01/31 | H5N1, 3 cases in Iraq & Superdome style housing
- Thread starter PCViking
- Start date
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Three cases of bird flu in Iraq
Disease/Infection NewsPublished: Monday, 30-Jan-200
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a teenager in Iraq who died on January 17th had the H5N1 virus.
Her uncle who died last week is also suspected of having had bird flu but further tests in the UK are underway to confirm both cases.
The WHO says a third possible case, in a 54-year-old woman who was taken to hospital with respiratory problems on January 18th, is also being investigated.
All three cases are from northern Iraq, near the city of Sulaimaniya, and if confirmed will be the first known human cases of the avian virus in Iraq.
Iraq's northern regions border Turkey, where more than 20 people have already been diagnosed with H5N1.
The WHO has said it is unclear why children had been the main victims of the recent outbreak of bird flu in Turkey, but says no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus has been found and no sign it was now spreading more easily from birds to humans.
The WHO has confirmed 12 of the 21 H5N1 bird flu cases reported by Turkey's Health Ministry; that number includes the four children from the eastern town of Dogubayazit who died.
The WHO says that the vast majority of cases in Turkey have been children aged 15 years or younger remains puzzling, as adult members in some of the families were involved in the slaughter of sick birds, yet did not develop the infection.
This has apparently raised the possibility of an as yet unidentified genetic or immunological factor influencing the likelihood of human infection.
To date bird flu is known to have killed at least 85 people and infected 160 since it re-emerged in late 2003.
It remains relatively hard for people to catch,as it is a disease in birds and is caught by close contact with sick birds but experts fear it may mutate and become easily transmitted from person to person, triggering a major pandemic.
So far Turkey has culled 1.3 million birds in attempts to halt the spread of the virus, and though the WHO expects some human cases may still occur, the numbers should be small.
http://www.news-medical.net/print_article.asp?id=15685
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
NOLA Superdome as example of
Here is a quote from an article posted, worth another display... # 11 from yesterday's thread http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184735
Here is a quote from an article posted, worth another display... # 11 from yesterday's thread http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184735
You know, the whole thing about SuperBowl Housing is something I think has been forgotten....it was advertised as an evacuation/gathering point. If football fields aren't advertised as such, gathering there won't necessarily occur. People willl go towards wherever is recommended and publicized on tv/radio.
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Nuthatch said:
I guess you don't remember what happened in the Superdome during and after Katrina?
Going there sounded harmless... a safe place to be? Then the authorities pulled the plug... from what we've seen in reports, of BF planning... it sounds like they'de pull the plug again in a heartbeat. IMHO
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
W.H.O. Lab Confirms 12 Positive Bird Flu Human Cases In Turkey
Published: 1/30/2006ANKARA - World Health Organization's (WHO) reference laboratory in London has confirmed that 12 of the 21 human cases from Turkey (who tested positive at national reference laboratory) were infected by the bird flu virus.
Turkish Health Ministry's Coordination Center for Bird Flu said today that the examination of the samples of the other 9 human cases from Turkey still continued at WHO's reference lab in London.
The Center said that 21 persons in Turkey tested positive for bird flu, adding that four of them died, 14 of them were discharged from hospital and three of them were under medical treatment as of January 27th.
''There is no new bird flu case, but people should continue to be cautious,'' the Center added.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=105883
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><center>31 January 2006 1031 hrs
<font size=+1 color=red><center>No guarantee of success with flu pandemic measures: WHO</font>
<A href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/190883/1/.html">www.channelnewsasia.com</a></center>
GENEVA - The World Health Organisation said Monday it was preparing a new plan to ensure rapid detection of a global flu pandemic and swift containment of a stronger new virus, warning that there was no guarantee of success. </b>
A draft of a "protocol for rapid response and containment" against pandemic influenza was posted on the UN health agency's website last Friday to open it up to suggestions from health professionals, WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said.
The WHO's draft protocol, which is expected to "evolve considerably", is aimed at easing rapid detection of the potential signals that the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu is becoming more transmissible among humans.
National health authorities would be responsible for alerting the WHO within 24 hours of any sign that "could herald the start of an influenza pandemic", triggering guidance on containment measures, including quarantines.
Countries would be urged not to wait for the completion of a full investigation into a case that appeared to involve person-to-person transmission of a stronger virus like H5N1 bird flu.
"Containment of a potential pandemic has never been attempted, the world has never before received an advance warning that a pandemic may be imminent," the 14-page document said.
"The practical and logistics challenges are formidable and success is not assured."
The draft plan also warned that the early warning signs were ill-defined.
"The first potential signal of early pandemic activity cannot be known in advance; precise 'triggering criteria' cannot be fully developed ahead of time," it said.
Containment measures including quarantines affecting people and vehicles would be considered if an initial human case directly infects five more people, among other criteria.
However, WHO guidance may include a decision not to attempt containment if cases of pandemic flu are already spread over an area considered too large for a quarantine or if they occur "in a population that is too large to be covered by available supplies of antiviral drugs".
Even if the measures might ultimately fail to stop the emergence of "a fully fit pandemic virus", they would slow down the initial spread and give other parts of the world crucial time to bolster their defences, the WHO emphasised.
"Each day gained following the emergence of a pandemic virus -- if rapidly detected -- allows the production of around five million doses of a pandemic vaccine," the document said.
It also underlined the benefits of possible success -- averting millions of deaths and huge economic losses -- and the wider value to public health of sleeker international coordination and detection.
Antiviral drugs would be distributed within a quarantine zone, both as a treatment and as a prophylactic, possibly for six weeks or longer.
There would also be escalating phases of pandemic alert, rising to the postponement of large gatherings or travel restrictions and border closures, under the plan.
The draft compiled by WHO experts was first presented at an international conference on bird flu in Tokyo on January 12.
That concluded with a call for testing procedures to be speeded up and joint stockpiles of supplies ranging from drugs to protective clothing.
Prime responsibility for surveillance of the warning signs, including a virus with particular genetic features, or an unusual pattern in an outbreak, would lie with national authorities, the document said.
International experts were likely to re-examine the new draft at a WHO meeting on pandemic flu in March 6 to 10, the WHO said, and finalise it in April.
The new protocol focusing on international steps is meant to complement two previous action plans.
They were aimed at containing outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in birds and preventing its spread, and at intensifying national preparations such as stockpiling of antiviral drugs that diminish the symptoms of flu. - AFP/ir
<B><center>31 January 2006 1031 hrs
<font size=+1 color=red><center>No guarantee of success with flu pandemic measures: WHO</font>
<A href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/190883/1/.html">www.channelnewsasia.com</a></center>
GENEVA - The World Health Organisation said Monday it was preparing a new plan to ensure rapid detection of a global flu pandemic and swift containment of a stronger new virus, warning that there was no guarantee of success. </b>
A draft of a "protocol for rapid response and containment" against pandemic influenza was posted on the UN health agency's website last Friday to open it up to suggestions from health professionals, WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said.
The WHO's draft protocol, which is expected to "evolve considerably", is aimed at easing rapid detection of the potential signals that the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu is becoming more transmissible among humans.
National health authorities would be responsible for alerting the WHO within 24 hours of any sign that "could herald the start of an influenza pandemic", triggering guidance on containment measures, including quarantines.
Countries would be urged not to wait for the completion of a full investigation into a case that appeared to involve person-to-person transmission of a stronger virus like H5N1 bird flu.
"Containment of a potential pandemic has never been attempted, the world has never before received an advance warning that a pandemic may be imminent," the 14-page document said.
"The practical and logistics challenges are formidable and success is not assured."
The draft plan also warned that the early warning signs were ill-defined.
"The first potential signal of early pandemic activity cannot be known in advance; precise 'triggering criteria' cannot be fully developed ahead of time," it said.
Containment measures including quarantines affecting people and vehicles would be considered if an initial human case directly infects five more people, among other criteria.
However, WHO guidance may include a decision not to attempt containment if cases of pandemic flu are already spread over an area considered too large for a quarantine or if they occur "in a population that is too large to be covered by available supplies of antiviral drugs".
Even if the measures might ultimately fail to stop the emergence of "a fully fit pandemic virus", they would slow down the initial spread and give other parts of the world crucial time to bolster their defences, the WHO emphasised.
"Each day gained following the emergence of a pandemic virus -- if rapidly detected -- allows the production of around five million doses of a pandemic vaccine," the document said.
It also underlined the benefits of possible success -- averting millions of deaths and huge economic losses -- and the wider value to public health of sleeker international coordination and detection.
Antiviral drugs would be distributed within a quarantine zone, both as a treatment and as a prophylactic, possibly for six weeks or longer.
There would also be escalating phases of pandemic alert, rising to the postponement of large gatherings or travel restrictions and border closures, under the plan.
The draft compiled by WHO experts was first presented at an international conference on bird flu in Tokyo on January 12.
That concluded with a call for testing procedures to be speeded up and joint stockpiles of supplies ranging from drugs to protective clothing.
Prime responsibility for surveillance of the warning signs, including a virus with particular genetic features, or an unusual pattern in an outbreak, would lie with national authorities, the document said.
International experts were likely to re-examine the new draft at a WHO meeting on pandemic flu in March 6 to 10, the WHO said, and finalise it in April.
The new protocol focusing on international steps is meant to complement two previous action plans.
They were aimed at containing outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in birds and preventing its spread, and at intensifying national preparations such as stockpiling of antiviral drugs that diminish the symptoms of flu. - AFP/ir
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>WHO drafts new plan to ensure swift containment of a bird flu pandemic Asia</font>
January 31 2006
<A href="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1558798.htm">www.readioaustralia.net</a></center>
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is preparing a new plan to ensure rapid detection of a global flu pandemic and swift containment of a stronger new virus.
A WHO spokeswoman says a draft for rapid response and containment against pandemic influenza has been posted on the agency's website for suggestions from health professionals.</b>
Under the plan, national health authorities would be responsbile for alerting the WHO within 24 hours of any sign that could herald the start of an influenza pandemic, triggering guidance on containment measures, including quarantines.
Antiviral drugs would be distributed within a quarantine zone and there would also be escalating phases of pandemic alert, rising to the postponement of large gatherings or travel restrictions and border closures.
Bird flu has killed at least 83 people since 2003, most of them in Asia.
The WHO fears the H5N1 strain of bird flu could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers the next global human flu pandemic.
<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>WHO drafts new plan to ensure swift containment of a bird flu pandemic Asia</font>
January 31 2006
<A href="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1558798.htm">www.readioaustralia.net</a></center>
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is preparing a new plan to ensure rapid detection of a global flu pandemic and swift containment of a stronger new virus.
A WHO spokeswoman says a draft for rapid response and containment against pandemic influenza has been posted on the agency's website for suggestions from health professionals.</b>
Under the plan, national health authorities would be responsbile for alerting the WHO within 24 hours of any sign that could herald the start of an influenza pandemic, triggering guidance on containment measures, including quarantines.
Antiviral drugs would be distributed within a quarantine zone and there would also be escalating phases of pandemic alert, rising to the postponement of large gatherings or travel restrictions and border closures.
Bird flu has killed at least 83 people since 2003, most of them in Asia.
The WHO fears the H5N1 strain of bird flu could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers the next global human flu pandemic.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Bird flu adds fresh woe for Iraq </font>
Monday, January 30, 2006; Posted: 8:32 p.m. EST (01:32 GMT)
<A href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.birdflu.ap/index.html">ww.cnn.com</a></center>
Manage Alerts | What Is This? RANIYA, Iraq (AP) -- Battered by rampant violence and political instability, a new threat in Iraq has been confirmed -- the first case of the deadly bird flu virus in the Middle East.
A 15-year-old Kurdish girl who died this month had the deadly H5N1 strain, Iraq and U.N. health officials said.</b>
The discovery has prompted a large-scale slaughter of domestic birds in the northern area where the teen died as the World Health Organization formed an emergency team to try to contain the disease's spread.
"We regretfully announce that the first case of bird flu has appeared in Iraq," Iraqi Health Minister Abdel Mutalib Mohammed told reporters Monday.
WHO officials confirmed the finding, though it was not immediately clear how the girl, Shangen Abdul Qader, who died on January 17 in the northern Kurdish town of Raniya, contracted the disease.
The prospect of a bird flu outbreak in Iraq is alarming because the country is gripped by armed insurgency and lacks the resources of other governments in the region. Government institutions, however, are most effective in the Kurdish-run area where the girl lived.
Health teams cordoned off areas in and around Raniya on Monday and began Iraq's first bird slaughter.
Policeman Khalil Khudur said he led a team that killed 3,000 birds, mainly chickens and ducks, in Sarkathan, a village of about 600 homes four miles (six kilometers) north of Raniya. Villagers and cars were also sprayed with chemicals to kill any trace of the disease.
But there were fears they might be too late.
Health officials are investigating the death of the girl's uncle, who lived in the same house and showed symptoms similar to bird flu.
At least two other people have been admitted to a hospital in Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, with similar symptoms.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, was briefed on efforts to protect Iraqis from the disease, according to al-Iraqiya TV.
The Iraqi case occurred just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Turkey.
Dr. William Schaffner, a bird flu expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said he nonetheless did not find the situation alarming.
But "it indicates this is an infection now that is well-embedded in the bird population, probably poultry and the wild bird population," he said in a telephone interview. "And we're going to continue to see infection in people who have close contact with the birds, with poultry and with waterfowl."
Human cases have generally been traced to contact with infected poultry, but scientists say migrating birds are apparently spreading the virus between poultry flocks.
Schaffner and European health officials also said it was encouraging that Turkey had not reported a new human case since January 18, indicating that aggressive steps to wipe out poultry there have paid off.
Health officials do not yet know how the Iraqi girl contracted the virus, but just north of Raniya is a reservoir used as a stopover by migratory birds from Turkey, where at least 21 cases of H5N1 have been recorded.
Mother rejects finding
The disease has not proved as deadly in Turkey as in East Asia -- where more than half of those infected have died -- but U.N. experts warned that did not mean the virus was becoming less dangerous.
Still, the risk of the virus spreading might not increase unless there were big clusters of cases in Turkey or other countries, indicating that the strain had become more virulent, said Angus Nicoll, of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form spread easily among humans, triggering a pandemic capable of killing millions. A total of 85 people had died of the disease worldwide before the Iraq case was reported, according to WHO figures.
"It is always worrying to have a new case in a new country because it raises concerns among the public," said WHO spokesman Dick Thompson. "But we have to understand that, so far, this is just one case."
The girl's mother rejected the bird flu findings, but acknowledged that a number of her chickens had mysteriously died before her daughter's death.
"My daughter did not die from bird flu," Fatima Abdullah, 50, told The Associated Press. "She did not like chickens nor had anything to do with them. She did not take care of these birds."
Close to 1.6 million fowl had been culled so far in Turkey. Health experts said controlling an outbreak and undertaking a mass bird cull in Iraq would be difficult due the country's more limited veterinary and monitoring infrastructure.
Kurdistan Health Ministry official Najimuldin Hassan said thousands of domesticated birds were expected to be killed, but authorities did not know how to kill migratory birds nor were equipped to do so.
Khudur, the policeman conducting the cull in Sarkathan, complained that his team was also not properly equipped for the slaughter.
"We lack plastic boots, masks and gloves. If we tear the gloves on our hands, there are none to replace them," he said.
A top U.N. official pinpointed the issue -- and its financial implications on Iraqi villagers and farmers -- as the gravest one facing authorities.
"The problem comes down to funding more than anything else," Rod Kennard, who manages the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's assistance program for Iraq, said from neighboring Jordan.
"If they have enough money in order to pay people off so that people will not be reluctant to cull their birds, it's less of an issue."
<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Bird flu adds fresh woe for Iraq </font>
Monday, January 30, 2006; Posted: 8:32 p.m. EST (01:32 GMT)
<A href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.birdflu.ap/index.html">ww.cnn.com</a></center>
Manage Alerts | What Is This? RANIYA, Iraq (AP) -- Battered by rampant violence and political instability, a new threat in Iraq has been confirmed -- the first case of the deadly bird flu virus in the Middle East.
A 15-year-old Kurdish girl who died this month had the deadly H5N1 strain, Iraq and U.N. health officials said.</b>
The discovery has prompted a large-scale slaughter of domestic birds in the northern area where the teen died as the World Health Organization formed an emergency team to try to contain the disease's spread.
"We regretfully announce that the first case of bird flu has appeared in Iraq," Iraqi Health Minister Abdel Mutalib Mohammed told reporters Monday.
WHO officials confirmed the finding, though it was not immediately clear how the girl, Shangen Abdul Qader, who died on January 17 in the northern Kurdish town of Raniya, contracted the disease.
The prospect of a bird flu outbreak in Iraq is alarming because the country is gripped by armed insurgency and lacks the resources of other governments in the region. Government institutions, however, are most effective in the Kurdish-run area where the girl lived.
Health teams cordoned off areas in and around Raniya on Monday and began Iraq's first bird slaughter.
Policeman Khalil Khudur said he led a team that killed 3,000 birds, mainly chickens and ducks, in Sarkathan, a village of about 600 homes four miles (six kilometers) north of Raniya. Villagers and cars were also sprayed with chemicals to kill any trace of the disease.
But there were fears they might be too late.
Health officials are investigating the death of the girl's uncle, who lived in the same house and showed symptoms similar to bird flu.
At least two other people have been admitted to a hospital in Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, with similar symptoms.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, was briefed on efforts to protect Iraqis from the disease, according to al-Iraqiya TV.
The Iraqi case occurred just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Turkey.
Dr. William Schaffner, a bird flu expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said he nonetheless did not find the situation alarming.
But "it indicates this is an infection now that is well-embedded in the bird population, probably poultry and the wild bird population," he said in a telephone interview. "And we're going to continue to see infection in people who have close contact with the birds, with poultry and with waterfowl."
Human cases have generally been traced to contact with infected poultry, but scientists say migrating birds are apparently spreading the virus between poultry flocks.
Schaffner and European health officials also said it was encouraging that Turkey had not reported a new human case since January 18, indicating that aggressive steps to wipe out poultry there have paid off.
Health officials do not yet know how the Iraqi girl contracted the virus, but just north of Raniya is a reservoir used as a stopover by migratory birds from Turkey, where at least 21 cases of H5N1 have been recorded.
Mother rejects finding
The disease has not proved as deadly in Turkey as in East Asia -- where more than half of those infected have died -- but U.N. experts warned that did not mean the virus was becoming less dangerous.
Still, the risk of the virus spreading might not increase unless there were big clusters of cases in Turkey or other countries, indicating that the strain had become more virulent, said Angus Nicoll, of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form spread easily among humans, triggering a pandemic capable of killing millions. A total of 85 people had died of the disease worldwide before the Iraq case was reported, according to WHO figures.
"It is always worrying to have a new case in a new country because it raises concerns among the public," said WHO spokesman Dick Thompson. "But we have to understand that, so far, this is just one case."
The girl's mother rejected the bird flu findings, but acknowledged that a number of her chickens had mysteriously died before her daughter's death.
"My daughter did not die from bird flu," Fatima Abdullah, 50, told The Associated Press. "She did not like chickens nor had anything to do with them. She did not take care of these birds."
Close to 1.6 million fowl had been culled so far in Turkey. Health experts said controlling an outbreak and undertaking a mass bird cull in Iraq would be difficult due the country's more limited veterinary and monitoring infrastructure.
Kurdistan Health Ministry official Najimuldin Hassan said thousands of domesticated birds were expected to be killed, but authorities did not know how to kill migratory birds nor were equipped to do so.
Khudur, the policeman conducting the cull in Sarkathan, complained that his team was also not properly equipped for the slaughter.
"We lack plastic boots, masks and gloves. If we tear the gloves on our hands, there are none to replace them," he said.
A top U.N. official pinpointed the issue -- and its financial implications on Iraqi villagers and farmers -- as the gravest one facing authorities.
"The problem comes down to funding more than anything else," Rod Kennard, who manages the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's assistance program for Iraq, said from neighboring Jordan.
"If they have enough money in order to pay people off so that people will not be reluctant to cull their birds, it's less of an issue."
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><center>Iraq
<font size=+1 color=blue>Officials fear third case of human bird flu</font>
January 31 2006
<A href="http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=153042006">news.scotsman.com</a></center></b>
IRAQ is investigating a possible third human case of bird flu, the World Health Organisation said yesterday. A 54-year-old woman was taken to hospital with respiratory problems on 18 January and is still being treated.
Also yesterday it was confirmed a 15-year-old Iraqi girl who died this month had bird flu.
<B><center>Iraq
<font size=+1 color=blue>Officials fear third case of human bird flu</font>
January 31 2006
<A href="http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=153042006">news.scotsman.com</a></center></b>
IRAQ is investigating a possible third human case of bird flu, the World Health Organisation said yesterday. A 54-year-old woman was taken to hospital with respiratory problems on 18 January and is still being treated.
Also yesterday it was confirmed a 15-year-old Iraqi girl who died this month had bird flu.
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Hobby farmers pose bird flu risk
The government's chief vet has told BBC News she has no idea how many people keep chickens in the UK, which could cause problems in a bird flu outbreak.
The authorities would be reliant on the media to relay advice and information to hobby farmers, Debby Reynolds said.
The government is setting up a compulsory registration scheme for all farmers with more than 50 hens.
But according to industry estimates there are at least 250,000 smaller scale poultry owners in the country.
Senior vets and farmers say they are very worried about the government's lack of energy and commitment to achieving a more accurate estimate of the numbers.
One senior industry figure told BBC News: "We are slow to learn the lessons of foot-and-mouth."
National Farmers' Union president Tim Bennett told BBC News the situation was unacceptable.
If bird flu hit Britain, commercial farmers would be expected to take measures to prevent the virus spreading.
But the spread would not be contained unless the government were able to communicate with everyone who keeps poultry, Mr Bennett added.
"It is not just getting the right messages across; I am just as concerned about people getting the wrong messages.
"There is plenty of people, and plenty of tabloid newspapers, who would be quite happy to spread alarmist messages, which would not be helpful at all."
Ill health
Bird flu expert Professor Hugh Pennington told BBC News the government should already be ensuring the right advice and information was reaching small-scale hen keepers "on a regular basis".
"It is very important for information to go out that 'if you have a sick bird, call in a vet'.
"The other issue that concerns me is birds being bought and sold - foot-and-mouth spread because animals were being moved about," Professor Pennington added.
Dr Reynolds told BBC News the government wanted keepers of poultry "to behave responsibly... to operate basic hygiene precautions, to look for signs of ill health and to report those to their veterinary surgeon".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4664614.stm
Published: 2006/01/31 08:40:33 GMT
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Deadly bird flu spreads
By GARY O'SHEA
BIRD Flu has spread south from Turkey to Northern Cyprus, the EU confirmed yesterday.
The deadly H5N1 strain was found in two dead birds from the holiday island’s Turkish enclave.
All poultry birds were immediately ordered indoors in the south of the Mediterranean isle — which is a member of the EU.
Ferdi Sabit Soyer, Prime Minister of North Cyprus, said: “We are checking all people and cars going in and out of the area to ensure no birds are transported.”
And Europe slapped a ban on imports of live animals or animal products from the Northern Cyprus. Two EU experts will be sent to the area to investigate.
Four people have already died after catching bird flu in Turkey and another 21 are suffering from the virus.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006040728,00.html
PCViking: I was referring to the part highlighted here:
"We look at the Superdome as an example — people naturally went there when Hurricane Katrina happened. We want a plan that identifies those type of locations," Birkhead said."
They didn't "naturally" gather there, they were told it was a safe evacuation point and they believed it. I don't think people will "naturally" gather at sports stadiums--that's the point I was trying to make.
I agree that there will be little the government can offer to the mass of humanity gathered if it comes to that.
"We look at the Superdome as an example — people naturally went there when Hurricane Katrina happened. We want a plan that identifies those type of locations," Birkhead said."
They didn't "naturally" gather there, they were told it was a safe evacuation point and they believed it. I don't think people will "naturally" gather at sports stadiums--that's the point I was trying to make.
I agree that there will be little the government can offer to the mass of humanity gathered if it comes to that.
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Nuthatch said:
Yea, I see your point... and they are doing what they can... I wasn't trying to slam ya, I just get a real sick feeling at the thought of FEMA holding my fate in their hands.
I find it incredible watching TPTB mobilizing to deal with this... it must be much like when WWII started in Europe, or after Pearl Harbor here... I have this really wierd feeling that somehow they're going to bring animal and human chipping into this...
WHO Hikes Tally Of Human Bird Cases To 160
http://www.wral.com/aphealthandwellnewsnews/6617272/detail.html
POSTED: 8:10 am EST January 31, 2006
UPDATED: 8:10 am EST January 31, 2006
GENEVA -- The U.N. health agency on Tuesday raised to 160 its official tally of people worldwide who have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus after laboratory tests in London confirmed that at least 12 people in Turkey have been infected with the disease.
The death toll from the disease has risen to 85, including four in Turkey, the World Health Organization said on its Web site.
Nine further samples, from individuals confirmed by Turkish health officials as H5N1 positive, are still being examined in Britain to verify that they carried the disease, said WHO spokesman Iain Simpson.
The agency does not officially update its tally of confirmed cases until the disease has been verified in a laboratory outside the country of the outbreak, meaning that WHO's figures often lag behind national counts.
H5N1 has ravaged poultry stocks across Asia since late 2003 and spread to birds in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between people, possibly sparking a human pandemic.
All human cases had been restricted to eastern Asia until the first positive test results for the virus in Turkey earlier this year.
On Monday, Iraqi officials announced that a 15-year-old girl who died Jan. 17 had contracted bird flu _ the first human case in that country.
Simpson said WHO was sending a team to northern Iraq to investigate possible bird flu cases. They are expected to arrive from the agency's office in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press.
Iraq says treating 12 possible human bird flu cases
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL138885.htm
31 Jan 2006 12:42:05 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Twana Osman
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Officials in northern Iraq said on Tuesday they were treating 12 patients suspected of having bird flu as a World Health Organisation (WHO) team prepared to travel to the area to give urgent assistance.
Iraq's health minister said on Monday the country may have its first human bird flu victim after preliminary test results showed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who died two weeks ago had the H5N1 virus.
WHO said it was urgently seeking further tests at a British laboratory to confirm the diagnosis and was dispatching a team of experts to help local health officials in Iraq's largely autonomous northern region of Kurdistan.
The British laboratory will also assess samples from the girl's uncle, who had cared for her when she was ill and who himself died last week of a respiratory infection.
"We have 12 patients in Sulaimaniya that have lung infections that we suspect may be the bird flu virus," Kurdistan's deputy prime minister, Imad Ahmed, told Reuters, referring to one of the region's largest cities.
The most serious was 54-year-old Mariam Qader, who came from the same village as the dead girl and is believed to be a distant relative of the victim.
The village is close to Iraq's border with Turkey, where four children died from bird flu in recent weeks.
The head of a Kurdistan committee set up to fight bird flu said all birds in areas around Sulaimaniya were being culled. "They number in the region of 500,000," Tahsin Namiq said.
The WHO team, composed of four experts in epidemiology and infection control, will leave on Wednesday for Jordan and should reach northern Iraq by the end of the week, WHO spokesman Dick Thompson told Reuters.
"The purpose of the mission is to assess the situation on the ground. Experts from the (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organisation may also be joining the team," he added.
NO CASES IN POULTRY
So far there have been no confirmed cases among poultry in Iraq, but local officials say the country's porous frontiers, a raging insurgency and general chaos in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion will make it hard to control any epidemic.
The virulent virus has killed at least 85 people since late 2003, mainly in five countries of Asia where the virus emerged.
Initially, the Geneva-based WHO had discounted the virus as the cause of the death of the Iraqi girl, Tijan Abdel-Qader, but a WHO official said on Monday that preliminary results from a U.S. Navy laboratory in Cairo showed the H5N1 virus.
"We don't have positive confirmation of H5N1 in the girl yet. The laboratory samples should have reached the UK this morning," Thompson said.
The girl had a history of exposure to diseased birds, WHO said on its Web site.
Scientists say the H5N1 virus is mutating steadily and may eventually acquire the changes it needs to be easily transmitted from human to human. Because people lack any immunity to it, it could sweep the world in weeks or months, killing millions.
The WHO said Iraq was the seventh country to report human H5N1 infection in the current outbreak. The first human case occurred in Vietnam in December 2003. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva)
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
JPD said:
That means that they are reporting a mortality rate of 53+% Which means that if you get it, chances of survival are less than of not surviving.
Interesing, since the latest spin is that it's less lethal... Hmmmm
Stats are good... much better than opinions... good catch JPD...
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Prepare Home For Bird Flu Emergency</font>
by Broderick Perkins
January 30 2006
<A href="http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20060130_birdflu.htm">realtytimes.com</a></center>
Here's another reason to include emergency preparedness in your lifestyle at home -- the bird flu.
California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) recently released a draft of its bird flu battle plan "Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan" which includes steps households will have to take if a bird flu pandemic ensues.</b>
It also suggest steps households should take now. Those steps are similar to steps necessary to prepare for any disaster -- natural or man made.
The bird flu making most of the news is designated avian influenza A (H5N1), a deadly version of avian influenza currently affecting domestic and wild birds in Asia, but spreading to other parts of the world. If it comes in contact with human strains of influenza it could mutate into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission and initiate a pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says since 1997 there have been more than 100 cases of human infection from various avian strains of influenza thought to have been caused by direct contact with infected fowl or contaminated surfaces.
The current H5N1 has caused about a half dozen deaths in China and more than 20 cases in Turkey.
How deadly an avian flu becomes isn't certain, but experts estimate as many as 35 percent of the U.S. population could become ill and there could be as many as 35,000 deaths in California alone.
CDHS says such a pandemic would disrupt all aspects of society and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Frequent, vigorous hand washing, an annual flu vaccine, covering your nose and mouth with coughing and sneezing and avoiding going into the public when you are sick are measures any responsible person should already take to ward off colds and the flu.
However, because the first six to 12 months of a pandemic would render vaccine's unreliable, quarantines and official orders to stay at home could become a reality, even if you aren't infected. That will mean an emergency preparedness cache of supplies will be crucial.
"Social distancing measures such as wearing masks, staying home if sick, and canceling school and public events," could be necessary, says the CDHS report.
Given the unknown duration of a pandemic, you may need more than the typical three days of food and water and other supplies recommended in a basic emergency preparedness kit, as well as a host of other items.
Read the CDHS's report, keep abreast of the bird flu situation on the CDC website and get your kit together now for a pandemic or any other emergency that could cut you off from essential goods and services.
The American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency offers the basics.
The Red Cross offers ready-to-go kits and emergency kit checklist to help you build your own.
The kit should be in an easy-to-carry container from a camping backpack or duffel bag to a large covered trash container with wheels and placed in an easily accessible location based.
What should you pack inside? Here are the basics.
One gallon of water per person per day.
A three-day supply of nonperishable, compact, lightweight foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water. Pack a can of sterno for foods you must heat. Pack high energy foods, vitamins, food for infants and some comfort and stress foods.
A first aid kit for your home and one for each car. The kit should at least include: sterile dressing, gauze, germicidal hand wipes or waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer, medical grade non-latex gloves, adhesive tape, 2" width, anti-bacterial ointment, cold pack, scissors, tweezers, CPR breathing barrier, such as a face shield, non-prescription pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacid, Syrup of Ipecac, a laxative, activated charcoal.
Mess kits, or paper cups, plates, and plastic utensils, an emergency preparedness manual, extra batteries for battery-operated devices including a radio, flashlight and other items, cash, travelers checks, change, utility knife with can opener, fire extinguisher, tube tent, hardware tools, water proofed matches, area map, signal flare, paper, pencils, whistle, and other items recommended by FEMA and the Red Cross.
For sanitation you'll also need toilet paper, towelettes, Soap, liquid detergent, feminine supplies, plastic garbage bags and ties, a plastic bucket with tight lid, disinfectant, household bleach.
Don't forget special items. A change of clothes, sturdy shoes or work boots, rain gear, sleeping gear, hats, gloves, etc.
Personal items include baby items, prescription drugs, contact lenses or extra eye glasses, as well as games, books, small portable electronics, important family documents, records, numbers and identification, a household inventory and other items.
Change your stored water and food supply every six months. Examine your kit and family needs once a year to replace batteries, update clothes, etc.
Published: January 30, 2006
<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Prepare Home For Bird Flu Emergency</font>
by Broderick Perkins
January 30 2006
<A href="http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20060130_birdflu.htm">realtytimes.com</a></center>
Here's another reason to include emergency preparedness in your lifestyle at home -- the bird flu.
California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) recently released a draft of its bird flu battle plan "Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan" which includes steps households will have to take if a bird flu pandemic ensues.</b>
It also suggest steps households should take now. Those steps are similar to steps necessary to prepare for any disaster -- natural or man made.
The bird flu making most of the news is designated avian influenza A (H5N1), a deadly version of avian influenza currently affecting domestic and wild birds in Asia, but spreading to other parts of the world. If it comes in contact with human strains of influenza it could mutate into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission and initiate a pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says since 1997 there have been more than 100 cases of human infection from various avian strains of influenza thought to have been caused by direct contact with infected fowl or contaminated surfaces.
The current H5N1 has caused about a half dozen deaths in China and more than 20 cases in Turkey.
How deadly an avian flu becomes isn't certain, but experts estimate as many as 35 percent of the U.S. population could become ill and there could be as many as 35,000 deaths in California alone.
CDHS says such a pandemic would disrupt all aspects of society and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Frequent, vigorous hand washing, an annual flu vaccine, covering your nose and mouth with coughing and sneezing and avoiding going into the public when you are sick are measures any responsible person should already take to ward off colds and the flu.
However, because the first six to 12 months of a pandemic would render vaccine's unreliable, quarantines and official orders to stay at home could become a reality, even if you aren't infected. That will mean an emergency preparedness cache of supplies will be crucial.
"Social distancing measures such as wearing masks, staying home if sick, and canceling school and public events," could be necessary, says the CDHS report.
Given the unknown duration of a pandemic, you may need more than the typical three days of food and water and other supplies recommended in a basic emergency preparedness kit, as well as a host of other items.
Read the CDHS's report, keep abreast of the bird flu situation on the CDC website and get your kit together now for a pandemic or any other emergency that could cut you off from essential goods and services.
The American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency offers the basics.
The Red Cross offers ready-to-go kits and emergency kit checklist to help you build your own.
The kit should be in an easy-to-carry container from a camping backpack or duffel bag to a large covered trash container with wheels and placed in an easily accessible location based.
What should you pack inside? Here are the basics.
One gallon of water per person per day.
A three-day supply of nonperishable, compact, lightweight foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water. Pack a can of sterno for foods you must heat. Pack high energy foods, vitamins, food for infants and some comfort and stress foods.
A first aid kit for your home and one for each car. The kit should at least include: sterile dressing, gauze, germicidal hand wipes or waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer, medical grade non-latex gloves, adhesive tape, 2" width, anti-bacterial ointment, cold pack, scissors, tweezers, CPR breathing barrier, such as a face shield, non-prescription pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacid, Syrup of Ipecac, a laxative, activated charcoal.
Mess kits, or paper cups, plates, and plastic utensils, an emergency preparedness manual, extra batteries for battery-operated devices including a radio, flashlight and other items, cash, travelers checks, change, utility knife with can opener, fire extinguisher, tube tent, hardware tools, water proofed matches, area map, signal flare, paper, pencils, whistle, and other items recommended by FEMA and the Red Cross.
For sanitation you'll also need toilet paper, towelettes, Soap, liquid detergent, feminine supplies, plastic garbage bags and ties, a plastic bucket with tight lid, disinfectant, household bleach.
Don't forget special items. A change of clothes, sturdy shoes or work boots, rain gear, sleeping gear, hats, gloves, etc.
Personal items include baby items, prescription drugs, contact lenses or extra eye glasses, as well as games, books, small portable electronics, important family documents, records, numbers and identification, a household inventory and other items.
Change your stored water and food supply every six months. Examine your kit and family needs once a year to replace batteries, update clothes, etc.
Published: January 30, 2006
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Turkish bird flu cases pose age puzzle for WHO</font>
Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:08 PM GMT
<A href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-01-30T200825Z_01_L3024650_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BIRDFLU-TURKEY-WHO.xml">today.reuters.co.uk</a></center>
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said on Monday it was not sure why children had been the main victims of the recent outbreak of bird flu in Turkey.
The WHO said it had found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus and no sign it was now spreading more easily from birds to humans.
The WHO's British laboratory has confirmed 12 of the 21 H5N1 bird flu cases reported by Turkey's Health Ministry, including the deaths of four children from the eastern town of Dogubayazit.</b>
"The vast majority of cases have occurred in children aged 15 years or younger. This age pattern remains puzzling, as adult members in some families were engaged in such high-risk behaviours as the slaughtering of obviously ill birds, yet did not develop infection," the WHO said in a statement.
This raised the possibility of an as yet unidentified genetic or immunological factor influencing the likelihood of human infection.
Bird flu is known to have killed at least 85 people and infected 160 since it re-emerged in late 2003.
It remains relatively hard for people to catch, but experts fear it may eventually change in such a way as to be easily transmitted from person to person. Because people lack any immunity to it, it could sweep the world in weeks or months, killing millions.
Turkey has culled 1.3 million birds in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The WHO said some additional human cases may occur in Turkey, but the numbers are expected to be small.
Health officials in neighbouring Iraq said on Monday that a teenager who died this month did have bird flu. Samples were being sent to the WHO lab for further testing.
<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Turkish bird flu cases pose age puzzle for WHO</font>
Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:08 PM GMT
<A href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-01-30T200825Z_01_L3024650_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BIRDFLU-TURKEY-WHO.xml">today.reuters.co.uk</a></center>
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said on Monday it was not sure why children had been the main victims of the recent outbreak of bird flu in Turkey.
The WHO said it had found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus and no sign it was now spreading more easily from birds to humans.
The WHO's British laboratory has confirmed 12 of the 21 H5N1 bird flu cases reported by Turkey's Health Ministry, including the deaths of four children from the eastern town of Dogubayazit.</b>
"The vast majority of cases have occurred in children aged 15 years or younger. This age pattern remains puzzling, as adult members in some families were engaged in such high-risk behaviours as the slaughtering of obviously ill birds, yet did not develop infection," the WHO said in a statement.
This raised the possibility of an as yet unidentified genetic or immunological factor influencing the likelihood of human infection.
Bird flu is known to have killed at least 85 people and infected 160 since it re-emerged in late 2003.
It remains relatively hard for people to catch, but experts fear it may eventually change in such a way as to be easily transmitted from person to person. Because people lack any immunity to it, it could sweep the world in weeks or months, killing millions.
Turkey has culled 1.3 million birds in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The WHO said some additional human cases may occur in Turkey, but the numbers are expected to be small.
Health officials in neighbouring Iraq said on Monday that a teenager who died this month did have bird flu. Samples were being sent to the WHO lab for further testing.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>Tally of Human Bird Flu Cases Rises to 160</font>
Jan 31, 2006, 09:00 AM CST
<A href="http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4434126&nav=menu35_7">www.wishtv.com</a></center>
The U.N. health agency on Tuesday raised to 160 its official tally of people worldwide who have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus after laboratory tests in London confirmed that at least 12 people in Turkey have been infected with the disease.
The death toll from the disease has risen to 85, including four in Turkey, the World Health Organization said on its Web site.</b>
Nine further samples, from individuals confirmed by Turkish health officials as H5N1 positive, are still being examined in Britain to verify that they carried the disease, said WHO spokesman Iain Simpson.
The agency does not officially update its tally of confirmed cases until the disease has been verified in a laboratory outside the country of the outbreak, meaning that WHO's figures often lag behind national counts.
H5N1 has ravaged poultry stocks across Asia since late 2003 and spread to birds in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between people, possibly sparking a human pandemic.
All human cases had been restricted to eastern Asia until the first positive test results for the virus in Turkey earlier this year.
On Monday, Iraqi officials announced that a 15-year-old girl who died Jan. 17 had contracted bird flu — the first human case in that country.
Simpson said WHO was sending a team to northern Iraq to investigate possible bird flu cases. They are expected to arrive from the agency's office in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday.
<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>Tally of Human Bird Flu Cases Rises to 160</font>
Jan 31, 2006, 09:00 AM CST
<A href="http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4434126&nav=menu35_7">www.wishtv.com</a></center>
The U.N. health agency on Tuesday raised to 160 its official tally of people worldwide who have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus after laboratory tests in London confirmed that at least 12 people in Turkey have been infected with the disease.
The death toll from the disease has risen to 85, including four in Turkey, the World Health Organization said on its Web site.</b>
Nine further samples, from individuals confirmed by Turkish health officials as H5N1 positive, are still being examined in Britain to verify that they carried the disease, said WHO spokesman Iain Simpson.
The agency does not officially update its tally of confirmed cases until the disease has been verified in a laboratory outside the country of the outbreak, meaning that WHO's figures often lag behind national counts.
H5N1 has ravaged poultry stocks across Asia since late 2003 and spread to birds in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between people, possibly sparking a human pandemic.
All human cases had been restricted to eastern Asia until the first positive test results for the virus in Turkey earlier this year.
On Monday, Iraqi officials announced that a 15-year-old girl who died Jan. 17 had contracted bird flu — the first human case in that country.
Simpson said WHO was sending a team to northern Iraq to investigate possible bird flu cases. They are expected to arrive from the agency's office in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=purple><center>Iraq says treating 12 possible human bird flu cases</font>
Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:28 AM ET
By Twana Osman
<A href="http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-31T132818Z_01_COL041571_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-IRAQ.xml&pageNumber=1&summit=">today.reuters.com</a></center>
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Officials in northern Iraq said on Tuesday they were treating 12 patients suspected of having bird flu as a World Health Organization (WHO) team prepared to travel to the area to give urgent assistance.
Iraq's health minister said on Monday the country feared it had its first human bird flu victim after preliminary test results showed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who died two weeks ago had the H5N1 virus.</b>
WHO said it was urgently seeking further tests at a British laboratory to confirm the diagnosis and was dispatching a team of experts to help health officials in Iraq's largely autonomous northern region of Kurdistan.
The British laboratory will also assess samples from the girl's uncle, who had cared for her when she was ill and who himself died last week of a respiratory infection.
"We have 12 patients in Sulaimaniya that have lung infections that we suspect may be the bird flu virus," Kurdistan's deputy prime minister, Imad Ahmed, told Reuters, referring to one of the region's largest cities.
The most serious was 54-year-old Mariam Qader, who came from the same village as the dead girl and is believed to be a distant relative of the victim.
The village is close to Iraq's border with Turkey, where four children died from bird flu in recent weeks.
"Until now we have culled more than 400,000 birds," Kurdistan's health minister, Mohammed Khashnow, told Reuters, adding that teams were concentrating on a swathe of territory between Sulaimaniya and the Turkish border to the north.
"We gather the birds, put them in plastic bags and suffocate them and then bury them," he said. Poisoning with carbon dioxide is the generally approved method for culling large numbers of poultry.
The WHO team, composed of four experts in epidemiology and infection control, will leave on Wednesday for Jordan and should reach northern Iraq by the end of the week, WHO spokesman Dick Thompson told Reuters.
"The purpose of the mission is to assess the situation on the ground. Experts from the (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization may also be joining the team," he added.
NO CASES IN POULTRY
So far there have been no confirmed cases among poultry in Iraq, but local officials say the country's porous frontiers, a raging insurgency and general chaos in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion will make it hard to control any epidemic.
The virulent virus has killed at least 85 people since late 2003, mainly in five countries of Asia where the virus emerged.
Initially, the Geneva-based WHO had discounted bird flu as the cause of the death of the Iraqi girl, Tijan Abdel-Qader, but a WHO official said on Monday that preliminary results from a U.S. Navy laboratory in Cairo showed the H5N1 virus.
"We don't have positive confirmation of H5N1 in the girl yet. The laboratory samples should have reached the UK this morning," Thompson said.
The girl had a history of exposure to diseased birds, WHO said on its Web site.
Scientists say the H5N1 virus is mutating steadily and may eventually acquire the changes it needs to be easily transmitted from human to human. Because people lack any immunity to it, it could sweep the world in weeks or months, killing millions.
The WHO said Iraq was the seventh country to report human H5N1 infection in the current outbreak. The first human case occurred in Vietnam in December 2003.
<B><font size=+1 color=purple><center>Iraq says treating 12 possible human bird flu cases</font>
Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:28 AM ET
By Twana Osman
<A href="http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-31T132818Z_01_COL041571_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-IRAQ.xml&pageNumber=1&summit=">today.reuters.com</a></center>
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Officials in northern Iraq said on Tuesday they were treating 12 patients suspected of having bird flu as a World Health Organization (WHO) team prepared to travel to the area to give urgent assistance.
Iraq's health minister said on Monday the country feared it had its first human bird flu victim after preliminary test results showed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who died two weeks ago had the H5N1 virus.</b>
WHO said it was urgently seeking further tests at a British laboratory to confirm the diagnosis and was dispatching a team of experts to help health officials in Iraq's largely autonomous northern region of Kurdistan.
The British laboratory will also assess samples from the girl's uncle, who had cared for her when she was ill and who himself died last week of a respiratory infection.
"We have 12 patients in Sulaimaniya that have lung infections that we suspect may be the bird flu virus," Kurdistan's deputy prime minister, Imad Ahmed, told Reuters, referring to one of the region's largest cities.
The most serious was 54-year-old Mariam Qader, who came from the same village as the dead girl and is believed to be a distant relative of the victim.
The village is close to Iraq's border with Turkey, where four children died from bird flu in recent weeks.
"Until now we have culled more than 400,000 birds," Kurdistan's health minister, Mohammed Khashnow, told Reuters, adding that teams were concentrating on a swathe of territory between Sulaimaniya and the Turkish border to the north.
"We gather the birds, put them in plastic bags and suffocate them and then bury them," he said. Poisoning with carbon dioxide is the generally approved method for culling large numbers of poultry.
The WHO team, composed of four experts in epidemiology and infection control, will leave on Wednesday for Jordan and should reach northern Iraq by the end of the week, WHO spokesman Dick Thompson told Reuters.
"The purpose of the mission is to assess the situation on the ground. Experts from the (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization may also be joining the team," he added.
NO CASES IN POULTRY
So far there have been no confirmed cases among poultry in Iraq, but local officials say the country's porous frontiers, a raging insurgency and general chaos in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion will make it hard to control any epidemic.
The virulent virus has killed at least 85 people since late 2003, mainly in five countries of Asia where the virus emerged.
Initially, the Geneva-based WHO had discounted bird flu as the cause of the death of the Iraqi girl, Tijan Abdel-Qader, but a WHO official said on Monday that preliminary results from a U.S. Navy laboratory in Cairo showed the H5N1 virus.
"We don't have positive confirmation of H5N1 in the girl yet. The laboratory samples should have reached the UK this morning," Thompson said.
The girl had a history of exposure to diseased birds, WHO said on its Web site.
Scientists say the H5N1 virus is mutating steadily and may eventually acquire the changes it needs to be easily transmitted from human to human. Because people lack any immunity to it, it could sweep the world in weeks or months, killing millions.
The WHO said Iraq was the seventh country to report human H5N1 infection in the current outbreak. The first human case occurred in Vietnam in December 2003.
EU rushes bird flu expert to Iraq
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/health/article_1093612.php/EU_rushes_bird_flu_expert_to_Iraq
Jan 31, 2006, 15:50 GMT
Brussels - The European Commission on Tuesday said it was rushing a leading European bird flu expert to Iraq following confirmation that a 15-year old girl had died from the H5N1 strain of the virus in a city in the north of the country.
The Commission said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was sending its senior 'disease outbreak investigator' to Iraq.
Dr. Denis Coulombier, who heads ECDC's Preparedness and Response Unit, will go to Iraq as part of a joint international team assembled at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The international team will help the Iraqi authorities in assessing possible infection routes of the 15-year-old girl and also help assess two other cases that are being investigated as possible human cases of avian influenza.
Laboratory tests on samples from the Iraqi teenager were carried out by the US Naval Medical Research Unit in Cairo. Samples taken from her as well as from two other human cases under investigation, are being sent to the WHO Reference Laboratory in London for further testing.
One of these cases is the girl's 33 year old uncle, who died on 27 January, and the other is a 54 year old woman who has been hospitalised in northern Iraq.
Military lays out plans should avian flu break out in Europe
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=34684
Goal is to protect troops, dependents while continuing mission
By Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, January 31, 2006
STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S. military in Europe would consider restricting the movement of troops, families and civilians as a way to combat the outbreak of the avian influenza, in the event the virus mutates and starts spreading from human to human.
The military’s plan, as discussed at a conference earlier this month in Stuttgart, would be orchestrated with host nations and U.S. embassies.
It strives to shield troops and families from the disease while also allowing U.S. military missions to continue unfettered.
Most cases of bird flu, which was first discovered in late 2003, have been found in Southeast Asia, where farm workers were infected by the virus due to direct contact with infected, domestic fowl.
Of the approximately 140 cases of bird flu found in humans, more than 80 have been fatal.
Though the vast majority happened in Southeast Asia, two children in Turkey and one girl in Iraq recently died from bird flu.
Cases of the flu have also been confirmed in poultry in Romania, but no humans have contracted the disease there.
Health experts fear that the virus, called H5N1, could mutate into a human-borne virus that could be carried around the world by unwitting victims, much like the common flu.
“The concern is that the mortality rate of this mutated flu would be considerably higher (than that of common influenza),” said Dr. (Army Col.) Edward Huycke, command surgeon for the Stuttgart-based U.S. European Command.
Huycke declined to speculate on the likelihood of the bird-borne virus mutating into one that could be spread by humans.
“I don’t think anyone would hazard a guess,” Huycke said.
“There is a concern, based on the past history of flu viruses, that a mutation could occur, but I don’t think anybody would lay odds.”
Medical personnel are working on a plan if a human-to-human form of the virus is found, officials say.
Victims would be given medical treatment, and people with whom they’d had contact would be identified.
The hospitalized victims would have oral and nasal swabs taken as well as blood, which would be rushed to scientists who’d begin developing a vaccine, Huycke said.
Reaction could possibly include isolation and quarantine of victims, to decrease the chance of the flu spreading.
Plans are already in place in the U.S. and elsewhere to facilitate the speedy development and distribution of a vaccine, according to Air Force Maj. Dana Dane, EUCOM’s chief of force health protection.
“Part of the big-picture response has been the priming of that system,” Dane said.
EUCOM officials stressed that the plan is part of a larger U.S. government plan being led by the State Department, since a pandemic could cross many borders.
Representatives from the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany also attended the conference.
According to Air Force Lt. Col. Ron “Grumpy” Sanders, the European Plans and Operations Center’s contingency response chief, in case of an epidemic, the military’s priorities are to protect its people, carry out missions as usual, and help others cope, if possible.
“Our planning effort is not to contain the avian flu,” Sanders said.
“It’s to manage the environment if it (becomes) a sustainable, human-to-human pandemic, if it comes to that.”
The military is also planning a medical-response exercise in May or June to test its capabilities, Sanders said.
Question....
160 cases, 80+ deaths...so 50% mortality rate.
But, what if 5000 people world wide have gotten it, did NOT get deathly ill, just thought they had a case of the flu and never went to the dr...see what I mean?
There's no way for me to plug in real numbers. Does EVERYONE who gets this strain get DEATHLY ill? Does EVERYONE go to a dr. for treatment (expecially in these 3rd world countries) so the case gets reported? Are the symptoms so unique?
I'm just wondering, and hoping and praying it's not as bad as "they" say!! Really hoping a lot of this is media hype.
(Tho I'm building my pantry to be able to to self-quarantine for several months, if necessary. We live in the country, so we could stay pretty isolated, if need be. As long as our pesky chickens don't socialize with neighbor chickens and get some awful disease!)
160 cases, 80+ deaths...so 50% mortality rate.
But, what if 5000 people world wide have gotten it, did NOT get deathly ill, just thought they had a case of the flu and never went to the dr...see what I mean?
There's no way for me to plug in real numbers. Does EVERYONE who gets this strain get DEATHLY ill? Does EVERYONE go to a dr. for treatment (expecially in these 3rd world countries) so the case gets reported? Are the symptoms so unique?
I'm just wondering, and hoping and praying it's not as bad as "they" say!! Really hoping a lot of this is media hype.
(Tho I'm building my pantry to be able to to self-quarantine for several months, if necessary. We live in the country, so we could stay pretty isolated, if need be. As long as our pesky chickens don't socialize with neighbor chickens and get some awful disease!)
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
WHO Sends Experts to Probe Avian Flu in Iraq
By Lisa Schlein Geneva
31 January 2006
The World Health Organization says it is sending a team of international experts to Iraq to investigate how a 15-year-old girl became ill and died of avian flu. The World Health Organization says it is concerned that bad security in Iraq makes it difficult to move around and properly monitor the presence of bird flu.
The World Health Organization says the team of experts will travel this week to Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq where the cases of bird flu have been detected. The Iraqi Ministry of Health has confirmed that a 15-year-old girl who died on January 17 was infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus.
WHO spokesman Ian Simpson says samples from the dead girl, as well as from her uncle who died of a severe respiratory illness on January 27, and a suspected third case are being tested in a laboratory in London for the presence of bird flu.
He says the international experts will try to track down the source of the disease. He says they will investigate how the three people could have been exposed and infected by bird flu.
"Looking at, for example, the way that chickens are raised, which is an extremely serious issue in all the countries which have outbreaks of avian influenza," he said. "Because where there is very close contact, particularly between children and chickens, it is clear that children are at great risk of exposure."
Sulaimaniyah is near the Turkish border where an avian flu outbreak infected 12 people, including four that died of the disease. Iraq is the seventh country to report human H5N1 infection in the current outbreak. The first human case occurred in Vietnam in December 2003. WHO figures show since then, there have been 160 cases of bird flu, of whom 85 people died, most in Asian countries.
Simpson says the surveillance system in Iraq is weak because security problems make it difficult to move around and get accurate information.
"There clearly is a surveillance system," he said. "At a basic level it is working because it picked up this case. But, we do have concerns about how good the surveillance system is and we particularly have concerns, as in the case of Turkey, about the surveillance system of animals. You can imagine, if the human health surveillance system is relatively basic, then the system for animals surveillance is likely to be even more so."
The World Health Organization warns an avian influenza pandemic could potentially kill millions of people. The number of human cases has been low, but the U.N. agency says that situation could rapidly change if the H5N1 virus in birds mutates into a form that could spread the disease from human to human.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-01-31-voa25.cfm
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
U.S. troops taking no extra precautions in light of bird flu case in Iraq
PENTAGON (AP) -- The Pentagon says US troops in Iraq won't be taking additional health precautions in light of that country's first case of bird flu.
But officials say they will be on the lookout for flu-like symptoms. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says "It's a situation that is being monitored closely." He says no symptoms of bird flu have been detected among the approximately 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
The first confirmed bird flu case involved a 15-year-old girl from northern Iraq. She died earlier this month following a severe respiratory illness.
http://www.tampabays10.com/printfullstory.aspx?storyid=24677
Doomer Doug
Deceased
Right on schedule for a global pandemic later this year.
The lower the lethality rate, the more spreadable the virus is. The higher the lethality rate, the more likely the virus is to die off without infecting anyone new, or out of the immediate area.
I note the lethality rate has dropped from 90% to around 50% in just the last month or so. This indicates to me, the virus is mutating to increase its chances of surviving in a larger area by infecting more people. I also note the virus has gone from Eastern Turkey, to Western Turkey, to Cyprus in the west. It has gone south and east into Iraq and north into the Urkraine and the Crimea. It is poised to penetrate directly into the heart of Europe, however I believe it will not pose a pandemic threat until NEXT flu season, at least in the West. I expect it will cruise along into Africa, South East Asia and those parts of the Mid East, Central and South West Asia where the failure of the public health system will give it a target population. Pakistan, Afghanistan, India etc.
This think ain't over by a long shot, we are in an endurance race here, not a sprint. The "bird flu" is a process that will take several years to go critical mass in my view.
The lower the lethality rate, the more spreadable the virus is. The higher the lethality rate, the more likely the virus is to die off without infecting anyone new, or out of the immediate area.
I note the lethality rate has dropped from 90% to around 50% in just the last month or so. This indicates to me, the virus is mutating to increase its chances of surviving in a larger area by infecting more people. I also note the virus has gone from Eastern Turkey, to Western Turkey, to Cyprus in the west. It has gone south and east into Iraq and north into the Urkraine and the Crimea. It is poised to penetrate directly into the heart of Europe, however I believe it will not pose a pandemic threat until NEXT flu season, at least in the West. I expect it will cruise along into Africa, South East Asia and those parts of the Mid East, Central and South West Asia where the failure of the public health system will give it a target population. Pakistan, Afghanistan, India etc.
This think ain't over by a long shot, we are in an endurance race here, not a sprint. The "bird flu" is a process that will take several years to go critical mass in my view.
New Freedom
Veteran Member
Doomer Doug said:
IMO, the longer this thing waits to become a pandemic, the better. It will give people more time to prepare.....as least the smart ones.....
New Freedom
Veteran Member
http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/2093/
Official Calls Bird Flu Outbreak in Greece 'Inevitable'
31 January, 2006 22:00 GMT
The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, which has killed at least 86 people worldwide, will inevitably reach Greece, Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said on Tuesday."Until now, our country has had no problem whatsoever with bird flu," Kaklamanis told a parliamentary committee. "But let's not delude ourselves; at some point --nobody knows when -- there will be outbreaks of the virus among poultry in Greece."
Kaklamanis said state health officials are fully prepared, while hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, will conduct drills next week for an outbreak among humans.
(go to link for rest of story)
Official Calls Bird Flu Outbreak in Greece 'Inevitable'
31 January, 2006 22:00 GMT
The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, which has killed at least 86 people worldwide, will inevitably reach Greece, Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said on Tuesday."Until now, our country has had no problem whatsoever with bird flu," Kaklamanis told a parliamentary committee. "But let's not delude ourselves; at some point --nobody knows when -- there will be outbreaks of the virus among poultry in Greece."
Kaklamanis said state health officials are fully prepared, while hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, will conduct drills next week for an outbreak among humans.
(go to link for rest of story)