02/11 | Bird flu kills two more people, hits Azerbaijan

Link to yesterday's thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=186019

Bird flu kills two more people, hits Azerbaijan​

11.02.06 1.00pm
By Rufat Abbasov

BAKU - Avian flu spread to a new country with Azerbaijan saying the lethal H5N1 strain had been found in wild birds floating dead on the Caspian Sea.

China and Indonesia reported two more human deaths from the virus, discovered earlier this week in Nigeria after what a senior United Nations official called a devastating spread from southern Asia over the past seven months.

Health experts are trying to warn people of the danger of a virus that is contracted through direct contact with infected birds. But episodes in countries as far apart as Nigeria in West Africa and Iraq showed the struggle they face.

Nigerian poultry farm workers used their bare hands to throw dead chickens onto fires as village children stood by to watch in an area where H5N1 flu virus was found earlier this week.

In the southern Iraqi city of Amara, which is investigating a human death that may have been caused by bird flu, children played among the dead fowl.

Muhaned Radhi's uncle said his nephew, a pigeon-seller, had been suffering from flu. "In hospital he turned worse and began bleeding from his mouth and nose, and then he died."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already confirmed 88 human deaths since the virus re-emerged in late 2003 and the figure is steadily climbing.

Indonesia said a woman being treated for bird flu at a specialist Jakarta hospital had died and another patient was in critical condition.

The virus has also killed a 20-year-old woman farmer in the central Chinese province of Hunan, the Ministry of Health said.

There are fears the virus could mutate to a form where it can spread from human to human, sparking a pandemic in which millions could die.

David Nabarro, who heads the UN drive to contain the virus, said there was no evidence it had mutated to that point, but added: "It's not far away".

A senior scientist at the WHO offered a glimmer of hope, saying a limited number of migratory birds appear to be spreading a single sub-strain of the H5N1 virus.

In theory, this could lower opportunities for the H5N1 to mutate into an easily transmissible form, according to Michael Perdue, an epidemiologist in WHO's global influenza programme.

"It could reduce the mutation level... You are less likely to have widespread mutation than if you had 20 strains hop-scotching across Asia."

Genetic sequencing of the virus found in chickens in northern Nigeria, completed today, showed it also closely matched that in poultry outbreaks in Turkey and China.

Azerbaijan, a state that lies on a crossroads between Asia and Europe, reported its first outbreak of H5N1 on Friday. Azerbaijan said the virus had been found in wild birds floating dead off its coast.

The birds were found in the Caspian Sea near the Absheron peninsula, which includes the capital Baku, and off the southern Massaly region, near the border with Iran, Emin Shakhbazov, deputy head of the country's veterinary service, told reporters.

Four children died in neighbouring Turkey last month from an outbreak of the virus.

Villagers in Nigeria said their domestic poultry were dying too, reinforcing suspicions that bird flu may be present not only in large commercial farms but also in people's backyards in Africa's most populous country.

"We are working on this farm without taking care of our health, but what else can we do? We are calling on the government to come and help us," said Alhaj Danliti, the manager of the farm, which is a stone's throw away from the village.

He said the farm had lost 10,000 chickens, almost all its stock, and he did not know why they had died. Several collapsed and died with a yellow liquid leaking from their beaks.

Nigeria was urged to step up measures to control bird flu, clamp down on poultry trade and use culling, vaccination and movement controls where outbreaks occur.

"Control measures need to be intensified," the World Organisation for Animal Health and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

- REUTERS

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10367829

Iraq town seems helpless against bird flu​

Web posted at: 2/11/2006 3:47:15
Source ::: Reuters

AMARA, Iraq: If international experts wonder how difficult it will be to educate Iraqis about bird flu, they should visit the wastelands of Amara, where children play among the dead fowl.

Iraqi health officials are investigating four suspected human cases of the avian virus in the southeastern city and have ordered mass culling of birds to contain a possible outbreak.

In waste ground where thousands of the culled birds have been dumped, about 15 children jumped up and down, tied fowl to sticks and waved them in the air, oblivious to the risks.

The avian virus, which has already claimed the life of an Iraqi teenager, was previously thought to have been confined to the girl’s village in the country’s largely autonomous northern region of Kurdistan.

But the World Health Organisation (WHO), said on Tuesday the Iraqi Health Ministry had reported a suspected case in Amara, 365km southeast of Baghdad.

The governor of Maysan province said the suspected bird flu victim was a 24-year-old pigeon seller from Amara who died on Sunday. WHO said earlier that Iraqi officials had identified the victim as a 13-year-old boy.

Bird flu took the victim’s family by surprise.

“He was suffering from constant flu. In hospital he turned worse and began bleeding from both his mouth and nose, and then he died,” said Jabbar Zahuri, 38, the dead man’s uncle.

The pigeon seller, whom officials identified as Muhaned Radhi, lived in a house with five brothers and eight sisters. Health officials have taken samples from them to test for the virus.

The country’s only confirmed case is the teenaged girl. Her uncle, who lived in the same area, also died and tests are being carried out to establish if the virus killed him.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Di...February2006&file=World_News2006021134715.xml

http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18101391-5001028,00.html


Children tested for bird flu

From correspondents in Sambawa Farm, Nigeria

February 10, 2006

NIGERIAN health workers are to test two children who fell sick on their father's poultry farm to find out if they have been infected with bird flu, a state official said today.

"We have received a complaint ... from a farmer that the doves, geese and chickens he is raising are dying rapidly and his two kids are sick. They are coughing blood," said Sa'idu Baba Chori, a Kaduna State agriculture official.

"We're now going there to take samples of the birds for laboratory analysis. The kids will also be examined to diagnose the nature of their ailment," he told reporters outside Sambawa Farm, in northern Nigeria.

The new suspected outbreak which may have affected the children is nearby, on the outskirts of the city of Kaduna, he said.

Sambawa is one of four Nigerian farms now known to have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which can be transmitted from birds to humans and has killed 88 people in Asia and Turkey since 1997.

Yesterday, Nigerian officials confirmed that they had found the first case of the disease in Africa after 45,000 chickens fell sick and died in Sambawa. They are putting measures in place to contain the outbreak.

Italy

Italy finds 'probable' cases of bird flu​

(Filed: 11/02/2006)

Italy is testing birds for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus after finding "probable cases" of the disease in birds in the southern island of Sicily.

A health ministry statement said: "Tests are under way for probable cases of Avian Flu in our country," and added that Francesco Storace, the health minister, would brief the cabinet on developments later today.

A source close to the laboratories carrying out the tests said they involved diseased birds from Sicily, and said results of the tests were expected later today or tomorrow.

The source said they would be tested for the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed at least 88 people in Asia and the Middle East since early 2003.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...ml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/11/ixportaltop.html

AP Interview: Spread of bird flu has increased the chance of disease in humans, U.N. bird flu chief says​

​

EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

February 11, 2006 2:19 AM
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The spread of bird flu from Asia to eastern Europe and now west Africa has increased the chance the virus will mutate and set off a pandemic, the U.N. bird flu chief said.

Dr. David Nabarro said there is no evidence yet of any change in the virus, which has killed at least 88 people since 2003.

Almost all the deaths have been linked to contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, setting off a pandemic.

''Unfortunately, we cannot tell when the mutation might happen, or where it might happen, or how unpleasant the mutant virus will turn out to be,'' he said in an interview. ''Nevertheless, we must remain on high alert for the possibility of sustained human-to-human virus transmission and of a pandemic starting at any time.''

Nabarro said the arrival of bird flu in Nigeria should be ''a strong wake-up call'' to all countries to ensure that their veterinary services are on alert and report any instances of birds or poultry dying, and that health services quickly identify unexpected clusters of unexpected disease that could represent the start of a pandemic.

''We have got bird flu now in southeast Asia, central Asia, eastern Europe, and west Africa,'' he said. ''Compared with eight months ago, this is a major extension of the avian influenza epidemic.''

Nabarro said control measures put in place by countries have helped to contain the spread but bird flu is still expanding across the world ''putting at risk the health of people who are living intimately with poultry and also adding to the overall load of the H5N1 virus.''

He said it is the increase in the quantity of the virus in the world today that has boosted the overall chance of mutations, including a mutation that could cause a disease which could then spread through the human population.

''That's why we get so concerned about the spread of the virus, because we want to do everything we can to reduce the opportunity for mutation,'' Nabarro said.

He said one of the urgent needs is to establish how avian influenza reached west Africa.

''The likely means is by migrating wild birds traveling from north to south, and one of the main migratory routes passes from Siberia through the Black Sea area, including Crimea and on to west Africa,'' Nabarro said. ''The alternative is that the virus arrived in birds that are being traded - and if that is the case they would have been smuggled as Nigeria had banned import of birds from avian influenza affected areas during the last two years.''

U.N. experts have just received the genetic sequence of virus samples taken from the farm in Kaduna where the H5N1 strain of bird flu was discovered, he said.

Over the next few days, he said, the World Organization for Animal Health and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization will try to match that sequence with the genetic sequence of viruses from birds in other countries affected by bird flu, he said.

''If it turns out that H5N1 was carried to west Africa by migratory birds, we need to be prepared for the possibility that within the next six months it could be brought back to the northern hemisphere - but perhaps along a different flyway,'' Nabarro said.

''And that could mean that countries in Western Europe and North American should be bracing themselves for the possible introduction of H5N1 avian influenza,'' he said.

Nabarro said the challenge facing governments throughout Africa ''will be to pick up instances early of suspected bird flu, quarantine the affected farms and communities so that the birds are not moved in or out, and then to stamp out the infection through selective culling.''

The single most important thing governments can do, he said, is to put a total ban on bird movements in any area where bird flu is suspected.

With several outbreaks of bird flu now confirmed in Nigeria, Nabarro said, there is a need for special vigilance in other countries on the west African coast including Togo, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Nabarro said he was delighted that the Nigerian government will pay compensation for birds killed, ''but unfortunately that never truly replaces the lost chicken.''

''The sadness is that this will directly affect poor people for whom a chicken is a short-term savings account with an excellent rate of interest, and they depend on their birds for getting cash at times of need,'' he said.

Nabarro also praised the action being taken by Nigeria's Ministry of Agriculture, ''which appears to be firm and rapid,'' but he expressed concern that the scale of the problem could overwhelm authorities.

''For that reason, rapid international assistance to Nigeria and support to neighboring countries is critical and the decision by WHO and FAO to provide urgent extensive support is the right one,'' Nabarro said.

AP-WS-02-11-06 0518EST

Greece

Greece reports second case of bird flu​

The Greek agriculture ministry said it had isolated a second case of the H5 flu virus in a wild goose on an island in the Aegean Sea.

It said samples have been sent to a special EU laboratory in Weybridge outside London to see if the virus was the deadly H5N1 strain, which has already caused about 90 death since 2003, mostly in Asia, and which was this week confirmed to be in northern Nigeria.

The ministry said the infected goose was found in the island of Skyros.

Greece has been on a bird flu alert since Thursday when the H5 virus was confirmed in three dead swans near the northern port of Salonika.

Authorities in Salonika heightened surveillance of local poultry farms on Friday while the European Commission ordered a clampdown on poultry movements in the region.

The commission said that all poultry and captive birds were to be kept indoors in the areas where the birds were found unless they were being taken directly to slaughterhouses.

Bird fairs and markets as well as hunting wild birds were also banned.

"If the samples sent to Weybridge turn out not to be H5N1, then the measures will be lifted immediately," commission spokesman Philip Tod said.

Although the deadly strain of the virus has been detected in Croatia, northern Cyprus, Turkey and Romania, so far it has not been discovered within the 25-nation bloc.

Experts fear that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form easily transmitted by humans and spark a global pandemic potentially killing millions.

-AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200602/s1567771.htm

Romania

Romania confirms H5 bird flu in Danube Delta village ​

www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-11 20:48:07


BUCHAREST, Feb. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Romania has confirmed the H5 bird flu virus found in poultry in a Danube Delta village of Jurilovca, the Agriculture Ministry said on Saturday.

The virus was detected in preliminary tests Thursday, causing the culling of thousands of birds. Romania's national laboratory has isolated the virus and confirmed the diagnosis, the ministry said.

The same virus was also confirmed Friday in three dead hens found in the Cetate village in Dolj County, and samples will be sent a British laboratory to determine whether the virus is of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain which can infect human beings.

Since the first outbreak of bird flu in October 2005, the epidemic has spread to 27 villages across Romania. No human case has been reported in the country so far. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/11/content_4166700.htm

UN says bird flu virus only two mutations away from more deadly form ​

www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-11 20:54:54


LISBON, Feb. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The bird flu virus is only two mutations away from a form that can spread easily among people, a UN official said in an interview published in Portugal on Saturday.

"Only two mutations are needed for it to become easily transmissible among humans," thus sparking a pandemic in which millions of people could die, David Nabarro, the world body's coordinator on avian influenza, told Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

"I wake up every morning thinking that today could be the day that I will see a report about a strange case of bird flu among humans," he said.

The UN official added that he has told governments around the world to prepare for the arrival of a human to human strain of thevirus "as if this will happen tomorrow."

Since the re-emergence of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Asia in 2003, the World Health Organization has reported a total of 166 confirmed human cases as of Feb. 9 this year, of which 88 people have died in seven countries.

Scientists fear the virus could soon mutate to become easily transmissible among people and cause a global pandemic similar to the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/11/content_4166723.htm

Banner week for Bird Flu

BREAKING NEWS

Bird flu on the move again ​

By DAILE PEPPER
Sun Online

THE deadly bird flu virus has been detected in swans found in Greece, Italy and Bulgaria, while Iraqi and Nigerian authorities suspect some of their citizens have the illness.

Greece's agriculture minister confirmed today that tests conducted in a British laboratory on samples taken from three swans from northern Greece showed they had died of the H5N1 strain.

Italy's health minister Francesco Storace said the same strain had been detected in swans found in three regions of his country.

He said: "It's certain that the virus has reached Italy."

The "most part of 17 swans who were found dead were infected by H5N1."

The birds were found in Puglia, Calabria and Sicily and had arrived from the Balkans, the minister said.

He tried to alleviate fears by saying: "It’s a relatively safe situation for human health, less so for animal health."

Also today the European Union confirmed that recent cases of bird flu in wild swans in Bulgaria was the deadly H5N1 strain.

Meanwhile, Iraqi health authorities have sent tissue samples from 12 people suspected of suffering from bird flu to a laboratory in Egypt for testing.

A spokeswoman for an Iraqi government committee handling the problem, Dr Ibtisam Aziz Ali, said a delay in equipment arriving from the U.N. had impacted on their ability to isolate the cases.

And authorities in Nigeria are investigating whether a bird flu strain discovered in the African nation last week had spread to humans after several people were reported ill, the Nigerian health minister said.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006070006,00.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3652271.html

eb. 11, 2006, 6:44AM
Spread of Bird Flu Boosts Pandemic Chances

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — The spread of bird flu from Asia to eastern Europe and now west Africa has increased the chance the virus will mutate and set off a pandemic, the U.N. bird flu chief said.

Dr. David Nabarro said there is no evidence yet of any change in the virus, which has killed at least 88 people since 2003.

Almost all the deaths have been linked to contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, setting off a pandemic.

"Unfortunately, we cannot tell when the mutation might happen, or where it might happen, or how unpleasant the mutant virus will turn out to be," he said in an interview. "Nevertheless, we must remain on high alert for the possibility of sustained human-to-human virus transmission and of a pandemic starting at any time."

Nabarro said the arrival of bird flu in Nigeria should be "a strong wake-up call" to all countries to ensure that their veterinary services are on alert and report any instances of birds or poultry dying, and that health services quickly identify unexpected clusters of unexpected disease that could represent the start of a pandemic.

"We have got bird flu now in southeast Asia, central Asia, eastern Europe, and west Africa," he said. "Compared with eight months ago, this is a major extension of the avian influenza epidemic."

Nabarro said control measures put in place by countries have helped to contain the spread but bird flu is still expanding across the world "putting at risk the health of people who are living intimately with poultry and also adding to the overall load of the H5N1 virus."

He said it is the increase in the quantity of the virus in the world today that has boosted the overall chance of mutations, including a mutation that could cause a disease which could then spread through the human population.

"That's why we get so concerned about the spread of the virus, because we want to do everything we can to reduce the opportunity for mutation," Nabarro said.

He said one of the urgent needs is to establish how avian influenza reached west Africa.

"The likely means is by migrating wild birds traveling from north to south, and one of the main migratory routes passes from Siberia through the Black Sea area, including Crimea and on to west Africa," Nabarro said. "The alternative is that the virus arrived in birds that are being traded _ and if that is the case they would have been smuggled as Nigeria had banned import of birds from avian influenza affected areas during the last two years."

U.N. experts have just received the genetic sequence of virus samples taken from the farm in Kaduna where the H5N1 strain of bird flu was discovered, he said.

Over the next few days, he said, the World Organization for Animal Health and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization will try to match that sequence with the genetic sequence of viruses from birds in other countries affected by bird flu, he said.

"If it turns out that H5N1 was carried to west Africa by migratory birds, we need to be prepared for the possibility that within the next six months it could be brought back to the northern hemisphere _ but perhaps along a different flyway," Nabarro said.

"And that could mean that countries in Western Europe and North American should be bracing themselves for the possible introduction of H5N1 avian influenza," he said.

Nabarro said the challenge facing governments throughout Africa "will be to pick up instances early of suspected bird flu, quarantine the affected farms and communities so that the birds are not moved in or out, and then to stamp out the infection through selective culling."

The single most important thing governments can do, he said, is to put a total ban on bird movements in any area where bird flu is suspected.

With several outbreaks of bird flu now confirmed in Nigeria, Nabarro said, there is a need for special vigilance in other countries on the west African coast including Togo, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Nabarro said he was delighted that the Nigerian government will pay compensation for birds killed, "but unfortunately that never truly replaces the lost chicken."

"The sadness is that this will directly affect poor people for whom a chicken is a short-term savings account with an excellent rate of interest, and they depend on their birds for getting cash at times of need," he said.

Nabarro also praised the action being taken by Nigeria's Ministry of Agriculture, "which appears to be firm and rapid," but he expressed concern that the scale of the problem could overwhelm authorities.

"For that reason, rapid international assistance to Nigeria and support to neighboring countries is critical and the decision by WHO and FAO to provide urgent extensive support is the right one," Nabarro said.

Indonesia: 78.3% Mortality rate for Bird Flu

Another bird flu death reported in Indonesia ​

02/11/2006 -- 22:35(GMT+7)

Jakarta, Feb. 11 (VNA) - A 37-year-old Indonesian woman who tested positive for bird flu has died, local sources reported on Feb. 11.

Ilham Patu, a spokesman of the Jakarta-based Sulianti Saroso Hospital where the patient had been treated, said tissue samples have been sent to a Hong Kong laboratory accredited by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for confirmation.

If confirmed, this will be the 18th fatality from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in the country, out of a total of 23 WHO-confirmed human cases of bird flu in Indonesia.-Enditem

http://www.vnanet.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=33&NEWS_ID=185934

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<B><font size=+1 color=purple><center>People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria</font>

Main Category: Flu/Bird Flu/SARS News
Article Date: 11 Feb 2006 - 15:00pm (UK)
<A href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=37585">www.medicalnewstoday.com</a></center>
Two people have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms near the Sambawa Farms, Kaduna, where chickens are infected with the lethal H5N1 Bird Flu virus strain. Nigerian authorities say they are trying to establish whether these two people have been infected with the bird flu virus.

A few days bird flu infection among chickens was confirmed in northen Nigeria, in the state of Kaduna. A couple of days later it spilled into bordering states. </b>

Information given out by Nigerian authorities as to exactly how many people may have bird flu like symptoms is patchy. Some say there are two people, while others say there are ‘a few' suspected cases.

An rumour that a human case of bird flu was found in the south of Nigeria. There is no confirmation on whether this is true.

At the moment the procedure for confirming bird flu infection is as follows:

1. A sample is taken.
2. It is sent to a lab in Nigeria.
3. If it tests negative, that is the end of it.
4. It it tests positive, it is then sent abroad for confirmation.

Bird flu has made its way from Viet Nam, in south east Asia, across the world to Nigeria, in west Africa. Africa is a vast continent. If the virus spills over into Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the poorest regions in the world with a population of 600 million people, it will be extremely difficult to monitor. Local health experts say it would be virtually impossible to ask people in Sub Saharan Africa, many of whom are facing starvation, to surrender their chickens for culling.

People in Europe are concerned about the coming of Spring, when birds migrate from Africa to Europe (and parts of Asia).

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<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Farmers Told to be Alert as Flu Hits Africa</font>

The Nation (Nairobi)
February 11, 2006
Posted to the web February 10, 2006
Mike Mwaniki And Juma Namlola
Nairobi
<A href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200602100957.html">allafrica.com</a></center>
Poultry-keepers were yesterday urged to be on the look-out following this week's outbreak of bird flu in Nigeria.

Kenya Medical Research Institute director Davy Koech warned that following the first reported outbreak of the deadly strain in Africa, others were likely to occur unless steps were taken to prevent them.</b>

"Large-scale poultry-keepers and those keeping domestic chickens should ensure they are caged at all times to ensure they do not mix with wild birds," he said.

"Local communities should also desist from eating sickly-looking chickens, but should instead report such cases, including those that die unexpectedly, to veterinary officers," Dr Koech said.

And in Kilifi, World Health Organisation regional director Louis Sambo said his team was on full alert.

Although no human cases had been reported, steps had to be taken to prevent the virus' spread, he added.

He was speaking at the closing of the 42nd East, Central and Southern Africa regional Health ministers' conference at Sun 'n Sand Hotel, Kikambala.

Dr Sambo said his office was waiting for word from Nigeria to deploy the experts there. "A team of experts is awaiting clearance from the Nigerian authorities to go and assess the situation and do everything possible to tackle it," he said.

WHO was monitoring the situation in Nigeria, he said, and asked other African countries to set up early detection systems. He urged governments, through their Health ministries, to start programmes to educate and sensitise the public on the risks of avian flu.

"In order to contain the dreaded H5N1 avian flu infection at the animal level, the public must be empowered with knowledge," he said. The five-day conference resolved that countries collaborate in tackling the disease.

The Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health on Wednesday confirmed the first case of the H5N1 virus in Africa after 40,000 birds died on a poultry farm in Nigeria. Since the outbreak of the avian flu in the northern state of Kaduna, Kenya banned the importation of birds and eggs from the West African country.

And to shut out the disease, food leftovers on planes from Nigeria would be burnt, while the aircraft would be disinfected, the director of veterinary services, Dr Joseph Musaa, said on Thursday.

Other measures would include educating poultry-keepers and stepping up surveillance through a rapid response team headed by the ministries of Health and Livestock, he added.

The ban covers poultry, pet birds such as parrots and breeding stock, including fertilised eggs sent to hatcheries from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, where an outbreak has resulted in the slaughter of 140 million birds and the deaths of more than 65 people since 2003.

According to experts, bird influenza symptoms in humans include fever, coughing, sore throat, muscle aches, eye infections, pneumonia and severe respiratory complications. It is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. It can also affect humans.

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<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Nigeria Seeking Suspected Human Bird Flu Cases</font>

Feb 11, 2006 — By Daniel Flynn
<A href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1606707">www.abcnews.go.com</a></center>
DANBARE, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria scrambled on Saturday to discover whether people who had fallen ill close to where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was found had caught the disease and farmers culled thousands more sick chickens.

No human case of bird flu has been confirmed in Africa's most populous country, where H5N1 has killed tens of thousands of poultry, but it is hard for authorities to monitor because of logistical problems and the high mortality from other diseases. </b>

"There are a few suspected cases … We're trying to locate them but our sources can't provide us with addresses for now," said Abdulsalam Nasidi, who is in charge of the response to bird flu as a threat to humans at the federal Health Ministry.

He said epidemiologists were searching for two people feared to have contracted bird flu in the northern state of Kaduna, close to Sambawa Farms where one of the poultry samples was found that tested positive for H5N1.

Samples have already been taken from people who are ill in the areas affected by bird flu. Should tests in Nigerian laboratories indicate the presence of bird flu, the samples would be sent abroad for further testing, Nasidi said.

Officials in the far northern state of Katsina said they suspected an outbreak of bird flu at a small poultry farm in the state capital, a few kilometers from the border with Niger.

A confirmed outbreak in Katsina would raise fears of the virus spreading into neighboring countries. Niger is one of several African countries that have announced bans on imports of Nigerian poultry, but the bans will be hard to enforce.

Nasidi said the ministry had heard rumors of a suspected human case of bird flu in the south of the country but had no further details and was trying to check the reports.

If confirmed, this would be a major development as bird flu in poultry has so far only been confirmed in the northern states of Kaduna and Kano and the central state of Plateau.

FIRST AFRICAN OUTBREAK

Experts fear the H5N1 strain, which has killed at least 88 people in Asia and the Middle East since early 2003, may mutate into a form that can spread from human to human. They fear this could cause a global flu pandemic that could kill millions.

The outbreak of H5N1 in Nigeria is the first known appearance of the virus in Africa. The strain has been confirmed on four farms, and other farmers and villagers are reporting mass deaths of poultry.

At Phed Farm near the village of Danbare in Kano state — close to Sovet Farm where one of the H5N1 samples came from — farm workers in shorts and sandals were killing chickens with knives and using their bare hands to toss them into fires.

They said the farm had lost thousands of chickens in the past few days and they were culling the rest of the flock. Their hands and clothing were spattered with chicken blood and the only protective equipment they had were surgical face masks.

Information about bird flu and protection against it has been slow to filter out in the impoverished region.

Trade in live fowl is unabated and people are moving chickens around by public transport as usual. At the market in Kano, the state capital and Nigeria's second-largest city, people were carrying poultry in baskets on their heads and tied to the handlebars of motorcycles.

As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, poultry are everywhere in Nigeria — in villagers' backyards, in city streets, by the side of the road, in crowded markets, on buses. Most poultry is bought live and slaughtered at home.

The government has ordered suspect birds culled and suspect farms quarantined, but in the field there has so far been little sign of a concrete response by the authorities.

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<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>H5N1 Familial Cluster in Amara Iraq Expands</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02110604/H5N1_Iraq_Cluster_Amara.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
February 11, 2006</center>
The governor of Maysan province told Reuters the suspected bird flu victim was a 24-year-old pigeon seller from Amara who died on Sunday. WHO said earlier that Iraqi officials had identified the victim as a 13-year-old boy.

"He was suffering from constant flu. In hospital he turned worse and began bleeding from both his mouth and nose, and then he died," said Jabbar Zahuri, 38, the dead man's uncle.</b>

The pigeon seller, whom officials identified as Muhaned Radhi, lived in a house with five brothers and eight sisters. Health officials have taken samples from them to test for the virus.

The brother and the sister of a stockbreeder of pigeons of Amara, in the south of Iraq, deceased Sunday after having expressed symptoms of the aviary influenza, were hospitalized Friday, according to the local authorities. "Ali Radi, 10 years, Douaa Radi, 7 years, were allowed today at the hospital because they presented the symptoms of the aviary influenza", affirmed the governor of the province of Missane, Mr. Adel Mohajar Al-Maliki, in a déclarationà the press.

The above media comments describe a growing familial cluster in Amara that has a bimodal disease onset date distribution and represents more efficient human to human transmission of H5N1.

The symptoms of the index case match those of fatal cases in Turkey and northern Iraq. In addition, his pigeons were H5N1 positive. The above indicate three cousins were hospitalized on Wednesday and two siblings were hospitalized on Friday. 11 other siblings are being monitored.

These data indicate H5N1 is efficiently transmitting among family members. The circumstances surrounding the infections of the relatives are not give, but a cluster of six is cause for concern, as is the large number of siblings under observation.

Comments by WHO concerning the inability to find the S227N polymorphisms in any of the Turkey isolates other than the index case are a cause for concern. Although the Qinghai strain of H5N1 has been killing wild and domestic birds since May, there were no confirmed H5N1 human cases associated with this strain until the outbreaks in Turkey. These outbreaks included extremely large familial clusters and signaled a more efficient transmission of H5N1 to humans.

The linkage of S227N, to increased affinity of H5N1 for human receptors is quite clear, and the loss of this linkage as indicated in comments by WHO is cause for concern. The selection away from mammalian receptor bind domain determinants via selection chicken eggs is well known. More details on the “loss” of S227N, as indicated by WHO comments would be useful.

The large size of clusters in Turkey and northern and southern Iraq suggests that the S227N in H5N1 is being transported by wild birds and is functioning efficiently.

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<B><font size=+1 color=purple><center>Occupational and Geographical Clustering in Bekasi Indonesia</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02110602/H5N1_Bekasi_Occupational.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
February 11, 2006</center>
Friday early afternoon (10/2), another who was expected terjangkit the virus H5N1 was run off with to the Infection Hospital Prof. Dr. Sulianti Saroso, Jakarta North.

The patient was named Nur Santina was the workmate Kiki Maria, the woman that died last night because positive birds flu.</b>

Nur Santina was treated in Cempaka Isolation Space.

The above relationship between a fatal H5N1 bird flu case from the Bekasi suburb of Jakarta and a workmate who admitted with bird flu symptoms is cause for concern.

Clustering of patients from Bakasi has been evident since last year (see October map). The number of cases testing positive in Indonesia has increased in recent weeks and the number of clusters remain high. H5N1 has become endemic and transmission of H5N1 via casual contact has been seen previously, although those cases were mild.

The number of fatal cases from Indonesia continues to rise and these fatal cases are frequently familial clusters. Cluster linked to a work environment and geographical location are cause for concern.

=




<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Transport of Effient Human Transmission of H5N1 Via S227N</font>

<A href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02110601/H5N1_S227N_Transport.html">Recombinomics Commentary</a>
February 10, 2006</center>
"They're all basically the same. Nothing new and unusual,'' Michael Perdue, a scientist with the WHO's global influenza program, said from Geneva.

"That mutation just showed up in that one patient,'' said Perdue.</b>

Genetic analysis of the viruses showed they are closely related to a group or clade of H5N1 viruses that caused a massive die-off of wild birds at a wildlife reserve last May in western China. These Qinghai Lake viruses have been found in dead wild birds in Russia, Turkey, Romania and a number of other spots in western Asia and Eastern Europe.

They are believed to be responsible for Africa's first outbreak of H5N1, in Nigeria.

The above comments concerning the close relationship between a chicken H5N1 isolate in Nigeria and earlier isolates from Qinghai Lake in China and isolates in Turkey and Croatia are of conern. On a recent NPR broadcast it was noted that a string of H5N1 isolates - Turkey, Turkey, Croatia, China, Croatia, Turkey, Croatia, China were between 99.4% and 100% homologous to the chicken isolate from Nigeria. These data leave little doubt that the H5N1 that caused outbreaks at Qinghai Lake in China, Chany Lake, Tula, Kurgen, and Askatran in Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, and Nigeria is transmitted and transported by migratory birds carrying closely related H5N1.

However, the comment that the alteration in the receptor binding domain, S227N (also called S223N), described in a sequences from the index case from Turkey is limit to the one patient is clearly misleading. It is well known that isolation of H5N1 in different cell types can alter receptor binding domain sequences and isolation in chicken eggs selects for sequences with avian receptor binding domains. S227N is an alteration that favors receptors on human cells, which leads to more efficient transmission to humans. Media reports on the detection of S227N in the index case in Turkey mentioned isolation of H5N1 from Turkey using chicken eggs as well as MDCK cells (dog kidney). S227N would be selected for on MDCK cells, and selected against in chicken eggs. Thus, isolates from chicken eggs would have reduced levels of S227N.

The data from Turkey, as well as northern and southern Iraq, identified clusters of patients. The size and number of patients indicated H5N1 became more efficient at infecting humans. Prior to Turkey, there were no verified reports of the Qinghai strain infecting humans. In Turkey the human cases exploded, indicating the H5N1 had changed, and the acquisition of S227N was a clear indicator of such a change.

The clusters in northern and southern Iraq indicate that the S227N polymorphisms is transported by wild birds, and the initial reports out of Nigeria suggest it is being carried by long range migratory birds.

Statements by WHO indicating that S227N was limited to the index case require more detail. In the WHO updates on H5N1 positive cases in Turkey, more detail was glaringly absent. Disease onset dates and relations between H5N1 patients were withheld. These data demonstrated extensive human-to-human transmission.

These commissions by omission by WHO are cause for concern.

Politics

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Feb 11 2006 4:58PM

G8 acknowledges bird flu pandemic risk - communique​

MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) - The G8 acknowledges the risk of an avian flu pandemic and its potential economic and financial impacts, reads a communique issued following a G8 ministerial meeting in Moscow on Saturday.

"We welcome progress made at the donors' conference in Beijing in securing financial support for the national and international efforts to minimize the risk posed by a pandemic influenza and confirm our commitments made at this conference," the document says.

It was reported earlier that the donor countries decided to allocate about $1.5 billion to combat the potential bird flu spread.

"We call on the donor community to provide financial support to poor countries fighting the epidemic through the existing mechanisms, recognizing that donor coordination and harmonization in this area are critical," the communique says.

The G8 ministers praised the IMF's work on promoting best practices in contingency planning for financial systems.

"We welcome the work under way on Advance Market Commitments for vaccines and look forward to a specific AMC proposal at the next meeting in April," the document reads, va md

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11463816

Bird Flu Spreading - The Timeline​

For the Record: 11 February 2006, Saturday.

December 15, 2003 - South Korea confirms a highly contagious type of bird flu at a chicken farm near Seoul.

January 8, 2004 - Vietnam says bird flu found at poultry farms.

September 27, 2004 - Thailand reports about a possible case of human-to-human contamination.

October 8, 2005 - Turkey reports its first bird flu case. It was later confirmed as the type dangerous to humans, the H5N1 strain.

October 10, 2005 - The European Commission announces a ban on imports of live birds and feathers from Turkey. Oct 15 - British tests identify H5N1 in three ducks found dead in Ceamurlia de Jos in Romania, the first case of H5N1 in mainland Europe.

November 11, 2005 - Kuwait reports the first known case of deadly bird flu in the Gulf Arab region, saying a culled flamingo was carrying the H5N1 strain.

December 3, 2005 - Ukraine tackles its first outbreak of bird flu in poultry, sending troops to patrol exclusion zones in the Crimea peninsula where the virus was detected.

January 17, 2006 - Turkey says another child has tested positive for the virus, bringing the number of human cases to 21 over the past two weeks, including four children who have died.

January 18, 2006 - International donors pledge USD1.9 billion to combat the spread of bird flu at the end of a conference in Beijing.

January 25, 2006 - WHO confirms another death from bird flu in China, taking the overall toll to 83. These comprise 14 in Indonesia, seven in China, four in Cambodia, 14 in Thailand, 42 in Vietnam and two in Turkey. The WHO is awaiting the results of tests on cases reported in Turkey before updating its figures.

January 29, 2006 - H5N1 is confirmed in sample taken from poultry in northern Cyprus.

January 31, 2006 - Bulgaria reports its first case of bird flu.

February 11, 2006 - The humans-threatening H5N1 strain is confirmed in Bulgaria, Greece and Italy, in the latest sign of the spread westwards.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=59034

Expert in bird flu pandemic warning​

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=217392006

The spread of bird flu from Asia to eastern Europe and now west Africa has increased the chance that the virus will mutate and cause a possible pandemic among humans, says the United Nations' expert on the disease.

Dr David Nabarro said there was no evidence yet of any change in the bird flu virus.

"Unfortunately, we cannot tell when the mutation might happen, or where it might happen, or how unpleasant the mutant virus will turn out to be," he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

"Nevertheless, we must remain on high alert for the possibility of sustained human-to-human virus transmission and of a pandemic starting at any time."

Nabarro said the arrival of bird flu in Nigeria should be "a strong wake-up call" to countries to ensure that their veterinary services were on alert, and that health services quickly identified unexpected clusters of disease that could represent the start of a pandemic.

"We have got bird flu now in south-east Asia, central Asia, eastern Europe, and west Africa," he said. "Compared with eight months ago, this is a major extension of the avian influenza epidemic."

Nabarro said control measures had helped to contain the spread but bird flu was still expanding across the world, "putting at risk the health of people who are living intimately with poultry".

He said the increase in the quantity of the virus in the world was increasing the overall chance of mutations that could then spread into humans. "That's why we get so concerned about the spread of the virus, because we want to do everything we can to reduce the opportunity for mutation," Nabarro said.

He says one of the urgent needs is to establish how avian influenza reached west Africa. "The likely means is by migrating wild birds travelling from north to south, and one of the main migratory routes passes from Siberia through the Black Sea area, including Crimea and on to west Africa," Nabarro said.

"The alternative is that the virus arrived in birds that are being traded - and if that is the case, they would have been smuggled, as Nigeria had banned import of birds from avian influenza-affected areas during the last two years."