HEALTH 7/25/08- 7/31/08 Weekly Bird Flu Thread:H5N1 In South Korean Cat

Link to last weeks thread:

7/18/08- 7/24/08 Weekly Bird Flu Thread:Frequent Human H5N1 Transmission in Indonesia

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=294918


Johns Hopkins on influenza:

http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/33/450/Rashid Chotani.pdf

National Avian Influenza Surveillance Information:

http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/

CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm

WHO
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html

CIDRAP

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/

Official U.S. Government Web site

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/

FAO

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/health/diseases-cards/special_avian.html

Public Health Agency of Canada

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/avian_qa_e.html

European Union

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/influenza/country_en.htm

The World Bank

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXT...68427~piPK:64168435~theSitePK:1793593,00.html

H5N1 In South Korean Cat ​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/07240801/H5N1_Korea_Cat.html

Recombinomics Commentary 12:50
July 24, 2008

Quarantine authorities are investigating whether a cat died of bird flu in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, where a highly pathogenic strain of the disease broke out in April. If the cat is found to have died of avian influenza, it would be the first mammal to die of the disease in Korea. Dr. Kim Chul-joong, a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Chungnam National University, said Wednesday, “We isolated the highly pathogenic strain of avian flu from the dead cat found along the Mangyeong River in Gimje and have asked the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service to confirm the cause of death of the cat.”

The above comments indicate H5N1 is still present in South Korea, regardless of the cause cat death. Clade 2.3.2 is circulating in South Korea. This is a sub-clade of 2.3, which is also called the Fujian strain.

There are four clade/sub-clades that have been isolated from dead patients. Clade 1 was confined to southeast Asia and caused the patients deaths in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia in 2004/005. Clade 2.1 has been isolated from patients in Indonesia since 2005. Clade 2.2 (Qinghai strain) has been isolated from patients in a number of countries west of China since 2006. Clade 2.3 (Fujian strain) has been isolated from patients in China and southeast Asia since 2005.

In addition to fatal infections in patients, these H5N1 sub-clades have also been associated with deaths of many mammalian species including clade 1 deaths of wild and domestic cats, dogs, and palm civets in southeast Asia, clade 2.1 deaths of dogs and cats in Indonesia, clade 2.2 deaths of cats, dogs, foxes, stone martens, jackals in the Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and south Asia. In addition to the animal deaths, H5N1 has been associated with asymptomatic infections in mammals and has been used to infect experimental animals such as ferrets and mice.

The clade 2.3.2 from South Korea infected lab mice and ferrets as well as a soldier/ culler who had bird flu symptoms and was H5 PCR positive. The failure to isolate the H5N1 from the soldier does not indicate he was not infected. Similarly, the official cause of death of the cat has nothing to do with the isolation of H5N1 or its current/continued presence in South Korea.

The presence of clade 2.3.2/2.3.4 H5N1 in the cat raises more questions about surveillance in adjacent countries, including Japan and Russia which have isolated Fujian clade 2.3.2 H5N1 recently, which is over 99.7% identical to the H5N1 reported in South Korea. There have been excessive poultry deaths in Russia, bit the poultry was said to be H5N1 negative.

The presence of H5N1 in South Korea suggests H5N1 is endemic in the area, and surveillance detection failures remain a cause for concern.

Nigeria finds H5N1 in bird markets​

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/jul2508birds-br.html

Lisa Schnirring * Staff Writer

Jul 25, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – Animal health officials in Nigeria today reported finding the H5N1 avian influenza virus at two live bird markets, as officials in Hong Kong announced they would go ahead with a buyout of poultry farmers and merchants to reduce the risk of H5N1 outbreaks in the city.

The H5N1 findings in Nigeria came during routine surveillance, according to an epidemiology report submitted by Nigeria today to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

On Jun 27, veterinary officials detected the virus in a chicken at a live bird market in Kebbi state, in northwestern Nigeria. On Jul 19, animal health workers found the virus in a duck at a live bird market in Gombe state in the east-central part of the country. The reports did not say if bird deaths were reported in the area or if the birds that were sampled appeared sick.

A detailed investigation was under way to determine the source of the virus, which might be contact between poultry and wild birds, the OIE report said. Officials said they have restricted the movement of birds inside the country and have disinfected the areas where the birds were kept. No birds were culled.

Nigeria's last H5N1 outbreak occurred in October 2007, according to an overview from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Buyout plan proceeds
In Hong Kong, officials today announced they would proceed with a buyout of poultry farmers and market sellers to reduce the infection threat posed by live bird sales, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

In early June, the H5N1 virus was found in birds in four market stalls, which led to the culling of thousands of birds and a 6-week suspension of live poultry sales at the market, according to previous reports. City officials also banned poultry from overnight stays in the market.

Only 72% of the poultry sellers accepted Hong Kong's buyout offer, which fell short of the city's goal of shuttering 85% of the vendors, according to an Associated Press (AP) report today. However, the government extended the deadline for sellers to take the buyout until Sep 24, the report said.

At its current level, the buyout will reduce the number of poultry sold in the markets each day from 40,000 to 11,000, the AP reported.

"This is a substantial reduction of live chickens in our markets, and we've substantially reduced the risk of transmission of avian influenza to humans in our markets," York Chow, Hong Kong's secretary of food and health, told the AP.

In other developments, the agriculture ministry in Vietnam has reported recent H5N1 outbreaks in three provinces, according to reports from Xinhua, China's state news agency.

The virus recently hit two southern provinces, Tra Vinh and Dong Thap, according to a Jul 21 Xinhua report. In the Dong Thap outbreak, the virus struck 350 backyard birds at a household in Chau Thanh district.

The agriculture ministry also confirmed an outbreak in Nghe An province in central Vietnam, according to a Jul 22 report from Xinhua. Starting Jul 18, that outbreak struck 30 chickens and 160 ducks at household in Nghi Loc district.

Vietnam has had several H5N1 outbreaks this year, mainly in areas near the Mekong Delta.

South Korea to extend surveillance
Elsewhere, agriculture ministers in South Korea on Jul 22 said the country would monitor for avian flu year-round, rather than just when migratory birds are in the country, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Jul 23. In April, the virus resurfaced in South Korea after a year's hiatus and spread to nearly every part of the country.

The ministry said it would regularly monitor migratory and resident birds and would inspect chicken and duck farms every other week for both high- and low-pathogenic avian influenza stains, the AFP report said.

Officials said that in the past they monitored birds for influenza from November to March, the season when migratory birds are in South Korea and the weather is most favorable for the spread of the disease, AFP reported.

In related developments, a veterinarian at Chungnam National University in South Korea said scientists isolated the H5N1 virus from a dead cat, according to a report this week from the newspaper Chosun Ilbo. Kim Chul-joong, a professor at the university's college of veterinary medicine, said the cat was found dead along the Mangyeong River in Gimje, North Jeolla province, where the first outbreak was reported in April.

Kim told Chosun Ilbo that tests were underway at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service to determine if the virus caused the cat's death.

Meanwhile, two rounds of avian flu exercises in Laos are helping the country to protect itself against the H5N1 virus, the FAO said in a statement yesterday. The FAO said in late June it had completed a second drill in Oudomxay, in northwestern Laos. The 4-day exercise brought together 60 participants from provincial and local agriculture, forestry, health, law enforcement, information, and cultural groups.

The FAO said the exercises tested the area's preparedness and capacity to respond quickly to outbreaks and helped forge better relationships among all of the groups. Last year the FAO spearheaded a similar exercise in Juang Prabang province, also in the northwestern part of the country.

"There are many ways to approach HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] preparedness, but FAO has found from experiences in a number of countries . . .that simulation exercises are among the most effective," the agency said.

More than half of nursing homes lack plan for pandemic flu​

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=70930

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If an influenza pandemic hits the United States, acute care hospitals are likely to be overwhelmed. Nursing homes may then be expected to assist with the patient overflow, but a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that many are not prepared for such a task.
Of the more than 400 nursing homes in the study, just 23 percent had a specific pandemic influenza plan. Another quarter of the nursing homes had a pandemic response incorporated into an overall disaster response plan. And more than half – 52 percent – did not have any pandemic plan.

“If nursing homes are called upon to serve as alternative care centers for patients who can’t be treated in overcrowded hospitals, the impact on the nursing homes could be vast. Nursing homes serve a vulnerable population prone to dire consequences from an emergency,” says lead author Philip W. Smith, M.D., professor and chief, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center. “While most facilities felt that nursing homes were being counted on to take hospital overflow patients in a pandemic, in reality few homes would be able to do so.”

“Nursing homes may not be equipped to handle an influx of influenza as well as non-influenza patients. They may also be unwilling to accept overflow patients, if it means displacing their current residents,” adds senior author Lona Mody, M.D., M.Sc, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System and research scientist, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System. “Nursing homes run a high occupancy rate, making it logistically difficult to accept a lot of patients if there is a time crunch.”

“Specific areas for improvement,” Mody says, “include communication with nearby health departments and hospitals at planning stage and exercising formulated plans. Planning for staff shortages is also critical.”

Half of the nursing homes in the study had stockpiled some commonly used supplies such as gloves and hand hygiene products. Less than half had provided pandemic education to staff members. Just 6 percent had conducted pandemic influenza outbreak exercises.

In more optimistic findings, more than three-quarters – 77 percent – of all Michigan and Nebraska nursing homes had a person or staff position designated as being responsible for pandemic preparedness. Access to laboratory facilities for the detection of influenza was available at 84 percent of these nursing homes. Another 71 percent provide mental health and/or faith-based services.

A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease on a global scale. Typically, a pandemic is lengthy and would create a strain on traditional health care institutions, infectious disease experts say. To relieve some of that burden, additional sites known as Acute Care Centers and Neighborhood Emergency Help Centers would be set up at places such as schools, armories, shopping malls and nursing homes.

Methodology: The researchers sent a questionnaire to all 656 state health department or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid-registered nursing homes in Nebraska and Michigan to assess their preparedness. The response rate was 69 percent.

Authors: In addition to Smith and Mody, authors of the paper are Valerie Shostrom, MS, and Al Smith, BA, from University of Nebraska Medical Center and Michael Kaufmann, BS, who was doing a research rotation at the University of Michigan.

Funding: National Institute on Aging, the Association of Specialty Professors/American Geriatric Society T. Franklin Williams Research Scholarship, and Student Research Training in Aging for Medical Students.

Reference: Journal of the American Medical Association, July 23, 2008, Vol. 300 No. 4.

Bernard Matthews halts sale of foreign-raised turkeys​

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae491d60-5a6a-11dd-bf96-000077b07658.html

Bernard Matthews Foods is to stop selling turkeys raised outside the UK, a move designed to address concerns that its outbreak of bird flu two years ago may have been caused by infected birds imported from sub-contractors in Hungary.

Jeremy Hall, who coordinated the company’s response, said “many learned people had their doubts” that the virus was imported in carcasses or equipment travelling from Hungary to its plants in East Anglia, but the move “removes any potential risk”.

The decision, which affects less than 2 per cent of the birds sold by the company, is one of a number of initiatives taken in response to the H5N1 outbreak that triggered widespread culling and damaged Bernard Matthews’ sales and reputation.

Mr Hall, who recently gave a presentation on the subject to the food industry, warned that bird flu in animals could become an annual event in Europe. He called on policymakers to strengthen cross-border exchange of information.

He said reduced purchases of imported meat could help cut the risk of infection, but argued there was evidence the virus spread through wild migratory birds.

In spite of recent improvements, he said it could take two months before European Union countries identifying a bird flu outbreak provided the information to a central database available to industry.

He argued that following infection reports elsewhere in Europe, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) should be more willing than it is now to announce “housing orders”, which allow poultry breeders to bring birds indoors for several weeks to keep them safe without losing the right to label them free range.

Mr Hall said Defra remained reluctant to make such orders unless there were infections in the UK, France or the Netherlands, and was sceptical it would unveil any change in policy ahead of Christmas.

He said officials had refused to allow workers culling birds at Bernard Matthews’ plant to wear full face masks, encouraging them to switch to less practical goggles in spite of written instructions to the contrary.

Flu deaths higher than average​

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/07/27/news/state/161073.txt

Jul 27, 2008 - 04:06:06 CDT
The state Health Department says North Dakota had 496 flu-related deaths last season.

Michelle Feist is the influenza surveillance coordinator for the health department. She says the state averages about 400 flu-related deaths annually.

Feist says most of the deaths were people age 65 and older

North Dakota's flu season usually runs from October to May.

The total number of flu cases reported in North Dakota last season was 3,817.

Feist says Billings County was the only county that did not have at least one confirmed case of flu last season.

She says Cass County had the most with 750 confirmed cases.

- Associated Press

Animal outbreak declared endemic in Egypt​

http://www.un-influenza.org/node/2083

07 July 2008 -- After 19 reported events, primarily among farmed chickens, the situation in Egypt is unlikely to be contained and is now considered to be endemic. No more follow-up reports will be made, but instead, information about this disease will be included in the future six-monthly reports.

The first outbreak was reported 17 February 2006.

Control measures applied:

* Control of wildlife reservoirs
* Stamping out
* Quarantine
* Movement control inside the country
* Screening
* Vaccination in response to the outbreak (s)
* Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
* Dipping / Spraying
* No treatment of affected animals

Mexico prohibits poultry imports from Arkansas over bird flu outbreak​

http://iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/26/business/LA-FIN-Mexico-US-Bird-Flu.php

MEXICO CITY: Mexico is banning poultry imports from Arkansas because of a bird flu outbreak in the U.S. state.

The Agricultural Department says poultry meat, fertilized eggs, song birds and messenger pigeons are banned indefinitely.

Avian influenza cases led to the destruction of 15,000 hens in western Arkansas earlier this month. The virus strain was not harmful to humans.

Mexico is a major market for U.S. chicken. The U.S. Agriculture Department says Mexico imported some 221,000 tons (200,500 metric tons) of chicken products in 2007.

Mystery Fatal Hemorrhagic Disease in Shandong China ​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/07280801/Mystery_Shandong.html

Recombinomics Commentary 03:05
July 28, 2008

"China reported that approximately 20 days ago, a man suddenly died from an unidentified disease in Wanjiakou Village, Xiaoguan Town, Wendeng City, Shandong Province. His entire body turned dark purple, and he bled from his mouth, nostrils, ears, and eyes just as he died.

Shortly after the man died, 2 other men who been in contact with him, died showing the same symptoms. Villagers who had left the village to work said "3 people died 10 days ago. 6 or 7 more are being treated in the Wendeng Central Hospital. People have been to the area to investigate, but they are unable to classify the disease."

The above comments from ProMED describe a contagious hemorrhagic disease in China. There are some similarities with an outbreak that began in Sichuan province at this time in 2005. The symptoms were very similar and matched symptoms linked to the 1918 pandemic. The Sichuan outbreak had linkages to swine and was said to be linked to a common swine bacterium that had turned more virulent. However, the time and location of the earlier outbreak raised concerns of linkage to H5N1, which can cause the same symptoms.

Similarly, the current outbreak in Wendeng is on the west side of the Yellow Sea (see satellite map). North and South Korea are on the east side, where H5N1 has been suspected or confirmed.

More information on the current outbreak would be useful

FAO to help Myanmar prevent highly pathogenic avian influenza ​

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/28/content_8786649.htm

YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will help Myanmar prevent, control and eradicate highly pathogenic avian influenza under a bilateral agreement also involving the financial aid of the World Bank, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Monday.

The agreement between the UN organization and the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD) of Myanmar on a three-year project in this regard, signed here on Sunday, will run from 2008 to 2011 and the Work Bank will provide 1.315 million U.S. dollars' financial aid for the project, the report said.

In April this year, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) declared Myanmar as a bird-flu-free country three months after the country was proved that there was no residual bird flu virus remained over the period since January.

According to then OIE statement, the latest spread of the H5N1 virus from Kengtung to Mongphyat in Shan state in November last year, which infected a seven-year-old girl later in December, had been under control since late January this year, attributing the infection to carrying from abroad.

There were numerous outbreaks of the avian influenza in Myanmar covering 25 townships of six states and divisions over the past two years since February 2006 until the last in December 2007.

All of the occurrences were blamed for infecting from abroad especially that the virus was carried into the country by migratory birds from the cold regions in the world infecting local birds, according to the LBVD.

Myanmar reported outbreak of the avian influenza in the country for the first time in some poultry farms in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions in early 2006, followed by those in Yangon division in early 2007, in Mon state's Thanbyuzayat and western Bago division's Letpadan in July and in eastern Bago division's Thanatpin and in Yangon division's Hmawby in October the same year.

Experts try to block flu virus replication​

http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINSP19970820080727

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in Japan have gained a better understanding how influenza viruses replicate, possibly opening the way for the development of drugs to hamper their reproduction.

In the latest issue of Nature, the researchers described how they zeroed in on an enzyme that flu viruses need to replicate, and managed to capture a snapshot of the enzyme.

Enzymes in influenza viruses are made up of three proteins bound tightly together.

"Scientists have been trying to study its (enzyme's) structure and no one has yet got a detailed picture of the whole thing," said Yokohama City University's Jeremy Tame, a member of the research team.

But the team managed to crystallize the proteins and get a peek at part of the structure, which involves the tip of one of the proteins coming into contact with another protein.

"This gives us some hope that we can interrupt this interface (contact point)," Tame said.

Such an interruption would "kill the virus, or slow it down sufficiently", he added.

All influenza A viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu virus, are believed to have similar structures. Theoretically, one drug could fight all of them.

"We would like to start work. We're hopeful that will lead to efforts to work on completely novel drugs," Tame said.

Lung inflammation from influenza could be
turned off following new discovery​

http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=08072702

A new discovery could lead to treatments which turn off the inflammation in the lungs caused by influenza and other infections, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Immunology.

The symptoms of influenza, such as breathlessness, weight loss and fever, are made much worse by the immune system responding in an exaggerated way to the virus, rather than by the virus itself. The virus is often cleared from the body by the time symptoms appear and yet symptoms can last for many days, because the immune system continues to fight the damaged lung.

The immune system is essential for clearing the virus, but it can damage the body when it overreacts if it is not quickly contained. Such overreaction occurs in a number of diseases as well as influenza, such as asthma and inflammatory conditions in the gut.

During influenza infection, the immune system's prolonged response causes the lungs to become inflamed and this can clog the airways and cause difficulty breathing.

The new study, led by researchers from Imperial College London, reveals how the activity of immune cells in the lung is normally kept under control by a receptor known as CD200R, working with another molecule called CD200.

CD200R is found in high levels in the lungs and the new research shows that it is able to limit the immune system's response and to turn off inflammation once it has started.

Influenza overrides the CD200 molecule and without CD200 to bind to, CD200R cannot work to prevent the immune system from overreacting, so the lungs become inflamed.

In the new study, the researchers gave mice infected with influenza a mimic of CD200, or an antibody to stimulate CD200R, to see if these would enable CD200R to bring the immune system under control and reduce inflammation.

The mice that received treatment had less weight loss than control mice and less inflammation in their airways and lung tissue. The influenza virus was still cleared from the lungs within seven days and so this strategy did not appear to affect the immune system's ability to fight the virus itself.

Following these results in mice, the researchers hope that a therapy could be developed for people which can quickly work with the CD200R receptor and stop the immune system from fighting when it is no longer needed. They believe this would quickly reduce symptoms and reduce the damage that the immune system causes in the lungs and elsewhere.

Professor Tracy Hussell, the lead author of the research from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said: 'The immune system is very sophisticated and much of the time it does a fantastic job of fighting infection, but it has the ability to cause a lot of damage when it overreacts. Our new research is still in its early stages, but these findings suggest that it could be possible to prevent the immune system going into overdrive, and limit the unnecessary damage this can cause.'

Dr Robert Snelgrove, a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at Imperial College London and another author of the research, added: 'Although flu is just an inconvenience for some people, it can be dangerous and even fatal in the very young and elderly. We hope our research could ultimately help to develop treatments which fight the effects of this sometimes lethal virus.'

The researchers hope that in the event of a flu pandemic, such as a pandemic of H5N1 avian flu that had mutated to be transmissible between humans, the new treatment would add to the current arsenal of anti-viral medications and vaccines. One key advantage of this type of therapy is that it would be effective even if the flu virus mutated, because it targets the body's overreaction to the virus rather than the virus itself.

In addition to the possible applications for treating influenza, the researchers also hope their findings could lead to new treatments for other conditions where excessive immunity can be a problem, including other infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases and allergy.

The research was funded by the Medical Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust, and the European Union.

Nigeria Reports New Outbreaks of Bird Flu at Farms in North​

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ayDM3XC9bxSA&refer=africa

Nigeria Reports New Outbreaks of Bird Flu at Farms in North

By Dulue Mbachu

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria, Africa's most-populous nation, reported new outbreaks of bird flu in two of its northern states, the World Organization for Animal Health said.

Both cases, confirmed to be the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, occurred in ``backyard poultry'' in Kano and Katsina states, the organization said a statement posted on its Web site on July 25.

``Detailed investigation is ongoing, but information so far indicates the introduction of new species into existing flock as possible cause of the outbreak,'' the organization said. More than 5,000 birds from the two farms, including chickens, ducks and guinea-fowls, have been destroyed to prevent further spread of the virus, it added.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread to more than 60 countries and has killed 243 people in 12 countries as of June 19, according to the World Health Organization's Web site.

Junaid Maina, head of the livestock in Nigeria's Agriculture Ministry, didn't answer calls to his mobile phone seeking coment.

How to Effectively Contain Bird Flu​

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/07/137_28387.html

By Frank Konings

In response to the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among birds in Korea three months ago, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced last week that it will start regular monitoring of the country's poultry farms and bird habitats and establish an avian influenza crisis management system.

This is good news. But let's not forget about the promise of doubling the antivirals stockpile. H5N1 avian influenza claimed its first human victim in Hong Kong almost 10 years ago.

In the meantime, the virus has continued to spread, with a death toll of 243 people to date. The majority of cases have been identified in Asia, mainly in Vietnam and Indonesia. There have so far been no human cases or deaths in Korea.

Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, infects domestic and wild birds. This is the virus that spread through Korea's bird population three months ago. To contain the outbreak, 8.5 million chickens and ducks needed to be culled.

In an attempt to avoid taking such drastic measures in the future, the government announced stricter monitoring of wild and domestic bird populations.

This is an important measure because avian influenza occasionally jumps from birds to humans. This is not easy but also not impossible for the virus. We need to be extra alert to the H5N1 strain because it is very common among birds and, hence, chances are higher for its transmission to humans.

Transmission from one person to another is even harder. However, it is possible that the virus' genetic code will change to overcome this hurdle. Once avian influenza evolves to spread easily among humans, we are at risk for another influenza pandemic.

It will not be the first influenza virus that goes global. Three influenza pandemics have occurred in the last century: the Spanish flu (1918-1920), the Asian flu (1957-1958) and, most recently, the Hong Kong flu (1968-1969).

The Spanish flu was the most severe and killed an estimated 40 million people. The Asian and Hong Kong flu killed approximately 1 to 1.5 million people.

We can learn a lesson in ``pandemics'' from other well-known viruses too. Take for example severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which put the world on high alert just a few years ago. The West Nile Virus scared New Yorkers in 1999 when it suddenly appeared in their city. Fortunately, these outbreaks were quickly contained.

Of course, it is difficult to forecast the onset and extent of future influenza pandemics based on outbreaks of other viruses. Nevertheless, they reinforce how suddenly and rapidly a pandemic can spread in today's society. The numbers of previous influenza pandemics say enough about its possible extent.

Antiviral drugs and non-pharmaceutical interventions will play important roles when an influenza pandemic arrives in Korea. With regard to drugs, we rely mainly on two antivirals, oseltamivir and zanamivir or Tamiflu and Relenza by their brand names.

These are active against seasonal influenza and also have activity against H5N1 influenza. Vaccines against H5N1 have been developed but large-scale production is not possible until we know exactly what virus has become pandemic.

In the event of a pandemic, Korea obviously does not have the capacity to produce enough antivirals to treat its 49 million people fast enough to contain the disease. Building a stockpile provides a buffer to start immediate treatment of patients and preventive treatment of those surrounding them early on in the pandemic.

This will buy time for the production of more antivirals. To build the necessary buffer, it is important that Korea sticks to its promise of doubling its current antiviral reserve from 1.25 to 2.5 million treatment courses by the end of this year.

Additionally, Korea and the international community should focus on assisting countries where pandemic influenza is most likely to originate, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, to stockpile antivirals.

This may help prevent pandemic influenza from spreading beyond their borders and contain the outbreak early on. Antivirals play an important role in containing an influenza pandemic and are an essential part of a pandemic influenza preparedness plan.

Having antivirals readily available here in Korea and abroad, especially in high-risk countries, makes us better prepared for the next pandemic.

Dr. Frank Konings holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from New York University. He studied malaria in Africa and worked as an epidemiologist at the New York State Department of Health.

Flu fear after dead birds surface ​

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080730/jsp/siliguri/story_9618257.jsp

Cooch Behar, July 29: More than 300 dead chickens in a highly decomposed state were found lying beside NH31 this morning, triggering a bird flu scare in the area.

The administration is still in the dark about how such a large number of dead broiler chickens were thrown beside the highway, about 10km from here. Three dogs died after eating the birds, sources in the administration said.

Earlier this year, birds had been culled in Cooch Behar district, when chickens in a poultry in Dinhata’s Gitaldaha were detected with the bird flu virus.

Today, the local people set up a roadblock in the area, about 50km from Gitaldaha, from 7am to 10.30am to protest against the stink that had been emanating from the place.

The block officer of the animal resources development department, Swapan Das, said: “We are not yet sure where from the dead birds came. Collecting samples from them will be futile because they have all rotted.”

According to Nirmal Kumar Kazi, the local gram panchayat pradhan, people who had gone for a morning walk first noticed the chickens. “The smell was so strong that one cannot walk past the area.” He said the residents were worried that no samples were sent for testing. “We are not sure whether the chickens died of bird flu in a farm whose owner dumped them there late last night.”

Pranesh Debnath, who first stumbled upon the dead birds, said they were wrapped in plastic sheets. “We called the Kotwali police station but they said they had no role to play in this,” he said.

The law enforcers’ answer prompted the residents to go for the blockade. The police later arrived at the spot with a team of officers from the animal resources development department. But by then, long queues of vehicles on both sides of the road were formed.

“The officers who left without collecting the samples told the local panchayat member to burn the dead birds and bury the remains. So we will never know if the chickens had died of bird flu,” said Ashim Roy, a resident.

Pijit suspects 4 new cases of bird flu​

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/thailand/pijit-suspects-4-new-cases-of-bird-flu_10077659.html

Public Health authority of Pijit province, Doctor Prajak Wattanakul (ประจักษ์ วัฒนกุล) alongside the Contagious Disease Control Unit reported from the Sam Ngam (สามง่าม) district hospital yesterday that the team were called on to inspect 4 new patients who are suspected of having Avian Flu.

The patients comprise of 2 young children ages 6 and 10 and two elderly women ages 62 and 70. Despite the patients being from different Tambon in the district, physicians found that all had come into contact with poultry before falling ill and all exhibited symptoms of coughing, fatigue, shortness of breath and other bird flu related conditions. Doctors have sent off samples of the patients to be analyzed, and are expecting results in 1-2 days. All 4 have been quarantined, as the chickens that they had contacted all experienced unexplained deaths in the past days.

Source : National News Bureau, Public Relations Department of Thailand

Four test negative for bird flu​

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/07/31/national/national_30079410.php

By The Nation
Published on July 31, 2008

Four people in Phichit province who were suspected of having contracted the birdflu virus have tested negative for the disease, the Public Health Ministry said yesterday.


Deputy permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said he ordered the mobile rapid diseaseinvestigation unit to collect blood samples from the four for testing against the H5N1 strain of the virus at Nakhon Sawan's provincial Science Centre.

The laboratory results found that none of the four had the H5N1 virus, which can be lethal to humans. Three of them are suffering from seasonal influenza, while the fourth has no flu whatsoever.

The four people tested were Krisada Tiangtham, six years old, Nadda Tiangyoo, 10, Tabtim Promsri, 62, and Wanna Toramram, 70. They all remain under observation in Phichit's Sam Ngam Hospital. Krisada does not have the flu.

The four reported they had come into contact with dead chickens in their village before falling ill. Three days later, they had a high fever, and it was feared they had been infected with the H5N1 strain of the birdflu virus.

Paijit has asked healthcare volunteers in Sam Ngam district to monitor the symptoms of the relatives of the three patients with seasonal flu for the next 12 days. If any suspicious symptoms are found, they will also be sent to hospital immediately.

He also urged villagers to avoid cooking food using chickens or ducks that have died suspiciously. Villagers should incinerate any such poultry in order to minimise the risk of the H5N1 virus spreading to other areas, he said.

Suspect H5N1 Cluster in Phichit Thailand ​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/07300801/H5N1_Phichit.html

Recombinomics Commentary 12:43
July 30, 2008

Five people admitted to Sam Ngam Hospital in Phichit with bird flulike symptoms have all had mysterious deaths of poultry near their homes.

They were Krisada Thiangyu, six, Nadda Thiangyu, 10, and Taptim Phromsri, 62, from Tambon Noen Por; Wanna Tolamlam, 70, from Tambon Nong Son, and an unnamed fiveyearold boy.

The five reportedly touched dead fowl with their bare hands and a few days later developed fevers, coughing, exhaustion and breathing problems.

The above comments describe a geographic cluster of five suspect H5N1 cases in Phichit, Thailand. The names of the cases suggest there may also be a familial cluster within the geographic cluster.

The last WHO confirmed H5N1 case in Thailand died two years ago in August, 2006 after developing symptoms on July, 14, 2006. However, the patient tested negative for H5N1 on nine tests but was confirmed H5N1 positive on autopsy samples.

More information on these cases would be useful.

Longer-Acting Relenza Fights Flu as Well as Tamiflu ​

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aDCmbqrVxu3M&refer=japan

By Jason Gale

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Daiichi Sankyo Co.'s longer-acting version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's flu drug, Relenza, was as effective as a course of Tamiflu, a patient study found.

The safety and efficacy of a single dose of the inhaled medicine was ``statistically indistinguishable'' from a twice-a- day dose of Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu taken for five days, said Melbourne-based Biota Holdings Ltd., which is developing the drug with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo. The study, involving ``several hundred'' patients with seasonal flu, was the second of three stages of human trials usually needed for regulatory approval.

The companies plan to start final-stage tests in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea by the Northern Hemisphere winter, Biota said in a statement today. If approved, the medicine could provide a new treatment for flu, a disease causing 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide a year. Previous studies also showed the medicine fights the H5N1 version of bird flu, which world health officials say might set off a lethal pandemic.

``If it's successful, then it would be a very useful drug,'' Scott Power, an equities analyst with ABN Amro Morgans Ltd. in Brisbane, Australia, said today by telephone. He rates Biota's shares ``buy.''

Biota gained 2.5 Australian cents, or 3.6 percent, to 72.5 cents on the Australian Stock Exchange. Power expects the shares to reach A$1.30 within the next 12 months.

Shares of Daiichi Sankyo, Japan's third-largest drugmaker, increased 80 yen, or 2.6 percent, to 3,190 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at 11 a.m. local time.

Governments worldwide are stockpiling anti-flu medicines, including Tamiflu and Relenza, to reduce the severity and spread of disease in the event of a pandemic. A treatment that's taken only once, rather than twice a day for five days, would reduce the amount of medicine needed to be kept on hand, Power said.

Daiichi's experimental medicine, known as CS-8958, is in the same class of antiviral as Tamiflu and Relenza, which works by preventing flu viruses from spreading from infected cells.

Link to next weeks thread:

8/1/08- 8/7/08 Weekly Bird Flu Threadelayed H5N1 Confirmation In Indonesia

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=296333