Month: April 2013

Highlights include the ricin letters case developments, a slew of H7N9 updates (chickens are the reservoirs, it’s popping up in Tawain, and it’s more lethal than previous strains), and we’re mutating H5N1 (again). Happy Friday!

Developments in the Ricin Letters Case

All charges have been dropped against Paul Kevin Curtis due to lack of evidence. A second person of interest, Everett Dutschke, has been identified and continues to cooperate with authorities. No charges have been brought against Dutschke, who maintains his  innocence.  Investigators have not disclosed any new information in the case.

USA Today – “A Mississippi man whose home and business were searched as part of an investigation into poisoned letters sent to the president and others has dropped out of sight in order to escape the news media spotlight, but is cooperating with authorities, a friend and his attorney said. Everett Dutschke, 45, had his home and former business in Tupelo, Miss., searched in connection with the letters, which allegedly contained ricin. They were sent last week to President Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and earlier to an 80-year-old Mississippi judge, Sadie Holland.”

(H7N9) Bird Flu Seen Beyond Mainland, in Taiwan

The first case of H7N9 outside mainland China was recorded this week, with a 53-year old Taiwanese man testing positive for the virus Wednesday. Three healthcare attendants treating the man have also developed “undiagnosed respiratory symptoms” fueling concerns about human-to-human transmission. However, with all evidence currently ruling out human-to-human transmission, it seems more plausible the workers are (understandably) more likely “worried well”. To date, the virus has caused 108 cases with 22 fatalities.

Wall Street Journal – “Taiwan reported the first case of a new form of avian flu found outside China’s mainland on Wednesday and said that three health-care workers who treated the patient had developed undiagnosed respiratory symptoms, raising concerns over the virus’s potential for spreading by human-to-human contact. At a news conference earlier in the day in Beijing, global health officials stressed that there had been no confirmed cases of transmission of the virus, called H7N9, between humans. However, they said, researchers were still struggling to understand how the virus was spread and hadn’t ruled out the possibility of human-to-human transmission.”

WHO: New flu passes more easily from bird to human

In his testimony before the WHO, one of the world’s top H7N9 experts has praised China’s response to the emergent flu strain while simultaneously cautioning against it’s lethality.

Post Bulletin – “A new strain of bird flu that emerged in China over the past month is one of the ‘most lethal’ flu viruses so far, worrying health officials because it can jump more easily from birds to humans than the one that started killing people a decade ago, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday. Scientists are watching the virus closely to see if it could spark a global pandemic but say there is little evidence so far that it can spread easily from human to human.”

Scientists confirm new H7N9 bird flu has come from chickens

Chickens have been identified as the reservoir of the new H7N9 strain of flu. China’s closing of its open-air poultry markets soon after the strain’s emergence has been accredited with the decrease in case numbers.  However, scientists remain uncertain as to the strain’s exact mechanism of spread, as a number of cases have had no contact with poultry.

Reuters – “Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens. In a study published online in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists echoed previous statements from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese officials that there is as yet no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus. The H7N9 strain has infected 109 people in China since it was first detected in March. The WHO warned on Wednesday that this strain is ‘one of the most lethal’ flu viruses and is transmitted more easily than the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed hundreds around the world since 2003.”

Mutant version of H5N1 flu virus found to be more preferential to human infection

In a study that will no doubt reignite the gain-of-function research debate, scientists have determined that a laboratory-mutated strain of H5N1 has a much stronger human-cell binding affinity than the wild-type virus. Should we be doing this research in the first place? Do the benefits of being more prepared for a pandemic outweigh the costs of potentially causing the pandemic?

Medical Express – “An international team of bio-researchers has found that a mutant strain of the H5N1 influenza virus (created in a lab) has a 200-fold preference for binding with receptors in human cells, over those found in birds. In describing their research and conclusions in their paper published in the journal Nature, the researchers suggest that the mutant variant is much more like the strains of viruses that caused pandemics in 1918, 1957 and 2009, than it was in its native state.”

It has unfortunately been an exceptionally busy week for those of us studying terrorism, bioterrorism, and pandemics. With new developments in the Boston bombing case,  the ricin letters, and H7N9 in China seemingly happening by the hour, we can guarantee only that news included in this week’s report is current as of this (Friday) morning. In the meantime, our thoughts and good wishes remain with Boston.

Ricin Letters Suspect Paul Kevin Curtis Quickly Identified by Earlier Letters

Paul Kevin Curtis is accused of mailing three letters – one to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, one to President Obama, and one to a local justice of the peace – containing the toxin ricin. While the FBI has positively identified the toxin, further testing is needed to determine the concentration and purity of the substance. Curtis, who was identified in part by his signature on the letters – Curtis’ sign off of “KC” on the ricin letters matched previous letters sent to Senator Wicker’s office. Curtis’ family maintains he is mentally ill, and had refused to take appropriate medication.  Now the question becomes – is this terrorism? Keep an eye out for the Mason viewpoint.

ABC News – “Investigators trying to determine who sent ricin-tainted letters to President Obama and other officials quickly traced the messages and signature of the letter to Paul Kevin Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who had written to officials in the past and consistently signed his letters “I am KC and I approve this message,” according to an FBI affidavit.About 15 members of a hazmat team, some totting M4 rifles, entered Curtis’ house today and set up an evidence-gathering area outside. Curtis was formally charged today with sending mail that contained a threat to kill or harm the president and with sending mail containing a threat to injure the president.”

Chinese Government Suspects Human-to-Human Transmission of H7N9 Bird Flu

China is unfortunately following a storied pattern of waiting until critical information is leaked before acknowledging it openly  – according to unofficial sources, as many as 40% of H7N9 cases had no contact with poultry. Exacerbating the pandemic potential of H7N9 are theunique difficulties associated with developing a vaccine to the strain – it’s proven very hard to culture in the lab. However, don’t panic just yet. Even if the virus proves capable of limited human-to-human transmission, further mutations rendering it “casual contact” transmissible would be necessary for a pandemic.

US News – “As the Chinese government openly begins to speculate about the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 bird flu strain, an international team of experts, including some from the World Health Organization, have been deployed to investigate the disease in the country. If true, the development would quickly raise concerns of the disease outbreak leading to a pandemic. Flu experts have long warned once a particularly deadly strain of the flu, as H7N9 appears to be – it has killed 17 of the 87 people it has infected – becomes transmissible between humans, it can quickly spread.”

4-year-old bird flu ‘carrier’ worries China

A four-year old in China has emerged as an asymptomatic carrier of H7N9, further complicating epidemiological efforts in the area to discover the source of the outbreak – if you don’t know who’s sick, determining how they became sick becomes very tricky. It is known that the boy’s family handled poultry and fish. Although health investigators are currently looking at “family clusters” of infection,  human-to-human transmission is not suspected.

CNN – “Doctors say the discovery of a 4-year-old carrier of the H7N9 bird flu virus who shows no symptoms of the potentially lethal virus is a worrying development that could make the spread of the infection more difficult to monitor. The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said the boy was detected from a group of close contacts of the first infection in Beijing and the laboratory results showed the boy was an asymptomatic carrier of the disease.”

Terrorism Updates:

Watertown, Mass., Shut Down in Manhunt for Second Boston Marathon Suspect

The two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing have been identified as brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, with the former killed during the night. The manhunt continues throughout Watertown for the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who has already killed an MIT police officer and hijacked a car. Residents of the Boston suburb are being ordered to remain indoors as police officers comb the area. The two suspects are believed to be of Chechen descent, but have lived in the United States for several years.

ABC News – “”The at-large suspect is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Police are going door to door in search for the second suspect.’We believe this is a terrorist, we believe this is a man that’s come here to kill people,’ Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said.”

Up to 40 Dead in Texas Blast

While preliminary investigations at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas indicate an industrial accident, a full investigation into the source of the explosion will take six months. We’ve included it as a potential act of terrorism due to it’s proximity to Waco (less than 20 miles) and  it’s occurring within two days of both the 20th anniversary of the end of the Waco, Texas siege (today) and the Boston Marathon bombing (Monday). Current numbers indicate 160 injured and at least 35 dead or missing.

Wall Street Journal – “[Mayor] Muska, who is one of more than 30 volunteer firefighters in the city, was on his way to help colleagues put out the initial fire at West Fertilizer Co. that began around 6 p.m. Central time on Wednesday night. Volunteer firefighters in the town of about 2,800 people roughly 80 miles south of Dallas tried to extinguish the fire at the industrial facility.About two hours later, a thunderous explosion ripped through the plant, registering as strong as a magnitude 2.1 earthquake, according to federal seismologists. It sent a column of smoke hundreds of feet into the air.”