Reasonable Rascal
12-06-05, 00:45
In the interest of fairness, never mind honest disclosure, I find myself having to admit that I erred with a recent infectious disease report. I posted to the Avian Flu – Viet Nam thread an article taken from an Irish newspaper regarding yet another (?) apparent patient-to-healthcare worker transmission of avian influenza. You’ll find the report as post #56 of the thread located here:
http://medtech.syrene.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2010&page=4
While I recalled the earlier reported case my memory of the incident was insufficient to recall the details such that I failed to notice the more than vague similarity. Not only similar as it turns out but identical; the reports were verbatim, merely published months apart.
I offer in this thread the correspondance I have received since ProMed published the article. I hasten to add that ProMed was at worst an unwitting accomplice to this misreport and offered their caution up front. As it turns out they were correct to do so.
RR
First report:
Dear Dr.Buman,
I'm quite confident that item (2) that you posted in the very recent "ProMED-Mail Avian Influenza, human - East Asia (190) - Indonesia" refers to a cluster that occurred in Vietnam last February-March : the ages of all 5 patients correspond and probably bad journalism occurred... See http://focosi.altervista.org/pathovirusesH5N1.html for details.
Best regards,
Dr. Daniele Focosi
Second report:
Peter,
The incident posted as [2] in Archive Number 20051204.3501 appears to be a recycled version of a case reported during March 2005 (see articles/links below). This accounts for the disparity in death tolls you noticed in this article.
http://www.undp.org.vn/mlist/health/032005/post74.htm
http://www.flu.org.cn/news/20053126506.htm
See also
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/vietnam/video.html
Joe
Joseph P. Dudley, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist
EAI Corporation
a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
The report as published by ProMed:
Date: Sun 4 Dec 2005
From: Mike xxxxxx
Source: Evening Echo News, Sat 3 Dec 2005 [edited]
<http://www.eecho.ie/news/bstory.asp?j=90661921&p=9x66z39x&n=90662420>
Viet Nam: Nurse Suspected of Contracting Avian Influenza
-----------------------------------------------
Vietnamese health officials said today [Sat 3 Dec 2005] that they suspect that a nurse who cared for an avian influenza patient has contracted the disease that has killed 46 people across Southeast Asia. [The current death toll in East Asia since December 2003 is 69. - Mod.CP]
Dao Trong Bich, Deputy Director of the Medical Centre in Thai Thuy District in northern Thai Binh province, said that the woman had cared for a 21-year-old man who tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus and that [she] remains in critical condition. The 41-year-old nurse, also from Thai Binh province, was hospitalized on Thursday [1 Dec 2005] in Hanoi with a high fever, coughing and a lung infection, typical avian influenza symptoms. Specimens have been taken from her for testing, and results are expected this week, the doctor said.
She is in stable condition. If tests confirm it, she would be the 2nd Vietnamese health care worker to be sickened by the bird flu virus. Bich said health authorities are closely monitoring the health of 2 doctors and 2 other nurses at the center who had contact with the 21-year-old man. None have shown any symptoms, he added.
The 21-year-old man is at the center of a cluster of bird flu cases that include his 14-year-old sister and 80-year-old grandfather, who has the virus without showing any symptoms.
--
Michael J. xxxxxx, RN
Western Arizona Regional Medical Center
Bullhead City, AZ USA
[This report should be interpreted with caution. It has not yet been confirmed that the nurse in question has contracted avian influenza virus infection, nor that 21-year-old patient cared for by the nurse has been confirmed as an avian influenza case by laboratory testing. The cluster of cases comprising the 21-year-old patient, his sister and asymptomatic grandfather could merely indicate independent infections contacted from a common source rather than presumptive person-to-person transmission of infection. Further clarification is
awaited. - Mod.CP]
And ProMed’s later correction:
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (191): INDONESIA, VIET NAM: CORRECTION
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
CORRECTION: Dr. Olav Hungnes (Dept.of Airborne Infections, Div. of Infectious Disease Control, Norwegian Inst. of Public Health, Oslo, Norway), Dr. Joe Dudley and correspondent David Price have pointed out that the edited report from the Irish newspaper "Evening Echo," posted as part [2] of the ProMED-mail post "Avian influenza, human - East Asia (190): Indonesia, Viet Nam," is indeed an echo! This article matches word-for-word parts of the text of a report from "Sunday Business Post Online," another Irish news provider, which was posted on ProMED-mail in March 2005 as part [2] of "Avian influenza, human - East Asia (47): Viet Nam."
Probably, this error is a consequence of the fact that the original texts of the reports as received from the correspondents, the 1st in March 2005 and the 2nd in December 2005, were both dated "12/03/05." In Europe, this date would be read as the 12th March 2005, and, across the Atlantic, as the 3rd of December 2005 (and, no doubt, by search engines as either). When moderating the report received in December 2005, I [Mod.CP] suggested the information should interpreted with caution, because I could find no recent references to the patient at the center of the story nor to some other material which I edited out as inconsistent with recent events in Viet Nam.
Dr. Hungnes has also provided, as follows, the clarification that I had suggested should be awaited. The H5N1 infection of the nurse at the center of the report was never confirmed. In addition to the 21-year-old male, his 14-year-old sister, and their grandfather, a 26-year-old male nurse who tended to the 21-year-old was also diagnosed with H5N1 infection.
We are grateful to Dr. Hungnes, Dr. Dudley and David Price for detecting this error, and our apologies for misleading anyone. - Mods.CP/MPP
--
ProMED-mail
To the members and lurkers on this board I offer my sincere apologies. Now, if you will excuse me I’ll go set the oven and start that crow to baking.
RR
http://medtech.syrene.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2010&page=4
While I recalled the earlier reported case my memory of the incident was insufficient to recall the details such that I failed to notice the more than vague similarity. Not only similar as it turns out but identical; the reports were verbatim, merely published months apart.
I offer in this thread the correspondance I have received since ProMed published the article. I hasten to add that ProMed was at worst an unwitting accomplice to this misreport and offered their caution up front. As it turns out they were correct to do so.
RR
First report:
Dear Dr.Buman,
I'm quite confident that item (2) that you posted in the very recent "ProMED-Mail Avian Influenza, human - East Asia (190) - Indonesia" refers to a cluster that occurred in Vietnam last February-March : the ages of all 5 patients correspond and probably bad journalism occurred... See http://focosi.altervista.org/pathovirusesH5N1.html for details.
Best regards,
Dr. Daniele Focosi
Second report:
Peter,
The incident posted as [2] in Archive Number 20051204.3501 appears to be a recycled version of a case reported during March 2005 (see articles/links below). This accounts for the disparity in death tolls you noticed in this article.
http://www.undp.org.vn/mlist/health/032005/post74.htm
http://www.flu.org.cn/news/20053126506.htm
See also
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/vietnam/video.html
Joe
Joseph P. Dudley, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist
EAI Corporation
a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
The report as published by ProMed:
Date: Sun 4 Dec 2005
From: Mike xxxxxx
Source: Evening Echo News, Sat 3 Dec 2005 [edited]
<http://www.eecho.ie/news/bstory.asp?j=90661921&p=9x66z39x&n=90662420>
Viet Nam: Nurse Suspected of Contracting Avian Influenza
-----------------------------------------------
Vietnamese health officials said today [Sat 3 Dec 2005] that they suspect that a nurse who cared for an avian influenza patient has contracted the disease that has killed 46 people across Southeast Asia. [The current death toll in East Asia since December 2003 is 69. - Mod.CP]
Dao Trong Bich, Deputy Director of the Medical Centre in Thai Thuy District in northern Thai Binh province, said that the woman had cared for a 21-year-old man who tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus and that [she] remains in critical condition. The 41-year-old nurse, also from Thai Binh province, was hospitalized on Thursday [1 Dec 2005] in Hanoi with a high fever, coughing and a lung infection, typical avian influenza symptoms. Specimens have been taken from her for testing, and results are expected this week, the doctor said.
She is in stable condition. If tests confirm it, she would be the 2nd Vietnamese health care worker to be sickened by the bird flu virus. Bich said health authorities are closely monitoring the health of 2 doctors and 2 other nurses at the center who had contact with the 21-year-old man. None have shown any symptoms, he added.
The 21-year-old man is at the center of a cluster of bird flu cases that include his 14-year-old sister and 80-year-old grandfather, who has the virus without showing any symptoms.
--
Michael J. xxxxxx, RN
Western Arizona Regional Medical Center
Bullhead City, AZ USA
[This report should be interpreted with caution. It has not yet been confirmed that the nurse in question has contracted avian influenza virus infection, nor that 21-year-old patient cared for by the nurse has been confirmed as an avian influenza case by laboratory testing. The cluster of cases comprising the 21-year-old patient, his sister and asymptomatic grandfather could merely indicate independent infections contacted from a common source rather than presumptive person-to-person transmission of infection. Further clarification is
awaited. - Mod.CP]
And ProMed’s later correction:
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (191): INDONESIA, VIET NAM: CORRECTION
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
CORRECTION: Dr. Olav Hungnes (Dept.of Airborne Infections, Div. of Infectious Disease Control, Norwegian Inst. of Public Health, Oslo, Norway), Dr. Joe Dudley and correspondent David Price have pointed out that the edited report from the Irish newspaper "Evening Echo," posted as part [2] of the ProMED-mail post "Avian influenza, human - East Asia (190): Indonesia, Viet Nam," is indeed an echo! This article matches word-for-word parts of the text of a report from "Sunday Business Post Online," another Irish news provider, which was posted on ProMED-mail in March 2005 as part [2] of "Avian influenza, human - East Asia (47): Viet Nam."
Probably, this error is a consequence of the fact that the original texts of the reports as received from the correspondents, the 1st in March 2005 and the 2nd in December 2005, were both dated "12/03/05." In Europe, this date would be read as the 12th March 2005, and, across the Atlantic, as the 3rd of December 2005 (and, no doubt, by search engines as either). When moderating the report received in December 2005, I [Mod.CP] suggested the information should interpreted with caution, because I could find no recent references to the patient at the center of the story nor to some other material which I edited out as inconsistent with recent events in Viet Nam.
Dr. Hungnes has also provided, as follows, the clarification that I had suggested should be awaited. The H5N1 infection of the nurse at the center of the report was never confirmed. In addition to the 21-year-old male, his 14-year-old sister, and their grandfather, a 26-year-old male nurse who tended to the 21-year-old was also diagnosed with H5N1 infection.
We are grateful to Dr. Hungnes, Dr. Dudley and David Price for detecting this error, and our apologies for misleading anyone. - Mods.CP/MPP
--
ProMED-mail
To the members and lurkers on this board I offer my sincere apologies. Now, if you will excuse me I’ll go set the oven and start that crow to baking.
RR