First Sign of a Pandemic?

An article from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy is reporting that 195 people in the Chau Hoa commune of Quang Binh province in central Vietnam are being tested for the H5N1 Bird Flu virus because they have suspicious symtems. Of the 195 people 108 live in only one village in the commune. The CIRRAP story quotes heavily from a story in Than Nien News apparently a local Vietnamese paper. The article states, "If many of the people test positive for H5N1, it could mean that the virus is improving its ability to spread from person to person, thereby increasing the risk of a flu pandemic." AFP has a story that is skeptical of the 195 person claim.