Just what the world needs now – a potentially world devastating pandemic. Via Shenandoah we have the news of a “misdiagnosed” child who has been infected with bird flu:

A two-year-old boy who is seriously ill with bird flu at Princess Margaret Hospital missed out on treatment for the disease for several days after doctors at another hospital failed to diagnose H5N1, it emerged last night.

The toddler is in intensive care with obstructive hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, a spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection said.

His Hong Kong father and mainland mother do not have symptoms but have been quarantined at the hospital.

The boy was transferred to Princess Margaret on Friday from Caritas Medical Centre where he had been treated in a general pediatrics ward for five days.

A spokeswoman for the Hospital Authority told The Standard that Caritas doctors suspected upper respiratory tract infection.

“We can’t put all patients with flu in isolation and it depends on the case,” she said.

When asked when the antiviral drug Tamiflu was given to the boy, she said: “What I can tell you is the boy has been given Tamiflu … at Princess Margaret.”

Meaning the kid was spreading potentially bird flu to other children and oblivious doctors for five days before anyone even knew what was going on. China says they have this under control but Taiwan isn’t so sure:

Hong Kong health authorities on Saturday urged the public not to panic after the territory reported its first human case of bird flu in 18 months in a two-year-old boy.

Hong Kong officials said the Chinese boy was in serious condition after testing positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza and the territory had raised the bird flu alert level to “serious.”

[…]

“The boy’s parents are asymptomatic, which means the chance of a human-to-human transmission is slim,” a spokesman from the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection said in a statement.

The spokesman said the boy was in intensive care, while his parents were being quarantined at the same hospital.

[…]

In response, Taiwanese authorities said that aside from keeping a close tab on developments in Hong Kong, they were also stepping up taking samples from incoming travelers.

The Department of Health (DOH) has since Saturday been taking the body temperatures of all passengers at airports and asking for their history of contact with poultry.

All incoming travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will have a sample taken if they exhibit symptoms of the flu or have a history of contact with poultry, the DOH said.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (???) said that any Taiwanese planning to travel abroad should be mindful of sanitation in areas with H5N1 infection.

I wouldn’t trust the Chi-coms to report an outbreak either.