A middle-aged man who survived bird flu has revealed the horrific infection—which killed his brother—left him feeling as if his ‘whole skull was throbbing’.
The virus, also known as H5N1, is currently spreading across the US and has reached the UK triggering global health chiefs today to warn of an impending pandemic.
At present the outbreak, which began in 2022, has affected hundred of millions of birds on farms across 50 US states and more than 1,000 dairy cow herds.
There have been 70 human cases in America, including one confirmed death—although these individuals are thought to have contracted the virus from animals.
Meanwhile in the UK, seven human cases of the H5N1 virus have been detected since 2021—the most recent in January this year.
Experts also expressed concern after the world’s first case of bird flu in sheep was detected on a Yorkshire farm last month.
In an interview with The Telegraph last year, one of the few bird flu survivors to have spoken publicly raised the prospect that, as the virus continues to spread, that it could also transmit between people.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, from Hanoi, contracted the virus during a bird flu outbreak that swept Southeast Asia in 2005—infecting 44 people and killing 32.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, pictured in Hanoi a week after he was discharged from hospital where he was treated for bird flu
Nguyen Thanh Hung, from Hanoi, contracted the virus during a bird flu outbreak that swept Southeast Asia in 2005—infecting 44 people and killing 32.
The car salesman who had a passion for long-distance running, then 42, fell ill after nursing his sick brother in hospital.
His ordeal began in December, when he attended the funeral of his brother’s son, which was held during Tet, which is Vietnam’s equivalent to Thanksgiving.
After the service Hung and his family had sat down to a meal of duck’s blood soup, which is a local delicacy.
Two days later, his brother developed a headache and breathing problems, and was taken to hospital.
Hung rushed to his bedside, and stayed with him for the following five days as his condition steadily worsened.
Struggling to breathe, he was put into intensive care, and given oxygen.
Yet his brother kept on removing the oxygen mask, forcing Hung to lean across his body to replace it. ‘I was about 30cm from his face,’ he told writer Mark Honigsbaum, who tracked him down.
Hung’s brother lost his fight on January 9 and just days later, Hung also began suffering symptoms.
UK scientists tasked with developing ‘scenarios of early human transmission’ of bird flu have warned that five per cent of infected people could die if the virus took off in humans – shown under scenario three
In January, a patient in the Midlands was diagnosed with H5N1 bird flu after ‘close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds’
The strain, called H5N1, has been found in a sheep in England. It has previously been detected in livestock in other countries such as the US. Pictured: dead cows at a Californian dairy farm
X-rays revealed ‘an ominous white shadow’ on his lung and, when his temperature soared, he was admitted to the same hospital his brother died in.
‘My whole skull was throbbing. I felt like I was going colour blind and the walls were pressing in on me,’ recalled Hung.
Lab tests then confirmed he had contracted H5N1—as had his late brother.
‘I was quite scared at first, but by then I was starting to feel better,’ he said. ‘The fever and pain were over and I thought to myself, ‘I’m through the worst’.
Despite this, it was another ten days before Hung was well enough to be discharged.
It is unclear exactly how he picked up the virus. It could have been the raw ducks blood soup—however Hung insists he barely touched it.
More worrying is the possibility that he picked it up while nursing his brother in hospital, as it would provide proof the infection transmits from human to human.
Also in 2005, an 11 year old Thai girl transmitted the disease to her mother and aunt, according to reports in the British Medical Journal.
There is currently no evidence the disease is spreading between people.
However experts have recently warned that the virus could be mutating to become more transmissible to humans.
Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said in January, after the first confirmed human case in England: ‘The risk of avian flu to the general public remains very low despite this case.
‘We have robust systems in place to detect cases early and take necessary action, as we know that spillover infections from birds to humans may occur.
‘Currently there is no evidence of onwards transmission.
‘People are reminded not to touch sick or dead birds and it’s important that they follow Defra advice about reporting any suspected avian influenza cases.’
