01/06 | H5N1 Spreading Through Turkey; Many More Suspect Cases

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Government Issues Pandemic Advisory</font>

Posted January 5, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.
<A href="http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=4326459&nav=menu130_11">www.kron4.com</a></center>
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bracing for a possible flu pandemic, the government is urging people to prepare to teach their kids at home, chart family members' blood types and allergies and find out in advance if they will be able to work from their house.</b>

A pandemic can hit in waves and last for months, the government warns in a guide for families that was being released Friday.

"Preparation will bring peace of mind and the confidence that we are ready to fight a flu pandemic," according to the guide.

Some tips will sound familiar, echoing what people are told before a hurricane or a blizzard strikes. For example, the government suggests stocking a supply of water and nonperishable food and prescription drugs. The guide asks people to volunteer with local groups to assist with emergency response.

The guide also suggests ways to stop the spread of disease, including simple steps such as frequent hand washing and staying at home if you are sick. "Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve if you don't have a tissue," the guide advises.

Because schools may be closed for long periods in a pandemic, the government advises parents to be prepared to teach their children at home. People should consider, too, how to get around because transportation might be disrupted.

The guide recommends keeping a chart with basic medical information about family members.

"I know we have one at home. In reading this, I frankly was reminded that we ought to update it," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University's medical school.

Schaffner, who was not involved in preparing the guide, said it sets a proper tone and should not cause alarm.

He particularly liked the suggestion about forming support systems -- people to be relied upon in an emergency. But he said the guide did not emphasize some things he believes are important and said a few suggestions did not sound feasible for most people.

"Some just evoke a quiet smile," he said. "For example, plan for the possible reduction or loss of income if you're unable to work or your place of employment is closed. My response to that is, 'Great. That's hard to plan for, for the average American."'

Schaffner said it would have been prudent to include a warning to stop smoking, a risk factor for pulmonary infection, on a list of ways to stay healthy. "Stopping smoking is something I think I would have put right at the top of the list," he said.

The guide does tell people to eat a balanced diet and to exercise regularly. Schaffner said it could have been more pointed in warning people that obesity can make it more difficult to fight off an infection.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt planned to release the guide Friday while meeting in Arizona with state officials and community leaders. In the coming months, the department plans similar meetings in every state.

Fears of a pandemic have arisen from the spread of bird flu, a virus that health officials fear could mutate into a form easily passed between humans.

The virus has killed 74 people -- mainly farm workers in close contact with fowl from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia -- according to end of the year figures from the World Health Organization.

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<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Bird flu closer as girl dies in Turkish outbreak</font>

WILLIAM TINNING
January 06 2006
<A href="http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/53772.html">www.theherald.co.uk</a></center>
A SECOND teenager has died of bird flu in Turkey as the first cases of a virus that has killed 74 people in south-east Asia moved closer to Europe's doorstep.</b>

A 14-year-old boy who died last weekend was found to have the disease despite earlier results indicating otherwise. His 15-year-old sister died early yesterday.

In an indication the disease may have infected people over a wide area of eastern Turkey, six people from a different province were taken to hospital with suspected bird flu. Doctors said a total of 18 patients were under scrutiny and two of them were very sick.

"There is no need for panic. This is not an epidemic spread from human to human," Huseyin Avni Sahin, chief doctor at Van hospital, near the Iranian border, where all the patients are being treated, told CNN Turk television yesterday.

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus remains difficult for humans to catch, but there are fears it could mutate into a form easily transmitted among people. Experts say a pandemic among humans could kill millions and cause massive economic losses.

All the previously confirmed victims have been from south-east Asia and China. H5N1 has killed around half the people it is known to have infected.

The Turkish teenagers who died lived in the remote, rural Agri province next to the Armenian border. As in the affected areas of the Far East, people there live in close proximity with livestock and poultry, which they mostly raise for their own consumption.

Fatma Kocyigit, 15, who died early yesterday, was buried in a grave covered with lime as a precaution, like her 14-year-old brother Mehmet Ali, who died at the weekend. Doctors had originally said he died of pneumonia, not bird flu.
Their 11-year-old sister, Hulya, was in a weak condition in hospital. A six-year-old brother, Ali Hasan, is also sick.

Recep Akdag, the health minister, told NTV television: "These people have been in contact with poultry and this is the reason for the spread of the bird flu. Although thousands of poultry have died, the possibility of it spreading to humans remains small."

Five other children brought to Van with suspected bird flu tested negative for the virus, the state Anatolian news agency quoted Ahmet Faik Oner, a doctor at the hospital, as saying.

Tests were being conducted at the Veterinary Laboratory Agency near Weybridge, Surrey, on samples of the avian flu virus that killed the Turkish teenagers. Results from the Weybridge tests are expected in a few days.

The key questions are whether the latest outbreak involves the feared H5N1 strain of the flu – and whether it has fulfilled scientists' fears and mutated into a disease transmissible between humans. Experts insisted yesterday there was no evidence of a mutation.

Professor Hugh Pennington, president of the Society of General Microbiology, who is based at the University of Aberdeen, said: "This [outbreak] shows we have to keep our vigilance up but the picture, as far as the human population is concerned, hasn't changed."

He added: "It's still an avian virus and hasn't mutated to enable human-to-human infection. So the message is: don't panic. The public shouldn't be unduly concerned.

"We can all do our bit to keep bird flu away from these shores. If you see a dead bird, stay well away from it and report it immediately to a vet."
The latest outbreak comes on top of the 142 confirmed cases in south-east Asia in the last two years, including at least 70 deaths.

There have been no deaths so far outside south-east Asia from the deadly H5N1 strain.

The Turkish fatalities, much closer to home, yesterday prompted the European Commission to send a veterinary expert to join Turkish authorities trying to identify and isolate the seat of the virus.

Virus samples sent to Weybridge from the sick chickens thought to have transmitted the disease hold the key.

Samples from the human victims have gone for separate analysis at a World Health Organisation laboratory in Colindale, north-west London, to determine whether the two samples are identical.

A European Commission spokesman said: "We are closely monitoring the situation and we are now waiting for the results of the tests before deciding what to do next.

"Obviously the complete ban on any imports from Turkey of live birds and poultry products, which was imposed last October, remains in place."

A SECOND teenager has died of bird flu in Turkey as the first cases of a virus that has killed 74 people in south-east Asia moved closer to Europe's doorstep.
A 14-year-old boy who died last weekend was found to have the disease despite earlier results indicating otherwise. His 15-year-old sister died early yesterday.

In an indication the disease may have infected people over a wide area of eastern Turkey, six people from a different province were taken to hospital with suspected bird flu. Doctors said a total of 18 patients were under scrutiny and two of them were very sick.

"There is no need for panic. This is not an epidemic spread from human to human," Huseyin Avni Sahin, chief doctor at Van hospital, near the Iranian border, where all the patients are being treated, told CNN Turk television yesterday.

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus remains difficult for humans to catch, but there are fears it could mutate into a form easily transmitted among people. Experts say a pandemic among humans could kill millions and cause massive economic losses.
All the previously confirmed victims have been from south-east Asia and China. H5N1 has killed around half the people it is known to have infected.

The Turkish teenagers who died lived in the remote, rural Agri province next to the Armenian border. As in the affected areas of the Far East, people there live in close proximity with livestock and poultry, which they mostly raise for their own consumption.

Fatma Kocyigit, 15, who died early yesterday, was buried in a grave covered with lime as a precaution, like her 14-year-old brother Mehmet Ali, who died at the weekend. Doctors had originally said he died of pneumonia, not bird flu.
Their 11-year-old sister, Hulya, was in a weak condition in hospital. A six-year-old brother, Ali Hasan, is also sick.

Recep Akdag, the health minister, told NTV television: "These people have been in contact with poultry and this is the reason for the spread of the bird flu. Although thousands of poultry have died, the possibility of it spreading to humans remains small."

Five other children brought to Van with suspected bird flu tested negative for the virus, the state Anatolian news agency quoted Ahmet Faik Oner, a doctor at the hospital, as saying.

Tests were being conducted at the Veterinary Laboratory Agency near Weybridge, Surrey, on samples of the avian flu virus that killed the Turkish teenagers. Results from the Weybridge tests are expected in a few days.

The key questions are whether the latest outbreak involves the feared H5N1 strain of the flu – and whether it has fulfilled scientists' fears and mutated into a disease transmissible between humans. Experts insisted yesterday there was no evidence of a mutation.

Professor Hugh Pennington, president of the Society of General Microbiology, who is based at the University of Aberdeen, said: "This [outbreak] shows we have to keep our vigilance up but the picture, as far as the human population is concerned, hasn't changed."

He added: "It's still an avian virus and hasn't mutated to enable human-to-human infection. So the message is: don't panic. The public shouldn't be unduly concerned.

"We can all do our bit to keep bird flu away from these shores. If you see a dead bird, stay well away from it and report it immediately to a vet."

The latest outbreak comes on top of the 142 confirmed cases in south-east Asia in the last two years, including at least 70 deaths.

There have been no deaths so far outside south-east Asia from the deadly H5N1 strain.

The Turkish fatalities, much closer to home, yesterday prompted the European Commission to send a veterinary expert to join Turkish authorities trying to identify and isolate the seat of the virus.

Virus samples sent to Weybridge from the sick chickens thought to have transmitted the disease hold the key.

Samples from the human victims have gone for separate analysis at a World Health Organisation laboratory in Colindale, north-west London, to determine whether the two samples are identical.

A European Commission spokesman said: "We are closely monitoring the situation and we are now waiting for the results of the tests before deciding what to do next.

"Obviously the complete ban on any imports from Turkey of live birds and poultry products, which was imposed last October, remains in place."

A SECOND teenager has died of bird flu in Turkey as the first cases of a virus that has killed 74 people in south-east Asia moved closer to Europe's doorstep.

A 14-year-old boy who died last weekend was found to have the disease despite earlier results indicating otherwise. His 15-year-old sister died early yesterday.

In an indication the disease may have infected people over a wide area of eastern Turkey, six people from a different province were taken to hospital with suspected bird flu. Doctors said a total of 18 patients were under scrutiny and two of them were very sick.

"There is no need for panic. This is not an epidemic spread from human to human," Huseyin Avni Sahin, chief doctor at Van hospital, near the Iranian border, where all the patients are being treated, told CNN Turk television yesterday.
The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus remains difficult for humans to catch, but there are fears it could mutate into a form easily transmitted among people. Experts say a pandemic among humans could kill millions and cause massive economic losses.
All the previously confirmed victims have been from south-east Asia and China. H5N1 has killed around half the people it is known to have infected.

The Turkish teenagers who died lived in the remote, rural Agri province next to the Armenian border. As in the affected areas of the Far East, people there live in close proximity with livestock and poultry, which they mostly raise for their own consumption.

Fatma Kocyigit, 15, who died early yesterday, was buried in a grave covered with lime as a precaution, like her 14-year-old brother Mehmet Ali, who died at the weekend. Doctors had

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<B><center>Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:02 pm EST Category:
<A href="http://www.iflu.org/?p=14496">iFlu.org comment</a>

<font size=+1 color=green>Bird flu human cases in Turkey rising rapidly</font></b></center>

The number of human cases in Turkey appears to be rising, although there is possibly some confusion about actual numbers in this rapidly emerging situation. Local reports differ between 23 and 26 suspect cases. We recommend that those who want the latest news take a look at The Flu Clinic discussion forum where at least two local people are providing the latest information being published in the Turkish media. We will of course keep you informed of any major developments, but The Flu Clinic is likely to be more timely.

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<B><center>Thursday, Jan 05, 2006
<A href="http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=cp_health_home&articleID=2136178">www.mytelus.com</a>

<font size=+1 color=blue>U.S. Government puts out tips for dealing with a possible flu pandemic</font></center>

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bracing for a possible flu pandemic, the government is urging people to prepare to teach their kids at home, chart family members' blood types and allergies and find out in advance if they will be able to work from their house.
A pandemic can hit in waves and last for months, the government warns in a guide for families that was being released Friday. "Preparation will bring peace of mind and the confidence that we are ready to fight a flu pandemic," according to the guide. </b>

Some tips will sound familiar, echoing what people are told before a hurricane or a blizzard strikes. For example, the government suggests stocking a supply of water and non-perishable food and prescription drugs. The guide asks people to volunteer with local groups to assist with emergency response.

The guide also suggests ways to stop the spread of disease, including simple steps such as frequent hand washing and staying at home if you are sick. "Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve if you don't have a tissue," the guide advises.

Because schools may be closed for long periods in a pandemic, the government advises parents to be prepared to teach their children at home. People should consider, too, how to get around because transportation might be disrupted.

The guide recommends keeping a chart with basic medical information about family members.

"I know we have one at home. In reading this, I frankly was reminded that we ought to update it," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University's medical school.

Schaffner, who was not involved in preparing the guide, said it sets a proper tone and should not cause alarm.

He particularly liked the suggestion about forming support systems of people to be relied upon in an emergency. But he said the guide did not emphasize some things he believes are important and said a few suggestions did not sound feasible for most people.


"Some just evoke a quiet smile," he said. "For example, plan for the possible reduction or loss of income if you're unable to work or your place of employment is closed. My response to that is, 'Great. That's hard to plan for, for the average American.' "

Schaffner said it would have been prudent to include a warning to stop smoking, a risk factor for pulmonary infection, on a list of ways to stay healthy. "Stopping smoking is something I think I would have put right at the top of the list," he said.

The guide does tell people to eat a balanced diet and to exercise regularly. Schaffner said it could have been more pointed in warning people that obesity can make it more difficult to fight off an infection.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt planned to release the guide Friday while meeting in Arizona with state officials and community leaders. In the coming months, the department plans similar meetings in every state.

Fears of a pandemic have arisen from the spread of bird flu, a virus that health officials fear could mutate into a form easily passed between humans.

The virus has killed 74 people - mainly farm workers in close contact with fowl from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia - according to end of the year figures from the World Health Organization.

-

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<B><font size=+1 color=purple><center>A Glance at bird flu strain that worries scientists</font>

January 6 2006
<A href="http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/international/news/20060105p2g00m0in035000c.html"">mdn.mainichi-msn</a></center>
ANKARA, Turkey -- A glance at the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which scientists fear could mutate into a form easily passed between humans and trigger a global human epidemic.</b>

WHY SPREAD IS WORRISOME: The farther the virus spreads the more of it there is in the environment and the more opportunities it has to mutate. If confirmed, a brother and sister in Turkey who died of bird flu this week would be the first human cases of the H5N1 strain in Turkey. The virus has killed 74 people -- mainly farm workers in close contact with fowl from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia -- according to the World Health Organization, whose figures were last updated Dec. 30. Birds in Turkey, Romania, Russia and Croatia have recently tested positive for H5N1.

DANGER TO HUMANS: H5N1 does not easily infect humans, experts say. Eating cooked chicken is not considered risky, and H5N1 is not thought to survive in frozen raw chicken. Most people who have become infected have been in very close contact with birds. The Turkish siblings helped raise poultry on a small farm. A handful of people are believed to have caught the virus from another person, but only in instances of extreme close contact.

REGULAR FLU VACCINATIONS: Regular seasonal flu vaccination is not thought to protect people against H5N1. But authorities recommend the vaccination in areas affected by bird flu to lessen the chances of the two viruses mixing inside a person and spawning a hybrid that could spark a human pandemic. (AP)

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Bird Flu Outbreaks Spread West and South in Turkey</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01050607/H5N1_Turkey_SW.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
January 5, 2006</center>
New bird flu outbreaks have been discovered in the central Turkish province of Yozgat, the southeastern province of Sanlıurfa, and in the eastern provinces of Erzurum, Igdır and Agrı. All provinces have been put under quarantine.</b>

The above comments indicate H5N1 is rapidly spreading western into central Turkey. Sanliurfa border Syria and Yozgat is in central Turkey, well west of Erzurum.

The number of hospitalized patients is approaching 30 and two patients have died. This geographical expansion of the bird flu in Turkey is of concern because of the high number of hospitalized persons who have developed bird flu symptoms over a short time period.

The expansion in Turkey suggest H5N1 has also migrated into neighboring countries, although none have filed the mandatory OIE reports.

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<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Twenty Six Suspected Bird Flu Patients Hospitalized in Turkey? </font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01040606/H5N1_Turkey_26.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
January 5, 2006</center>
Five additional patients, also with flu-like symptoms, have been hospitalized in Erzurum</b>

<i>The above comments suggest that the number of patients hospitalized in Turkey has grown to 26 and come from four provinces.</i>

Media reports support the following breakdown.

15 patients were hospitalized in Van. These patients included the four Kocygit siblings (two have died and one is in critical condition) as well as 8 members of the Ozkan family and two additional people from Agri Province. There is also one patient from Van. The lack of reported poultry infections in Van, coupled with the large number of patients in Van raise the possibility of transmission to a health care worker in Van.

In addition to the 15 patients in Van, there are 6 patients from Igdir as well as the 5 patients described above from Erzurum.

Thus, the total is 26 patients from four provinces including four siblings from one family (Kocygit) and 8 members of another family (Okzan).

The dramatic increase in hospitalized patients in sparsely populated eastern Turkey is cause for concern. Most of the patients have breathing difficulties and are on ventilators. Two have died and at least one is in critical condition.

Outbreaks of dead birds have been reported in Igdir, Agri, Eruzum, and Kars Provinces suggesting H5N1 is easily passed from poultry to humans. This increased efficiency is cause for concern because the H5N1 that is efficiently transmitted is present in at least three provinces and will likely spread this strain further in the Middle East and Africa.

More information of the sequences of H5N1, including position 227 of HA, from poultry and people would be useful.

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<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Six Suspect Bird Flu Patients in Igdir Turkey Hospitalized</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01050605/H5N1_Turkey_Igdir_6.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
January 5, 2006</center>
Six people have been sent to hospital in a second province in eastern Turkey with suspected bird flu, NTV commercial television reported today.

The news follows the death of two teenagers, a brother and sister, in Van hospital in eastern Turkey overnight in the first human cases of bird flu outside China and South-East Asia.</b>

NTV said the six patients were from Igdir province on the Armenian border, just to the north of Agri province where the two dead children came from.

The above comments indicate the H5N1 in humans in Turkey is expanding. Although WHO had previously indicated all human cases were limited to two large families in Agri Province, the above report indicates there are six additional patients in Igdir Province. Turkey has filed an emergency OIE report on a H5 outbreak in chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese in Igdir province beginning in the middle of December, the same time as the outbreak in Agri Province.

The total number of cases remains unclear. Reports yesterday indicated additional cases were being transported to Van, but the report did not say the additional cases were from Agri Province. Thus, the total numbe rof cases may be as high as 21. In any event, cases in a second province signal a larger outbreak because dead birds have also been reported in two adjacent provinces, Erzurum and Kars, in Turkey.

These four province extend into central Turkey and suggest more H5N1 is in countries adjacent to Turkey. None of the adjacent countries have filed OIE reports. New rules effective January 1, 2006 require reports of diseases that could spread into adjacent countries. It would appear that such new rules are not being observed. Poultry deaths throughout the Middle East have been reported previously, but no country as filed a report on H5N1.

The expansion of suspect cases to two provinces in Turkey is cause for concern. If these new patients also have pneumonia and bleeding gums, they are almost certainly new H5N1 victims. This large number of cases in a sparsely populated region in eastern Turkey again indicates that human transmission of H5N1 has become more efficient and cause for considerable concern.

Sequencing of new isolates, especial HA and the region encoding position 227 would be useful.

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Third child dies in east Turkey of bird flu - agency</font>

January 06 2006
<A href="http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/1/6/worldupdates/2006-01-06T113539Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-230747-1&sec=Worldupdates">thestar.com</a>
By Dwi Prasetyo </center>
ANKARA (Reuters) - A third child from the same family has died in a Turkish hospital where she was being treated for bird flu, the Anatolian state news agency said on Friday. </b>

Hulya Kocyigit, 11, was the sister of Mehmet Ali, 14, who died last weekend, and of Fatma, 15, who died on Thursday. The children lived in a remote rural district of eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. A six-year-old brother is also being treated for the same disease in the hospital.



<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Third Child Dies From Bird Flu In Van </font>

Published: 1/6/2006
<A href="http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=98224">turkishpress.com</a></center></b>
VAN - Hulya Kocyigit, who was taken under treatment in Van 100. Yil Hospital after being diagnosed with bird flu, died on Friday.
Hulya Kocyigit, 11, was the sister of 14-year-old Mehmet Ali Kocyigit and 15-year-old Fatma Kocyigit who earlier died because of bird flu.


<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Third 'bird flu' death in Turkey </font>

January 06 2006
<A href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4586534.stm">BBC NEWS</a></center>
A Turkish girl has died from bird flu symptoms, days after her brother and sister died from the disease.

The girl, 11, who lives on a poultry farm in eastern Turkey, was being treated in hospital after her family became infected with the disease.</b>

Some 25 people are being treated across Turkey for bird flu-like symptoms, according to reports.

Turkey has begun a mass cull of poultry in an effort to stem the spread of bird flu throughout the east of the country.

The girl, Hulya Kocyigit, had already lost a brother and sister to Turkey's first bird flu outbreak among humans.

Her brother, Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, died on Sunday, while her sister Fatma, 15, died on Thursday.

The family live and work on a poultry farm near the town of Dogubayezit, close to the Iranian border.

Experts are monitoring the spread of Turkey's strain of bird flu, which is thought to be the deadly H5N1 strain which has killed more than 70 people in Asia.

There has been no official confirmation of the strain, as samples are being analysed by a UK laboratory, but the World Health Organization has said it is likely that it is H5N1.

And so it begins...and wouldn't you know this pandemic starts in a country named Turkey...how ironic is that?



bump.

Thanks for tracking this and posting in one place... Great job!

If the clustering reports(multiple cases HtoH), this could be the start.
Still, more confirmation is needed.
Thanks for the info.

DUtch,

I have no intent to hijack the thread.

Here are two threads on another board, the first has the text of the release you mention at the top of the thread:



http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33964


And on this htread there are 14 pages+ of evaluations of the turkey situation.


http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33806

yes there is some bloviating on that thread, but not more than we have here....

but it won't make sleeping easy tonite.


You will find comments on that thread by Dr. Niman and a couple other ligher level folks.


c

Bird flu-hit Dazhu takes measures to avoid new epidemics

www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-06 01:11:36

DAZHU, Sichuan Province, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Dazhu County, the latest bird flu outbreak site in southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been taking strict measures to prevent the epidemic from spreading.

Poultry in the affected areas have been culled. the Local government has been providing medical observation for the people in close contact with the affected poultry.

Disinfecting stations were set up at all roads leading into and outside of the county. Meanwhile, the county has shut down all its 54 live poultry markets amid various efforts to prevent the epidemic from spreading.

No human cases have been reported, according to the local government.

Between Dec. 22 and 25 in 2005, 1,800 chickens and ducks died in three households in in Liuyan Village in Yangjia Township. The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the outbreak to be H5N1 bird flu on Jan. 3.

Cool heads must rule if bird flu hits
January 6, 2006
Page 1 of 2 [read more at the website: www.smh.com.au]

The Government should use its quarantine powers only as a measure of last resort, writes Cameron Murphy.

IT WAS Oprah Winfrey who really got me thinking about our national response to avian influenza. Strange, I know, but a recent episode of Oprah featured the Mayor of Mingo County in West Virginia closing a public swimming pool to the following dictum: "If there's just one chance - if there's just one chance in a million that somebody could catch that virus in a swimming pool, I think I did the right thing."

Stranger still, he wasn't speaking last year, and he wasn't talking about bird flu. It was footage from 1987, and the mayor was talking about his tough response to an AIDS sufferer who had dared to swim in a public pool. He was taking an extreme measure traditionally taken as a last resort. And with the benefit of hindsight, it was measures such as these that had drastic consequences for the way Americans thought about the contraction of HIV/AIDS, and those who suffered from it.

The power to quarantine is the legal response of last resort to an epidemic. It provides almost unfettered power to government to take such steps as confining and segregating people who may only be suspected of carrying an illness, removing them forcibly from their homes, confining them against their will for indefinite periods and destroying their property. These powers are not subject to review, and are not limited in any way by other state or territory legislation that would seek to protect people.

Owing to the scope of the power, it should come as no surprise that from time to time it is exercised without full information, in a discriminatory manner, and with devastating consequences for the rights of suspected sufferers.

In the early 1980s, as HIV/AIDS first entered the public consciousness, a range of misconceptions began to circulate in the Australian community. Some had us believe that it was a "gay" disease; others, that it was airborne or could be transmitted through touch. But in contrast to our American counterparts, the Australian Government's response was educative - many of these myths were dispelled through advertising and other educational campaigns.

And so the grim reaper and his bowling ball came to typify subsequent discussions about HIV/AIDS in this country. The resounding message was that we were all at risk, irrespective of age, sexuality, gender or ethnicity. But at the same time, each of us could contain that risk, by making responsible choices in relation to our sexual and other risk-related activities. And so it was that a range of unprecedented measures was taken. Public pools remained open, but condom application lessons were aired on national television.

As we've seen, many nations chose a less progressive path. The United States, frightened by the unsanitary sexual discussions thought to be implied in HIV/AIDS education, shied away from harm-reduction strategies. Instead, celebrity deaths, including Rock Hudson's, were used to reinforce the view that HIV/AIDS was a "gay" disease. For decades, these and other pernicious myths continued to prevail, with substantial consequences for contraction rates. In its December 2005 report, UNAIDS found that the number of infections in Australia had declined by 25 per cent between 1995 and 2005. During the same period, infection rates rose steadily in the US.

We have heard consistent reports of the serious dangers posed by avian influenza. Government ministers, doctors and scientists have told us that the isolated outbreaks witnessed from time to time could at any moment result in a devastating pandemic. Our own Health Minister, Tony Abbott, assures us we are well prepared should the virus reach our shores: flu vaccines have been stockpiled, international emergency services have been co-ordinated, and governments in our region are working around the clock to identify and treat cases before they reach our shores.

The jewel in the crown of national protection - a measure of final resort - is the Quarantine Act 1908. Though the act affords the Federal Government extraordinary powers - as its title suggests - many of the public have never heard of it. Few are aware of the far-reaching authority it confers.

Once an epidemic is proclaimed by the Governor-General, the responsible minister may take any action or issue any direction that he or she considers necessary to control and eradicate the epidemic, or to remove the danger that it presents. These measures include the examination, exclusion, detention, observation, segregation, isolation, protection, treatment and regulation of vessels, installations and humans.

The act, which overrides any other state or territory legislation, allows quarantine officers to seize any goods and to destroy any premises. While the act does dictate that these measures include "no more than is reasonably appropriate and adapted" to the purpose of removing the danger of the epidemic, there are no practical constraints on the exercise of these extreme powers.

I accept that in some circumstances it may be necessary to take extreme measures against a section of the population to protect others from an epidemic. But the power to quarantine is by its nature so broad that it should be exercisable only in clearly defined circumstances and under practical constraints.

The legislation should clearly prescribe the events that must occur before the Governor-General may proclaim an epidemic, and ensure that any such decision be based on independent scientific and medical advice. It should also require the responsible minister to consider all available scientific knowledge and opinion before taking any action; and it should provide for regular review of the decisions made, with a right for individuals to seek review by the courts of any decision that affects them.

We have the opportunity to develop a sound legal framework for the exercise of quarantine powers before any outbreak. The Australian Law Reform Commission should be given an urgent reference to review the law to ensure these decisions are made in a reflective manner. If we can learn one thing from Mingo County, it is that potentially damaging quarantine decisions must be made on the basis of sound medical advice, and not as an unconsidered response to our collective anxiety.

Cameron Murphy is president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.

night driver said:

DUtch,

I have no intent to hijack the thread.

Here are two threads on another board, the first has the text of the release you mention at the top of the thread:



http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33964


And on this htread there are 14 pages+ of evaluations of the turkey situation.


http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33806

yes there is some bloviating on that thread, but not more than we have here....

but it won't make sleeping easy tonite.


You will find comments on that thread by Dr. Niman and a couple other ligher level folks.


c

Click to expand...

Chuck - I was aware of those two threads.

However, since the last little bru Haw. I have tried to NOT have anything from Curevents on any of my H5N1 news threads.

Curevents - and some of the Curevents posters, are the reason why I expanded my news hunting to include H5N1.

As per my course, I watch all developing news subjects Chuck; and in due course I had noted that there were TB members, who, for some reason of their own. Were posting news to another board(s). News which would/will have a DEEP impact upon all of our lives - when it comes to CONUS. But that they did not post that news to TB2000.

So I began posting a totally unknown (to me) news (I have no medical knowledgeable back ground).(But I do/did want to keep the TB2000 members aware, as well as I can, to *all the threats* the threats which we are facing).

I'll *let your post stand* since you ment no harm; but I wish to make it known (for those members who read this - and who report to Curvents PTBs. I did not know that there was going to be any reference to Curevents posted to a H5N1 thread...

=



<B><center>[January 06, 2006]
<A href="http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/jan/1266659.htm">www.tmcnet.com</a>

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL:

<font size=+1 color=red>'No panic' as bird flu creeps closer</font></center>

(The Birmingham Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)A leading microbiologist has urged the British public not to panic yesterday as bird flu moved closer towards central Europe with two people dying in Turkey.</b>

A teenage farm boy died after developing pneumonia-like symptoms at the weekend and his sister died yesterday. A third sibling is also suspected of having bird flu.

If the deaths are confirmed as being from the deadly H5N1 strain, they would be the first fatalities in the current bird flu outbreak outside south east Asia, where at least 70 people have died.

Samples are being sent to the Veterinary Laboratory Agency near Weybridge, Surrey, for further tests.

Prof Hugh Pennington, president of the Society of General Microbiology, said: "This shows we have to keep our vigilance up but the picture, as far as the human population is concerned, hasn't changed.

"It's still an avian virus and hasn't mutated to enable human-to-human infection. So the message is: don't panic. We can all do our bit to keep bird flu away from these shores. If you see a dead bird, stay well away from it and report it immediately to a vet."

=



<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Georgia Steps up Measures to Prevent Bird Flu</font>

/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2006-01-06 18:43:47
<A href="http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=11462">www.civil.ge</a></center>
Authorities in Georgia are stepping up measures to prevent spread of bird flu following three lethal cases reported in eastern Turkey caused by suspected H5N1 form of bird flu.</b>

Officials say that extra supplies of Tamiflu – only drug known to be effective against bird flu – will be purchased. Security measures have also been heightened at the border with Turkey.

Georgian Minister of Agriculture Mikheil Svimonishvili met with local poultry producers to discuss situation on January 6.

“We have our monitoring groups regularly inspecting poultry production factories throughout Georgia and I can assure that the local poultry is absolutely safe,” Svimonishvili told Imedi television.

Georgian Healthcare Minister Lado Chipashvili said on January 5 that although no case of bird flu has been found in Georgia yet, situation is “serious, which requires complex preventative measures.”

Last October the Georgian government allocated GEL 800,000 (USD 445,000) for measures to prevent the arrival of the bird flu virus in the country. Georgia has banned poultry import from number of countries including from Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia.

=



<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>H5N1 Outbreak Explosion in Turkey Raises Pandemic Concerns</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01050608/H5N1_Turkey_Explosion.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
January 5, 2006</center>
The explosion of H5N1 bird flu infections in people and birds in Turkey is cause for concern. The number of suspected cases may have topped 30 with 3 new admissions from Agri and 2 from Ercis. The bird outbreaks have expanded to the south and west in Turkey.</b>

The human cases have been alarming because of the sudden appearance of cases, the size of the clusters, and the severity of the disease. The bird cases have also suddenly appeared and significantly extended a geographic reach over significant portions of Turkey.

The simultaneous appearance of the human sequences suggests the H5N1 has change and become more efficient at infecting humans. The widespread nature of the human cases suggest this change has happened and has been amplified in birds.

These types of changes could be explained by the acquisition of HA S227N. This polymorphism was identified in H5N1 Z_+ genotype isolates from two Hong King residents who had visited Fujian Province in 2003. The polymorphism led to a decreased affinity for avian receptors and an increased affinity for human receptors. Although the affinity for the avian receptors was reduced, the HA still had a significant affinity. Similarly, although the affinity for human receptors increased, the affinity was significantly lower than the affinity of human influenza sero-types.

These changes would allow the H5N1 to spread in birds, yet have a significant increase in efficiency of infecting humans. The H5N1 in the wild bird sequences also have the PB2 polymorphism, E627K, which increases virulence in mammals and favors viral replication at lower temperatures.

The increased virulence could explain the severity of the infections in humans. Many have pneumonia and are on ventilators and many are bleeding from the mouth.

Sequence data on the new isolates could address the genetic basis for the apparent increased efficiency in infecting humans. The number of infections over the next several days will address the severity and implications in the sudden appearance of advanced H5N1 symptoms.

=



<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>22 Patients Hospitalized in Van Are H5N1 Positive</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01060601/H5N1_Turkey_Van_22.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
January 6, 2006</center>
Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Hastanesi'nde yatan ve durumu ağır olan Hülya Koçyiğit'in (11) tedavisi solunum cihazına bağlı sürdürülürken, 6 yaşındaki Ali Hasan'ın durumunun daha iyi olduğu kaydedildi. Yusuf Tunç (5), Sümeyya Pamuk (10), Semra Topçu (35) ve Orhan Topçu'ya (38) da kuş gribi tedavisi uygulanmaya başladı. Dün de Erciş Devlet Hastanesi'nden Türkan Sökmen (59), Doğubayazıtlı Özcan Ailesi'nden anne Refika (33), çocukları Hakan (15), Rümeysa (1), Hatice (15), Ayşegül (9), Yusuf (3), Mehmet (13), Ahmet (11), Mustafa (6), hasta tavuk eti yedikleri belirtilen Ümran (17), Zehra (14), Riba (12), Mahmut (5) ve Kübra Işık (4) kardeşler de Van'da tedavi altına alındı. Kümeslerindeki bir tavukları ölen Yavuz (6) ve Ozan Gültepe (5) kardeşler de akşam saatlerinde kuş gribi şüphesiyle Van YYÜ Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi'ne getirildi.</b>


Turkish media indicate that the 22 patients listed above are H5N1 positive.

These data confirm that the explosion of cases in Turkey are cause for concern.

=



<B><center>Saturday, January 7, 2006. 0:13am (AEDT)
<A href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1543218.htm">www/abc.net.au</a>

<font size=+1 color=purple>WHO looks to calm Turkish bird flu fears</font></center>
The World Health Organisation is seeking to allay panic following the deaths of three people in Turkey from bird flu, even though it says the disease is now "at the doors of Europe".</b>

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib says the disease has been "contained in one province" in eastern Turkey and "there is no need for excessive panic".

The latest person to die in Turkey is Hulya Kocyigit, 11.

She is the sister of Mehmet Ali, a 14-year-old boy who died last weekend, and of Fatma, 15, a girl who died on Thursday.

It is another sign that the deadly disease, which has already killed 74 people in South-East Asia and China, has now spread westwards closer to Europe.

It is not yet clear whether the deaths are caused by the H5N1 strain of bird flu blamed for the Asian fatalities.

Officials are still awaiting the results of further tests being conducted in London to determine whether any of the thousands of birds slaughtered in the village where the children lived suffered from the H5N1 strain.

Ms Chaib says a team of five WHO experts is to arrive in Van today.

"The initial hypothesis we are working on is that the children affected had dealt with diseased chickens and were thus infected," she said.

But the experts "will also try to see if we are faced with the first case of human-to-human transmission, which would be the start of a flu epidemic".

Currently humans only contract bird flu if they come into close contact with infected birds.

However, scientists fear millions around the world could die if the virus crosses with human flu strains to become highly contagious.

- AFP

=



<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Scientists in uphill battle to fight bird flu</font>

Fri Jan 6, 2006 8:29 AM ET
By Tan Ee Lyn
<A href="http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-06T132844Z_01_ROB631063_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-TAMIFLU.xml&pageNumber=1&summit=">today.reuters.com</a></center>
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Fighting the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus is all the more difficult because experts are still figuring out how best to use Tamiflu, believed to be one of the very few defenses, scientists said.</b>

Roche AG's Tamiflu, generically called oseltamivir, is an anti-viral designed to fight human influenza. But tests have suggested it may be effective in reducing the severity of H5N1 and its complications if taken in higher doses.

Still, scientists have only just begun experimenting how best to use the drug in fighting the H5N1, which health experts fear will mutate into a form that is easily transmissible among people and unleash a pandemic, killing millions.

"The truth of the matter is, we don't really know what is the correct dose, or how many days do you have to treat with Tamiflu and what is the dose required," said virologist Robert Webster of the St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

"There is still space for research to be done ... on how many days to treat, what dose to use. The standard tablets may not contain enough drugs. Maybe it requires more because all of these things were determined for standard human flu."

Three children from the same family in Turkey have died of bird flu over the past week. They were the first human fatalities outside China and East Asia since 1997, when the H5N1 virus made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong.

The disease has re-emerged in China and Southeast Asia since 2003, killing 74 people. Like the East Asian victims, the Turkish children are known to have lived in close proximity with poultry.

A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported how four of eight patients in Vietnam died despite using Tamiflu. It sparked concern as it suggested that certain strains of the H5N1 might have become resistant to the drug.

It also showed that experts were just figuring out how best to use the drug.

In one patient, Tamiflu was used early on, as is recommended by experts and the drug maker -- but Webster, speaking in Hong Kong, said these guidelines were meant to fight human flu viruses, not bird flu viruses.

"These patients in Vietnam ... certainly received the dose that was recommended on the package, but those studies were done with standard H3N2, H1N1 (human flu) viruses," said Webster, who is trying to find out if the best way to fight H5N1 is through the use of a cocktail of drugs, including Tamiflu.

"We are still learning how best to use this drug. The studies from Vietnam tell us you have to think about early treatment. With late treatment, you will have a problem with resistance."

William Chui, a pharmacologist based in Hong Kong, agrees: "The speculation in the Vietnam cases is that the recommended dosage was not high enough. Whether it's dosage, duration of treatment, they are all trial and error (for H5N1)."

Webster said Tamiflu could only be of use against H5N1 if it is taken within one to 1.5 days of infection -- and not within 48 hours of the patient showing symptoms as advised by many experts.

"The issue is when was the drug started in patients after they got infected. Published work on the use of Tamiflu shows it is only effective for the first day. You must begin treatment in the first day or maximally 1.5 days after initial infection. Not symptoms, that is the difficulty," Webster said.

Apart from Tamiflu, experts believe GlazoSmithKline's Relenza, another anti-viral drug known generically as zanamivir, may work against the H5N1.

There is an experimental H5N1 human vaccine but it is based on the current H5N1 strain and experts have warned that it may just not match a future pandemic strain.

=



<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Turkey says tests confirm deadly bird flu strain in three people</font>

Published: 1/6/2006
<A href="http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=98387">www.turkishpress.com</a></center>
ANKARA - Tests done in Britain have confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in three people, including two of the children who died this week, the Turkish health ministry said Friday. </b>
"Only two of the three people who died have tested positive" for the strain that is fatal to humans, ministry undersecretary Necdet Unuvar told a press conference.

"The other person, whose test result was positive, is currently under treatment in hospital" in the eastern city of Van, he added.

Officials had earlier said three teenagers from the same family -- Fatma, 15, Muhammed Ali, 14, and Hulya, 11 -- had died of bird flu while under treatment in the Van hospital.

But Unuvar said one of the children's test results had turned out negative, without specifying which one.

Turkey Flu expands... KIRO (Seattle news) reports

3rd Sibling Dies Of Suspected Bird Flu In Turkey

POSTED: 8:53 am PST January 6, 2006

DOGUBAYAZIT, Turkey -- An 11-year-old girl died Friday of suspected bird flu in eastern Turkey -- days after her brother and sister succumbed to the disease -- and their doctor said they probably contracted the illness by playing with dead chickens.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said people urgently needed to be educated about keeping birds, and that during Friday prayers, imams would give instructions on protecting themselves.

The condition of a fourth ill child from the same family had improved considerably and he was no longer on a respirator, said Huseyin Avni Sahin, head physician at the hospital in the eastern city of Van, where the children were being treated. Three other people, however, were in serious condition, he told The Associated Press.

A hospital official said up to 30 other people were being treated for possible bird flu symptoms early Friday, as the government sent medicine to the area to combat a virus that appeared to be moving westward from eastern Asia. Six other people were admitted to a hospital in Diyarbakir, 250 miles away, for possible bird flu, including a teenager who was in serious conditions, officials said.

Preliminary tests in Turkey indicated two of the siblings died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. If confirmed by further testing, it would be the first human deaths from the strain outside eastern Asian areas, where more than 70 people have died from H5N1 since 2003. Samples were being sent to a British lab for confirmation.

Authorities are closely monitoring H5N1 for fear it could mutate into a form easily passed among humans and spark a pandemic.

The World Health Organization was doing tests to determine whether the bird flu cases resulted from human-to-human transmission, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said in Geneva. The tests were being conducted on samples from the first two victims at a British lab, where they arrived Thursday, and results are expected "in the next few days," she said.

Hulya Kocyigit, 11, died in a hospital in Van a day after her 15-year-old sister, Fatma Kocyigit, succumbed to the disease, Sahin said. Their brother, Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, died Sunday. The four children were hospitalized with high fevers, coughing and bleeding in their throats.

The girl was buried beside her brother and sister, amid the wails of their mother, Marifet Kocyigit. The imam, wearing a surgical mask, read prayers as men, also in masks, took her white shroud-covered body out of the coffin and lowered it into the grave.

The doctor said the youngsters most likely contracted the virus while playing with the heads of dead chickens infected with the disease. The children had reportedly tossed the chicken heads like balls inside their house in Dogubayazit, near the Iranian border.

"They played with the heads for days," Sahin said. "They were in very, very close contact with the dead chickens."

Another 25-30 people had come in to the hospital for blood tests, received medical care and left, a hospital official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

New bird flu cases in fowl were detected in five areas in eastern and southeastern Turkey, and authorities have culled 7,000 fowl in those areas, Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker said.

The prime minister said people must be warned against concealing birds from health workers.

"We have a problem of education, which we have to overcome urgently," Erdogan said. "Chickens, turkeys, geese ... people should not hide them."

In the Kocyigits' hometown of Dogubayazit, teams went from house to house rounding up chickens, placing them in bags and taking them away to be culled. They warned children to keep away, after several of them, thinking it was a game, also tried to round up chickens.

The corridors of a hospital was packed with people wanting their children checked for bird flu.

"We're full here. Everyone is wondering if they've got it," Dr. Huseyin Yurtsever said, adding that he was sending suspicious cases to the hospital in Van.

Authorities in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa dispatched medical teams to the town of Hilvan, where bird flu in fowl has been detected, to deal with a similar panic in a clinic there.

A team of officials from WHO arrived Friday in Turkey to assess the situation.

Officials tried to calm the rising fears.

"We don't expect the disease to contaminate a large number of people," Health Minister Recep Akdag said. "We don't expect a pandemic or anything like that in Turkey, but there is a real risk for people who are in close contact with fowl."

Eker said the problem of containing bird flu in eastern Turkey is aggravated by the fact that almost every house has fowl, which stay inside the homes at night when temperatures drop.

Most of those who have died from the disease so far were farm workers who came in close contact with fowl from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

Birds in Turkey, Romania, Russia and Croatia have recently tested positive for H5N1.

Authorities have said the virus was believed to have been brought by birds migrating from Caucasus regions.

http://www.kirotv.com/health/5886748/detail.html

HOLY COW!! A possible 30!!

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01060602/H5N1_Turkey_Clusters.html

Large Familial Clusters In Turkey Raise Pandemic Concerns

Recombinomics Commentary
January 6, 2006

Yusuf Tunç (5), Sümeyya Pamuk (10), Semra Topçu (35) and Orhan Topçu'ya (38) also kuş gribi (bird flu) treatment carried out begin. Yesterday also Erciş Devlet Hastanesi'nden Türkan Sökmen (59), Doğubayazıtlı Özcan Ailesi'nden mother Refika (33), child Hakan (15), Rümeysa (1), Hatice (15), Ayşegül (9), Yusuf (3), Mehmet (13), Ahmet (11), Mustafa (6), sick chicken meat yedikleri (seven-?) gram? Ümran (17), Zehra (14), Riba (12), Mahmut (5) and Kübra Işık (4) siblings also Van'da treatment altına alındı. Coop bir (together?) chicken to die Yavuz (6) and Ozan Gültepe (5) siblings also

The above machine translation of the H5N1 positive patients in Van indicate that most or all of the cases are from familial clusters, one of which appears to have 10 members.

Large and frequent familial clusters signal efficient H5N1 transmission, either from a common source or human-to-human transmission. Information on disease onset dates would help distinguish the two possibilities, but the clusters indicate transmission to humans is efficient, regardless of source.

This increase efficiency is cause for concern because of the increasing number of poultry outbreaks in Turkey, as well as the temporal relationship with human cases.

These data suggest H5N1 in the migratory birds has changed and this change is causing simultaneous outbreaks over large regions of Turkey.

It is likely that this version of H5N1 will spread beyond the borders of Turkey, significantly increasing the number of countries reporting human H5N1 cases.

Since these human cases have just begun, the stability of this version of H5N1 in birds remains unclear. However, the efficient transmission to humans allow for rapid tracking of this version of H5N1.

Sequence data from H5N1 isolates from the associated birds and people would be useful.

Let's hope it's still because of close living with sick poultry...if sick chickens are in the living room and your kids are throwing their heads around - it makes sense that the whole family could get sick, I guess. And I imagine they're not the only family who lives this way, but it is still very troubling. I'm afraid it's just wishful thinking on my part.

Please delete this if it is a dupe....

RPT-Bird flu found in wild ducks in west Turkey-minister
06 Jan 2006 17:29:19 GMT

Source: Reuters

ANKARA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's farm minister said on Friday bird flu had been detected in two wild ducks near the capital, Ankara, nearly 1,000 km (700 miles) west of infected areas where three children died of the disease in recent days.

"The disease has been identified in two wild ducks near a dam at Nallihan (about 100 km west of Ankara)," Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker told a televised news conference called to brief reporters on the situation in eastern Turkey.

The discovery suggests migratory birds may be spreading the disease across the large country, as experts had warned.

here is 2 really good up to the minute bird flu tracking blogs -

note the resource link list on the left of the H5N1 page.

H5N1 - News and Resources about Avian Flu
http://www.crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/

The Coming Influenza Pandemic?
http://influenzapandemic.blogspot.com/

JUDGECAL said:

here is 2 really good up to the minute bird flu tracking blogs -

note the resource link list on the left of the H5N1 page.

H5N1 - News and Resources about Avian Flu
http://www.crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/

The Coming Influenza Pandemic?
http://influenzapandemic.blogspot.com/

Click to expand...

They appear to be a good sourse of info JUDGECAL. But I like to get the latest news on H5N1 - and to do that one has to haunt the raw news feeds...

Which gives me the added ability to go for the Events (before some intermeadatary has a chance to interpet, in their words - and opinions, what happened...)

Thanks for the info though

BREWER

Once again thank you Dutch. Happy New Year and a big fat...

BUMP