China Reports 6 Cases Tied to New Virus
Pastor Dale Morgan
China Reports 6 Cases Tied to New Virus*
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 22, 2006; 11:16 AM
BEIJING -- China has reported six cases of human bocavirus in children,
the first infections in the country linked with the newly identified
virus, the official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday.
Six of 72 phlegm samples taken from children in Chenzhou, a city in the
central province of Hunan, since October have tested positive, Xinhua
said, citing Duan Zhaojun, a researcher from China's Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
It did not give any details on the cases, except that the samples were
taken from infants a year old or younger.
Human bocavirus has been found in respiratory secretions of children
with lower respiratory tract infections, according to findings presented
at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in March.
It was first reported in Sweden in September 2005 and very little is
known about the infection and its root.
Human bocavirus has been found in nearly 5 percent of pneumonia patients
in rural Thailand, mostly young children, the researchers said. Cases
have also been identified in children with respiratory tract infections
in Australia and Japan.
The conference included researchers from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in the United States and the World Health Organization.
China is particularly sensitive about emerging diseases. It has been
accused of being slow and reluctant to release information on its
2002-03 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. International
health experts have also urged Beijing to do more to stop outbreaks of
bird flu.