. were up 29 cents,

or 15.8 percent, to $2.13 on the Nasdaq. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Inc. shares jumped $1.64, or 13.9 percent, to $13.44 on the Nasdaq.

Carrington Laboratories Inc., which recently received a patent for

expanding a flu vaccine during an outbreak, saw its shares rise 26

cents, or 6.6 percent, to $4.20 on the Nasdaq.

Also, shares of Gilead Sciences Inc., which receives royalties from

Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG for the flu treatment Tamiflu,

climbed $2.62, or 4.9 percent, to $56.39 on the Nasdaq.

Late Monday, the WHO announced another case of a man who died of the

H5N1 avian flu strain in Indonesia, the sixth person to die out of

seven infected with the virus in an extended family. In many of the

cases, relatives who fell ill had been caring for very sick family

members.

While the WHO said that human-to-human transmission of the virus

cannot be ruled out, it is searching for other explanations for how

the virus could have been transmitted. The organization stressed

that it has found no evidence of a spread of bird flu among humans

or that the virus is easily transmitted from person to person.

To date, the WHO has uncovered a total of 218 cases of the virus in

humans resulting in 124 deaths. People have contracted the virus

after being exposed to infected poultry. The recent incidents in

Indonesia are the first sign of a possible outbreak involving people

who may be getting the virus from exposure to other infected people,

suggesting that the virus may be mutating.

Indonesia has one of the highest bird flu mortality rates in people

with a total of 33 deaths resulting out of 42 confirmed cases.

>

> Everytime this thing appears to be dying out, someone gins this

thing up.

>

> Is some salesman trying to sell tamiflu?

>

> I'd like to think we could have some confidence in this

information.

>

> We can't, given the nature of the agencies which are involved and

what we know about our situation.

>

> Bird flu scare: Human spread?

>

>

>

> Bird flu scare: Human spread?

> No mutation, but questions over transmission worries WHO

>

> Wednesday, May 24, 2006; Posted: 9:03 a.m. EDT (13:03 GMT)

>

>

> The only remaining member of a family killed by bird flu is

treated

> in Indonesia's Northern Sumatra province.

> World Health Organization (WHO)

>

> (CNN) -- The World Health Organization says a cluster of bird

flu

> cases in Indonesia may have been caused by human-to-human

> transmission.

>

> An outbreak of bird flu that infected at least seven Indonesian

> family members earlier this month in north Sumatra was not a

mutated

> version of the often deadly H5N1 form of the virus, World Health

> Organization spokesman Cordingley told CNN.

>

> However, there were concerns the virus may have been spread by

human-

> to-human contact, he said.

>

> " We have not had a cluster as large as this -- seven people in

an

> extended family, " Cordingley said.

>

> " We can still find no sign of any sick animals that might have

> infected these people so we've got a puzzle on our hands and

it's a

> worrying one. "

>

> All seven members of the family have since died. (U.N. agency

> launches probe)

>

> Health officials have long been concerned about a mutation in

the

> bird flu virus that would make it spread more easily among

humans.

>

> Tests done by WHO scientists show that this has not happened.

>

> " There is no change in the virus whatsoever, " Cordingley

said. " This

> virus has not developed the ability to jump more easily from

> chickens to humans, nor spread among humans more easily. "

>

> According to Cordingley, the people were living together in very

> cramped quarters -- seven people in one family, many living on

one

> room.

>

> " All confirmed cases in the cluster can be directly linked to

close

> and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe

> illness, " a WHO statement said Tuesday.

>

> " Although human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, the

> search for a possible alternative source of exposure is

continuing, "

> it said.

>

> The H5N1 virus has infected humans in 10 countries across Asia

and

> Africa.

>

> The WHO has confirmed 218 human cases worldwide; of those, 124

died

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

"Also, shares of Gilead Sciences Inc., which receives royalties from Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG for the flu treatment Tamiflu, climbed $2.62, or 4.9 percent, to $56.39 on the Nasdaq."

They have yet to release the complete genomic sequence of the H5N1 bird flu.

However, any similarity or substantial overlap in genomic sequence between the ultimately released H5N1 bird flu genome and DNA taken from a heretofore unknown family from Baden Germany referred to by locals as "Die Rumsfelds", is purely coincidental.

Bird flu scare: Human spread?> > > > Bird flu scare: Human spread?> No mutation, but questions over transmission worries WHO> > Wednesday, May 24, 2006; Posted: 9:03 a.m. EDT (13:03 GMT) > > > The only remaining member of a family killed by bird flu is treated > in Indonesia's Northern Sumatra province. > World Health Organization (WHO) > > (CNN) -- The World Health Organization says a cluster of bird flu > cases in Indonesia may have been caused by human-to-human > transmission. > > An outbreak of bird flu that infected at least seven Indonesian > family members earlier this month in north Sumatra was not a mutated > version of the often deadly H5N1 form of the virus, World Health > Organization spokesman Cordingley told CNN.> > However, there were concerns the virus may have been spread by human-> to-human contact, he said. > > "We have not had a cluster as large as this -- seven people in an > extended family," Cordingley said. > > "We can still find no sign of any sick animals that might have > infected these people so we've got a puzzle on our hands and it's a > worrying one." > > All seven members of the family have since died. (U.N. agency > launches probe)> > Health officials have long been concerned about a mutation in the > bird flu virus that would make it spread more easily among humans. > > Tests done by WHO scientists show that this has not happened.> > "There is no change in the virus whatsoever," Cordingley said. "This > virus has not developed the ability to jump more easily from > chickens to humans, nor spread among humans more easily."> > According to Cordingley, the people were living together in very > cramped quarters -- seven people in one family, many living on one > room.> > "All confirmed cases in the cluster can be directly linked to close > and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe > illness," a WHO statement said Tuesday.> > "Although human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, the > search for a possible alternative source of exposure is continuing," > it said. > > The H5N1 virus has infected humans in 10 countries across Asia and > Africa.> > The WHO has confirmed 218 human cases worldwide; of those, 124 died> > > > > > > >