Commentary/Analysis

Some very strange things going on in Azerbaijahn. first, they have received their own flu testing labs from the UN. This follows on a request by the Azeri Health Minister that the UN send this equipment because he suspects that four people have died there from the Avian flu.

As far as I know, the only other countries with labs are western nations. This is suspicious because other nations that have avian flu have not received such labs.

Based on previous reports, I suspect that the reason why Azerbaijan is getting this equipment is because there are fears that human-to-human transmission is happening there. A badly garbled article from an Azeri newspaper says that perhaps up to 100 patients are being treated for avian-flu-like symptoms.

All of this follows on reports that Azerbaijan is experiencing what are known as "cluster cases" among families. This is an ominous development because it could mean that these families are passing it to each other, not by way of exposure to fowl.