Bird Flu update #2 a fyi

[Mojorabbit]

Previous update http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=3126367
Turkey

Turkey has had an outbreak in birds again this year. Ten villages with outbreak in birds.
http://www.ibctoday.com/News/ViewNewsItem.aspx?newsItemId=16776&rootVideoPanelType=1

Child Deaths Under Scrutiny
01 Feb 2007

A medical study was conducted in other villages of the district of Tekman-Erzurum following the death of 4 children in the village of Karlica, 7 more children were forwarded to Erzurum suspected of having pneumonia. 2 brothers living in the village of Dengiz were taken for treatment at the emergency room of the Erzurum Numune Hospital as they came down with high fever, coughing and vomiting. Additionally, 2 other children in the village of Karlica and 3 children in the village of Dalsogut were taken for treatment for pneumonia. 4 children previously died within 15 days in the village of Karlica and 10 children having similar symptoms as the children who died were taken to the Erzurum Aziziye Research Hospital. It was reported that the condition of the children are listed as good. Ali Dastan, Director of Health in Erzurum denied claims that the children had bird flu.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070216/hl_afp/healthfluturkey
Second person tested for bird flu in Turkey
ANKARA (AFP) - A second person has been hospitalised in Turkey with suspected bird flu as authorities announced that the virus had affected poultry in four new locations in the mainly Kurdish southeast, a news agency has reported.

A 27-year-old man was admitted to hospital in the central province of Konya late Thursday after coming into contact with wild ducks and falling sick, the doctor treating him told the Anatolia news agency Friday.

"The preliminary symptoms look like bird flu. We have sent blood samples for testing" in capital Ankara, Ibrahim Erayman said.

Comment
For a good overview of last years deaths and how it all was handled here is a good mulitpart chronicle
It seems the tests then kept coming back neg but the doctors knew it was not a normal flu and persisted in the testing. Absolutely Fascinating reading.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=63680
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=63836
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=63934
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=64034
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=64079



It is reminiscent of Thailand where one person was tested eight or nine times and came up neg each time till autopsied and came up positive

China Pigs and Birds
Chinese paper
Bird flu in pigs poses human risk
http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/nation/userobject1ai2590895.html
26/1/2007 9:35

Scientists said two pigs on the Indonesian island of Bali had become infected with the bird flu virus, again raising concerns the deadly flu virus could become transmissible between people.

Speaking at a China-Japan infection prevention conference in Guangzhou, a leading Chinese medical expert said the pigs generated a variant of the bird flu virus after they contracted bird flu.

The pigs acted as a kind of mixing vessel in which genetic material from avian flu viruses combined with other influenza strains, said Zhong Nanshan, a renowned medical expert and academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

China issues plan for dealing with mass illness incidents
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2...ent_5715918.htm

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Ministry of Health on Thursday issued an emergency response plan for dealing with mass illness of unknown origin.
Mass illness of unknown origin is defined as at least three cases with the same clinical symptoms occurring in one place in a period of two weeks. The cases might be severe or fatal and the symptoms cannot be explained by doctors above county hospital level.

The place could be a medical institution, village, community, construction site or school, and the illness may be an infectious disease, poisoning or other unknown illnesses.

Hong Kong

http://english.people.com.cn/200702...209_348682.html

Preliminary testing of a Blue Magpie found in Sham Shui Po has indicated a suspected case of H5 avian flu, Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department said Thursday.

Department staff collected the bird's carcass from the ground floor of North Kowloon Magistracy, Tai Po Road, on February 6. More tests are underway.

So far seven birds have been found dead of H5N1 virus in Hong Kong this year.

To prevent catching bird flu, the department warned that people must observe good personal hygiene, and avoid contact with wild birds and live poultry and wash their hands thoroughly after coming into contact with them.

Source: Xinhua
comment
The news from China has all but dried up after they insitituted new laws threatening arrest of reporters for certain type stories. I think they want nothing to disturb the olympics which will be held there.

NIGERIA Human
Ministry raises bird flu alarm
http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com/...0702%2F1636.asp

Posted on: 15-Feb-2007
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is warning the general public of a possible outbreak of the Avian flu (bird flu) in the country.

The Ministry said reported cases of the disease in Nigeria showed that the disease had not yet been eradicated and the risk of it being introduced into Ghana was relatively high.

In a statement, the Director of Finance and Administration of the Ministry, Alidu Fuseini explained that on the January 17, 2007, Nigeria recorded her first human fatality from the Avian Influenza virus, H5NI.

comment
This was a wealthy woman who's mother had died of the same symptoms. A relative insisted on autopsy. Otherwise we probably would have never known of the case. There is not much of a public health infrastructure there especially for the poor.

Also lots of bird deaths in Kenya

Egypt Human
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05803351.htm
Reuters - 05 Feb 2007 20:39:43 GMT

CAIRO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - An Egyptian girl has died of bird flu south of Cairo, bringing the number of confirmed deaths from the disease in Egypt to 12, a World Health Organisation official said on Monday.

The girl has been identified as Nouri Nadi, 17, of Fayyoum province. The WHO official said the girl was believed to have been infected after coming into contact with sick and dead birds.

commentA few more died after this person and one was thought to have a mutation that was tamiflu resistant

The latest
Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 4

15 February 2007

The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has announced a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case was confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory and by the US Naval Medical Research Unit No.3 (NAMRU-3).

The 37-year-old female from Fayyoum Governorate was admitted to hospital with symptoms on 12 February 2007 and her condition remains stable. She was involved in the slaughter and defeathering of sick birds one week prior to the onset of illness.

Of the 21 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 12 have been fatal.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_02_15/en/index.html
There are also a lot of people being tested in the hospital in Egypt and lots of poultry outbreaks.

INDONESIA human and poultry
comment
Indonesia is a mess. Over 200,000 sick from the flooding with all manner of diseases including a major dengue outbreak.
Even before the floods they had set up tents outside their hospitals due to tons of people coming in with dengue and they are continuing to have multiple cases of avian flu in both birds and people. The case fatality rate is in the 70 percentile in humans there.

They quit giving WHO viral samples to be sequenced after they found out Australia developed a vaccine using one of their samples without them being notified. They signed a deal with Baxter saying they did not want the rich nations to end up with a vaccine using their samples and their people getting none.
WHO is working on sorting this all out.

There is a ban on backyard poultry in Java which is not being enforced.

This came out in a US embassy warden notice for Americans living in Indonesia

Additionally, there have been confirmed reports that wild and stray cats have been shown to carry H5N1. While there have been no documented cases of feline-to-human transmission of H5N1, it is important to avoid contact with wild and stray cats, and to ensure that domesticated cats do not eat or interact with sick or dying poultry, or enter areas where there is an outbreak of H5N1 in birds and poultry. Domesticated cats which reside mainly inside a residence should not be at risk for catching H5N1.

The Embassy further encourages Americans resident in Indonesia to be vigilant about food preparation and handling when cooking chicken or eggs and to wash hands after touching uncooked poultry or poultry products.

Azerbaijan -birds and Iran birds
Both countries with multiple bird dieoffs and in Azerbaijan people dying but both denying any avian flu.
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11677205
Azeri veterinary service denies reports about bird flu outbreak

BAKU. Feb 14 (Interfax-Azerbaijan) - Reports claiming that bird flu cases were registered in Azerbaijan recently are not true, the press service of Azerbaijan's State Veterinary Service told Interfax.

"Media reports alleging that an outbreak of bird flu was registered in the village of Boiyat in the Naftchali district are not true," the press service head, Yolchu Khanveli, said.

comment
Samples from Azerbaijan have been sent to London for testing and they have opened up a hotline for the people and are immunizing the population against seasonal flu.


IRAN
Iran vet chief rejects reports of avian flu outbreak in Mazandaran

TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (MNA) — Head of Iran Veterinary Organization Hossein Hassani denied the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strains bird flu in Amol and Babol, two Iranian cities located in the northern province of Mazandaran.

Since the seasonal wild birds’ migration to the nation’s northern regions has started, Iran Veterinary Organization once again urged all the Iranian provinces to be fully prepared to counter a possible outbreak of the disease, ISNA news agency on Tuesday, quoted Hassani as saying. He also maintained that the measures are only preparatory works and are not considered as a clue to the pandemic in the provinces.

Hassani has maintained that Iran is still among those states that are clean of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and Iran Veterinary Organization is the only authority that could admit and approve the outbreak in a region.

Following the pandemic of the bird flu in some of the neighboring countries last year, the organization ordered the culling of chickens in some of the chicken farms around the nation.

Although many countries deny or fail to report the bird flu, also known as the avian influenza, the positive countries and sequence data indicate the H5N1 movement by migratory birds is widespread and common.

http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDeta...x?NewsID=447873
__________________
Japan Rodents?
Japan has had multiple outbreaks in Poultry and has culled thousasnds of birds
They have had two types of avian flu
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200702160217.html
Rodents suspected in spread of avian flu

02/16/2007
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Scientists suspect rats spread the recent outbreaks of avian flu at four farms in Miyazaki and Okayama prefectures after the H5N1 virus strain was brought over by migratory birds from China.

The experts agree that the migratory birds triggered the infections at the four poultry farms over the past month. But they said at a meeting Wednesday that the way the disease spread indicates that other factors were involved.

Inspectors found that nets and coverings were in place to prevent large migratory birds from coming into contact with the poultry.

In addition, dead chickens at three of the farms were found in areas farthest from the entrance of the coops, so the wild birds were not likely the direct source of the infection.

"It's possible that small rodents, such as rats, carried the virus into the chicken coops," said Toshihiro Ito, a professor of veterinary microbiology at Tottori University who chairs the team of specialists.


FLIES

Scientist warns of bird flu in flies

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

A scientist has warned the government not to place too much of the blame for bird flu on poultry as it could result in the public being unaware of the fact that other animals can also carry the virus.

Veterinary pathologist Wasito of Gajah Mada University's veterinary medicine told The Jakarta Post at his office in Yogykarta on Tuesday that other animals, such as cats, dogs and even files, could also carry the virus.

"A study we are conducting here, for example, has convincingly found that it is possible for flies to spread the bird flu virus," he said.

Through a series of laboratory tests involving flies collected from different parts of the country and using molecular research methods, Wasito and his colleagues found that the virus was found in the digestive and respiratory tracks of flies, along with the cuticle layers, flesh and ovum.

snip
He said the research also revealed that the virus was not only found in flies taken from areas in the middle of bird flu outbreaks.

The virus had also been found in flies taken from places that had been declared bird-flu free and only flies taken from locations that had never had a bird flu outbreak were found H5N1 negative, he said.



This meant that the virus in flies was still inherited in at least the 25th generation, as the research was conducted generally two years after an outbreak, Wasito said, explaining that flies had a one-month life span.

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=243071


Bangladesh human?
Bird flu experts join probe of mystery Bangladesh deaths 2/14/07
DHAKA (AFP) - Bird flu experts are part of a team investigating the unexplained death of three people in northern Bangladesh. Bangladesh has so far reported no cases of avian flu.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070214/hl_afp/healthflubangladesh

Paksitan birds
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bird-flu-strikes-pakistan-again/33463-2.html?xml
Bird flu strikes Pakistan again
New Delhi: Pakistan has reported more cases of the deadly bird flu with strain of the disease found in chickens and peacocks in Islamabad and North West Frontier Province of the country.

H-5N1, which afflicted birds in the country one year ago, has been found in chicken flock in a house in the city of Rawalpindi and in a flock of peacocks in Mansehra, a main city in NWFP, PTI quoted Commissioner of Animal Husbandry, Rafiq-ul-Hasan Chughtai, as saying.


I am sure I have missed other news( I did not include Englands latest outbreak) but this is long enough.
This article is very interesting.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/14/news/flu.php?page=1
Bird flu's risk far from over, experts warn
But that is premature, scientists say, warning that the bird flu virus is as dangerous and unpredictable as ever. It killed more people in 2006 than it did in 2005 or 2004, and its fatality rate is rising — 61 percent now, up from 43 percent in 2005.

More worrisome, they said, is that the disease is out of control in birds in more locations than ever, including places like the Nile Delta and Nigeria, where public health mechanisms are weak to nonexistent. That increases the chances of a mutation in the virus that would allow human-to-human transmission.
snip

But the virus is out of control in poultry in three countries — Indonesia, Nigeria and Egypt — with combined populations of 447 million people. A year ago, it was out of control only in Indonesia, and Thailand and Vietnam had stifled outbreaks, although the virus returned. China remains a mystery — despite official denials, there is evidence that it is circulating there

snip
Indonesia's best prevention against that, Naipospos said, is the "Tamiflu blanket." "We learned that in Garut," she said of a cluster of cases last August in West Java. More than 20 people died or suffered serious symptoms.

The government quickly gave the antiviral drug to more than 2,000 people.

Ultimately, only three cases in the cluster were confirmed, but scientists suspected some were missed and the drug suppressed the virus to undetectable levels in others.
____________
USA
and Pandemic.gov the us govt site now
has this
Social Disruption May Be Widespread

* Plan for the possibility that usual services may be disrupted. These could include services provided by hospitals and other health care facilities, banks, stores, restaurants, government offices, and post offices.
* Prepare backup plans in case public gatherings, such as volunteer meetings and worship services, are canceled.
* Consider how to care for people with special needs in case the services they rely on are not available.

Being Able to Work May Be Difficult or Impossible

* Find out if you can work from home.
* Ask your employer about how business will continue during a pandemic. (A Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist is available at www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/business/businesschecklist.html.)
* Plan for the possible reduction or loss of income if you are unable to work or your place of employment is closed.
* Check with your employer or union about leave policies.

Schools May Be Closed for an Extended Period of Time

* Help schools plan for pandemic influenza. Talk to the school nurse or the health center. Talk to your teachers, administrators, and parent-teacher organizations.
* Plan home learning activities and exercises. Have materials, such as books, on hand. Also plan recreational activities that your children can do at home.
* Consider childcare needs.

Transportation Services May Be Disrupted

* Think about how you can rely less on public transportation during a pandemic. For example, store food and other essential supplies so you can make fewer trips to the store.
* Prepare backup plans for taking care of loved ones who are far away.
* Consider other ways to get to work, or, if you can, work at home.

[Mojorabbit]

1. update to update

Russia
Bird flu discovered in Moscow region
Feb 16, 2007

MOSCOW (AFP) - Dozens of poultry have died in an outbreak of bird flu in the Moscow region and several farmers have been hospitalized with symptoms of the disease, officials said.
snip
"We are holding tests to check if the H5N1 virus was responsible. The results of the tests should be announced tomorrow morning (Saturday)," he said.

However, the country's top epidemiologist, Gennady Onischenko, citing "veterinarian services," told the Interfax news agency that the H5N1 strain was responsible.

Farmers working in the area "were hospitalised" with symptoms of the avian influenza, acting governor of the Moscow region Alexei Panteleyev told Interfax, adding that the diagnosis was yet to be confirmed.

The governor did not say how many people had been hospitalized.

[Mojorabbit]

2. Since I am on a roll

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N16331452
Mexico aims for stricter bird flu rules
Sat 17 Feb 2007 0:56:10 GMT

MEXICO CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Mexico has launched a review of its animal health rules to reduce the chance of the H5N1 strain of bird flu reaching its poultry farms, the chief sanitary official said on Friday.

Enrique Sanchez, who heads Mexico's animal health service, said the government was working with farmers, poultry companies and trade partners to find ways to improve sanitation.

He said the government was focused on improving biosecurity on farms and wanted better control over movement of birds.

http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/Previous_022/Current/Current_frantic.htm
Frantic flurry of bird flu tests :Laos

Health workers rushed to te st samples collected from groups of chickens that recently dropped dead in the centre of Vientiane , checking for the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

The health workers took samples from the backyard chickens of Ban Khounta-tha on Monday, where chickens had suddenly died over recent weeks.

USA
And the gov has launched two new PSA's
Here is one, both are lame
http://video.pandemicflu.gov/linking/index.jsp?skin=oneclip&rf=FRONT_PAGE&hl=false&fr_story=7af2508dfbf975118b11fc9e800ee2b4b24d1c03

[Mojorabbit]

3. More on Russia

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070217/60891083.html
Third bird flu site detected in Moscow Region - acting governor
| 17/ 02/ 2007


MOSCOW, February 17 (RIA Novosti) - A third avian flu outbreak has been detected at a private farm in the Moscow Region, the acting governor said Saturday.
snip.

Russia's chief epidemiologist, Gennady Onishchenko, on Friday confirmed bird flu as the cause of poultry deaths in two other households outside the capital - in the southern Domodedovo District and in Odintsovo, to the west.

The animal and plant health watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, said earlier Saturday the dead birds there have been traced to the same Moscow market and that they were presumably brought in from other regions.

Russia recorded its first cases of bird flu in August 2005, but until now, outbreaks have occurred only in southern provinces and in Siberia.

snip
A telephone hotline has been opened for residents of the Moscow Region who bought any birds on the Ptichy market after February 1.

It is yet unclear whether H5N1, a strain potentially lethal to humans, is responsible for the poultry deaths near Moscow, but strict security measures are now being taken all across the region to prevent the virus spreading to commercial farms.



comment
The neighborhoods in the suburbs of Moscow have been put under quarantine

[Doremus]

4. Thanks for the update. n/t

[Mojorabbit]

6. Thank you for looking at it! n/t

[Mojorabbit]

5. Internet

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=16&articleId=9001491
June 28, 2006 (Computerworld) -- If a bird flu pandemic sweeps the nation, we could avoid infection by working from home via the Internet.

Or, hammered by overuse, the Internet could shut down within two to four days of an outbreak, eliminating telecommuting as a viable option.

Disturbingly, that was one finding of a simulation, or war game, held in January in Davos, Switzerland, by the World Economic Forum and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. More than 30 senior industry and governmental executives played out the arrival of the flu in Germany from Eastern Europe -- and the results weren't pretty.

"We assumed total absentees of 30% to 60% trying to work from home, which would have overwhelmed the Internet," said participant Bill Thoet, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. "We did not assume that the backbone would be gone, but that the edge of the network, where everyone was trying to access their office from home, would be overwhelmed. The absence of maintenance was also a factor. The person who brought up the problem was himself a CEO of an Internet service provider.
snip
"The conclusion was not absolute, and the situation was not digitally simulated, but the idea of everyone working from home appears untenable," Thoet said.

On this side of the Atlantic, predictions about how the Internet would fare in the face of a pandemic are less dire.

"We don't believe that the Internet will be compromised within a matter of hours or days," said Brent Woodworth, worldwide manager for IBM's Crisis Response Team, which does consulting on disaster preparedness.