Churachandpur, Jan 7 : At least twenty-seven persons have been reportedly infected and hospitalized with a “mysterious disease” in Churachandpur district of Manipur during the past three days. the Churachandpur patients reportedly show headache, fever, coughing and shivering the first case was reported on Sunday, January 4 when a 15 year girl from the village was brought for treatment. The number increased to 16 on Monday, while another 10 cases was reported Tuesday reliable sources informed that following the reports of the death of fowls in the Misao Lhavom village, a veterinary team has been dispatched on Tuesday evening to verify the cause
The above description of 27 hospitalized patients in Manipur is cause for concern. The Miaso Lhavom village is about 80 miles south of confirmed H5N1 in Assam, about 50 miles from the Bangladesh border, and 100 miles from excess poultry deaths in Manipur (see updated map). Moreover, birds in the village are dying.
There are also reports of buffalo deaths in Nungba, about 25 miles northwest of the village.
The large number of hospitalized cases in three days is without precedent for avian influenza, but large clusters of unconfirmed cases, especially in Indonesia, remain suspect since most testing is done after Tamiflu treatment has begun.
More information on testing of the poultry, as well as an influenza A rapid test on throat swabs from the hospitalized patients, would be useful.