H5N1's propensity for the young is fairly well publicized, and one of the most disturbing things about this flu. The 1918 epidemic had a similar
impact.
IMO the fact that young, healthy people are most often infected indicates that H5N1 has been around for a long while, and that older people have
acquired immunity.
Mar. 11, 2006.
Why does the H5N1 virus attack the young?
The Star's analysis shows that
all but six of the 97 people who have died globally so far from bird flu were under 40. ...People, in other words,
with the strongest immune systems and not, as one might expect, the elderly and those already sick. The median age was 19, and a quarter of them were
under age 12. ...Children, teenagers and young adults are the unfortunate victims of the deadly H5N1 bird flu sweeping through poultry farms in
Asia, Africa and now Europe.
WHO officials said this week there are three confirmed cases of suspected person-to-person transmission: * In January 2004, Ngo Le Hung, a 31-year-old
Vietnamese schoolteacher, became infected and died from a chicken he bought for his wedding, and his two sisters also died. * In September 2004 a
dying 11-year-old Sakuntala Premphasri infected her mother Pranee, 26, in Thailand and both died. And in July 2005 a 38-year-old father is believed to
have infected his two daughters, aged one and eight - all three died. * Cheng said there may be other cases in which people became infected through
human-to-human transmission, but there isn't enough evidence to prove it.
There may also be many less severely ill people going unnoticed.
"But we haven't seen any substantial change in the virus and that is really the trigger we're watching for."
There are numerous possible explanations of why H5N1 hits the young - but the truth is, no one really knows. Or if they do, they're not telling.
Everything else is speculation.
