02/14 | Bird Flu Confirmed in Wild Swans Across Europe
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PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Bird Flu Confirmed in Wild Swans Across Europe
BRUSSELS, Belgium, February 13, 2006 (ENS) - Bird flu of the deadly H5N1 strain has been confirmed in wild swans in Italy, in Greece, and in Bulgaria, the reference laboratory that tested samples from those countries told the European Commission today.
In Slovenia, a wild swan tested positive for the disease at the Slovenian Laboratory for Avian influenza, and samples have been sent to the EU Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza in Weybridge, UK for further tests.
The Slovenian authorities have given a commitment to the European Commission to apply immediately the same precautionary measures as those set out in the Commission Decision adopted for Greece on Friday, and applied in Italy during the weekend.
Precautionary measures involve establishing a three kilometer (two mile) high risk area around each of the outbreaks and a surrounding surveillance zone of 10 kilometers.
In the protection zone, poultry must be kept indoors and movement of poultry is banned except directly to the slaughterhouse. No meat may be sent outside the zone unless the meat is sourced from healthy animals in registered farms, and is subject to checks by slaughterhouse veterinarians both before and after slaughter.
In both the protection and the surveillance zones, on-farm biosecurity measures must be strengthened, hunting of wild birds is banned, and disease awareness education of poultry owners and their families must be carried out.
The Slovenian authorities are in close contact with their Austrian counterparts, since the 10 kilometers surveillance area crosses the Slovenian-Austrian border.
Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said, "We have to work on the assumption that the avian influenza virus could be spread by wild birds, so we should not be unduly surprised or alarmed if such cases are found in the European Union. What is important is that we have the framework in place to take the appropriate measures as soon as possible to contain it and prevent its spread to poultry, and that is what we are doing."
The bird conservation organization BirdLife International says if wild birds have any role, it is minor compared to other mechanisms such as movements of untreated poultry and poultry products, and the global trade in poultry. Another suspected mechanism is the use of infected poultry manure as fertilizer in agriculture and aquaculture, and as feed in fish-farms and pig farms, BirdLife says.
While a few outbreaks are consistent with the direction and timing of wild bird migration, most are not, BirdLife says, pointing out that the 2005 autumn migration came and went without migrating waterbirds spreading H5N1. The virus has not so far been reported from the birds' wintering areas in India, the Philippines, the Pacific and Africa.
The evidence suggests that H5N1 is highly lethal to migratory wild bird species, and kills them quickly; that infected migrants cannot move long distances; and that the virus is most likely to be contracted locally, close to the site of deaths, BirdLife maintains.
So, BirdLife concludes that "wild birds could possibly have been involved in some H5N1 outbreaks (more likely in none) but other factors appear to be much more important – and should be the first focus of control efforts."
In Italy, the five infected wild swans were detected on the eastern coast of Sicily, in Taranto and in Calabria. The confirmatory tests were carried out by the Italian national laboratory for avian influenza in Padua, an accredited EU laboratory and also the reference laboratory of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Animal Health Organization, following preliminary positive tests undertaken by laboratories in Palermo, Portici and Foggia.
In Greece, the infected birds tested were three dead wild swans found in the prefectures of Thessaloniki and Pieria last week.
The avian influenza situation in these affected countries will be reviewed by the Standing Committee on the Food and Chain and Animal Health which meets on February 16 and 17.
The disease was detected last week in wild swans in the Bulgarian wetland region of Vidin, close to the Romanian border. The Bulgarian authorities have also informed the Commission of other suspected cases in wetlands close to the Black Sea.
The Commission is preparing a decision banning imports of live poultry and birds, wild feathered game meat and meat products, eggs and unprocessed feathers from the affected areas in Bulgaria, which is not yet an EU member state, although accession negotiations are underway.
Currently, no Bulgarian poultry or poultry products can be imported into the EU, as restrictive measures are already in place due to recent Newcastle disease outbreaks in Bulgaria. But as the Newcastle Disease restrictions are expected to be reviewed and possibly eased in the near future, the Commission says it is necessary to also adopt this regionalized import ban for the areas affected with avian influenza.
Romania said on Saturday that it has discovered new cases of suspected bird flu in waterfowl in the Danube delta, where the disease was first found last October. The delta is Europe's largest wetland and lies on an important migratory route for wild birds.
Elsewhere across Europe, France extended its poultry confinement measures in January from 26 to 58 departments of the 96 in mainland France.
Earlier this month, Germany ordered poultry to be kept indoors for at least two months after March 1 to safeguard German flocks. Authorities in the Netherlands said they will follow suit.
Officials in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in January detected new cases of bird flu among wild birds in the port of Sevastopol. More than 200,000 birds have been destroyed in Ukraine since the H5N1 virus was discovered in a dozen villages in northeastern Crimea last year.
In the UK, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said today that even taking account of the latest incidents in Eastern Europe, its current risk assessment "is increased but still low."
But there is "a high risk of further global dispersal, and future events may lead us to change our risk assessment," Defra said.
Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said last week, “Defra is working in close partnership with the UK poultry industry, independent experts and others to ensure that the UK is thoroughly prepared to prevent an outbreak of avian flu and has robust plans in place to contain and eradicate it if it does occur.
“In December we launched the Poultry Register," Reynolds said. "Its purpose is to provide a central database of information on poultry premises. This information will only be used for preventing and controlling avian flu, more specifically: to improve our risk assessment and contingency planning; and to enable effective up to date communication with poultry keepers."
UK poultry keepers with 50 or more birds have a legal obligation to register. "Priority has been given to these flocks because, if infected, they could act as significant sources of disease spread as they are large enough for virus to circulate and multiply sufficiently to spread infection through movement to or other contacts with another premises," said Reynolds.
In Azerbaijan, a country between Asia and Europe, the first outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu was discovered on Friday. Azerbaijan animal health authorities said the virus was found in wild birds in the Caspian Sea near the Absheron peninsula and off the southern Massaly region, near the border with Iran.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2006/2006-02-13-03.asp
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Greek man waits to see if he is first European to get bird flu
MARGARET NEIGHBOURA GREEK duck hunter was yesterday awaiting the results of a test to see if he has become the first person to catch bird flu in Europe.
The 29-year-old man, who killed three wild ducks a week ago, was being treated for flu symptoms at a hospital in the northern city of Thessaloniki, near the Thermaikos Gulf where three dead swans were confirmed as having the H5N1 strain of the virus.
Two tests on a boy of 15 who was also feared to have caught the disease proved negative and he was allowed to go home.
Industry officials said Greek poultry sales had fallen by 95 per cent since Saturday, when it was confirmed that the three swans had H5N1, which doctors fear could lead to a global pandemic, killing millions of people.
The virus has so far killed at least 84 people in Asia and four in Turkey since 2003. Humans can contract the virus only through close contact with infected birds, but health experts fear it could mutate into a form that passes easily between humans.
The European Commission stepped up defences against bird flu yesterday, after confirmation of the presence of the virus among birds in Greece and in Italy, where poultry consumption has also plunged.
Current contingency plans call for restrictions on the movement of birds when an H5N1 case is found, but the EC said that this should be done as soon as there is even a suspected case of any kind of flu within the H5 sub-group. Samples of the H5 virus found in a swan in Slovenia were yesterday being sent to a European laboratory at Weybridge in Surrey for further tests to confirm the presence of H5N1.
Meanwhile, Neil Parish, a Tory MEP for south-west England, warned that bird flu would almost certainly come to the UK.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=229322006
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Romania Confirms Bird Flu in Danube Delta Poultry
BUCHAREST - Romania on Monday confirmed the presence of bird flu in poultry found dead on Saturday in a Danube delta village, and detected suspected new cases near the Black Sea port of Constanta.
Avian flu has been found in 30 villages throughout the country since the virus was first discovered in the Danube delta in October, but Romania has reported no human cases.
"Tests made on samples taken from dead poultry in Sarina Suf confirm the presence of the bird flu virus," Nicolae Stefan, head of the Animal Health and Diagnosis Institute, told Reuters.
"The village will be quarantined and all domestic birds will be culled," he said.
He said the samples would be sent to a British laboratory in Weybridge to establish whether it was the deadly H5N1 strain. Romania is not able to test for H5N1.
Authorities said earlier on Monday suspicious poultry deaths were recorded in the village of Topraisar, 40 km (25 miles) north of the border with Bulgaria.
"Rapid tests on two dead hens found in a farmyard led to suspicion of the presence of the H5 type of the virus in Topraisar village, in the county of Constanta," the country's chief veterinarian Ion Agafitei told Reuters.
Agafitei said all 20 hens from the farmyard were killed. The village would be quarantined and birds would be culled there if further checks confirmed the presence of the H5 type.
Last week, Romania confirmed the presence of the H5 virus in poultry in a village in the south of the country near the border with Bulgaria, which has reported its first avian flu cases in the past few days.
The delta is Europe's largest wetlands and lies on a major migratory route for wild birds, believed to be the carriers of the virus in its highly pathogenic form.
H5N1 has killed at least 91 people and caused the deaths of millions of birds since 2003.
Story Date: 14/2/2006
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/35091/story.htm
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
BF meets NORAD
northcom and norad: eyes on the future
By Bruce Finley
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
Peterson Air Force Base - Military commanders called together government emergency-response officials recently for a brainstorming session at this Cold War base turned headquarters for homeland defense.
But rather than dirty bombs or suicide attacks, they wanted to talk flu.
Convinced that pandemic influenza inevitably will strike inside the United States, military leaders contend the failure of civilian agencies after Hurricane Katrina could happen again.
It's an example of how U.S. Northern Command military forces charged with homeland defense quietly are assuming broader, non-traditional roles.
Those perched around conference room tables here knew the latest worst-case scenario assessments too well: pandemic flu could kill as many as 2 million Americans.
The recent spread of the H5N1 bird-flu virus to birds in Africa and southeastern Europe, just as birds begin seasonal migrations, has piqued concerns the virus could mutate to spread from birds to humans and among humans. Experts say that could touch off a global pandemic.
At the meeting here, civilian officials could only dream of acquiring the beds, vaccines, ventilators and worldwide outbreak-detection data available in the military system. Health and Human Services officials say these military assets could more than double the national capacity of 970,000 staffed beds and 100,000 ventilators.
But Northcom chiefs emphasized: the military system would treat soldiers, veterans and their families first.
Northcom spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kelly said military capacity figures "aren't available yet, but we do not believe we'd be able to double the national capacity."
Yet, spurred by President Bush during his recent visit here, Northcom officials are preparing to:
Share early-warning data on outbreaks with civilian health authorities.
Inspect passengers at airports and seaports for signs of flu.
Slow travel and help police communities short of attempting fullblown quarantines.
Move medicines to hard-hit areas and victims to clinics for treatment.
Back up civilian doctors by working shifts at overloaded hospitals.
Possibly share vaccines, beds, and ventilators.
"This thing could hit next week, for all we know," said Col. Joseph Bassani, Northcom's chief of planning.
While defense once meant mobilizing armed forces to confront foreign armies and control turf, homeland defense forces over the past year participated in activities ranging from border control to firefighting.
On Monday, Northcom convened military and National Guard leaders to talk about how to handle hurricanes this year.
Bush has said the military would play an important role in responding to pandemic flu. Bush also said that "the best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it in the region in which it begins," and suggested Congress debate quarantines.
Civilian response leaders here - representing diplomatic, environmental protection, emergency management and transportation agencies - welcomed the prospect of military support.
Military forces "have assets we don't have. They move tons of equipment every day. They're also the best at planning," said Lynn Slepski of the U.S. Public Health Service, now serving as a senior health advisor in the Department of Homeland Security.
Compared with civilian hospitals that often are hard-pressed to meet non-crisis needs, the military's medical system can treat thousands of soldiers in critical condition at once.
Fixed and mobile clinics give a "surge capacity" that civilian health officials in cities such as Denver are struggling to arrange.
After Hurricane Katrina, military doctors and nurses treated hundreds of victims. Helicopters evacuated victims to the 500-bed USS Bataan floating hospital.
Military medical teams track disease outbreaks by testing tissue and blood samples at surveillance centers in Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, Thailand and Peru.
Meanwhile, civilian hospital emergency rooms turn away as many as 500,000 people a year, according to recent studies.
The new defense budget includes millions of dollars to prepare for pandemic flu, including streamlined vaccine production.
If pandemic influenza strikes,the military likely will be needed to stabilize communities and enable an effective response, said Colorado College professor Andrew Price-Smith, author of "The Health of Nations," an authority on pandemic threats to the economy and security.
U.S. communities aren't as cohesive as in the past, and "the fragmentation in the government response evident in Katrina is, unfortunately, likely to be replicated during a pandemic," Price-Smith said.
"Do we rely on the military to make up for the diminished capacity in various states? Unfortunately, we are going to need their resources. The question is: How much can the military assist?"
Government worst-case scenarios suggest pandemic flu could infect 90 million Americans, with half needing medical treatment. Up to 40 percent of workers would stay home, and the economic impact could match that of a major recession, according to a new Congressional Budget Office assessment.
The pandemic flu in 1918-19 killed more than 500,000 Americans and 50 million worldwide.
The problem, military leaders told civilians here, is that military facilities likely would be overwhelmed, too.
These exist primarily to serve soldiers and their families, and they'd be treated first in a pandemic, said Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, chief of Northern Command, in an interview.
"Our job in the Department of Defense is principally to fight and win the nation's wars," Keating said. Tens of thousands of soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan "need to know that their families are being taken care of. That's a significant effort."
But "simultaneously, or as soon as we can," military forces would mobilize "to stabilize and ease human suffering," Keating said.
Military planners said soldiers would not attempt large-scale quarantines. Quarantine "really isn't effective with influenza, because influenza is so contagious," said Dr. Tanis Batsel, Northcom's chief of preventative medicine.
Americans likely would stay home anyway, she said. "Most convincing will be that people are going to be dying. Everybody will know somebody."
Soldiers instead would screen travelers at airports, and perhaps restrict movements of those who are infected.
Homeland defense officials also plan an aggressive public information campaign: Vaccinate. Follow cough etiquette. Wash hands. Avoid large groups. Reach out to the homeless and infirm.
By calling civilian emergency planners together, Northcom hoped to encourage agencies "to come up with requests for assistance" as soon as possible, Batsel said.
Then military chiefs can review them and "give a reality check."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3505750
northcom and norad: eyes on the future
Northcom branches out to fight flu
Third of three partsBy Bruce Finley
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
Peterson Air Force Base - Military commanders called together government emergency-response officials recently for a brainstorming session at this Cold War base turned headquarters for homeland defense.
But rather than dirty bombs or suicide attacks, they wanted to talk flu.
Convinced that pandemic influenza inevitably will strike inside the United States, military leaders contend the failure of civilian agencies after Hurricane Katrina could happen again.
It's an example of how U.S. Northern Command military forces charged with homeland defense quietly are assuming broader, non-traditional roles.
Those perched around conference room tables here knew the latest worst-case scenario assessments too well: pandemic flu could kill as many as 2 million Americans.
The recent spread of the H5N1 bird-flu virus to birds in Africa and southeastern Europe, just as birds begin seasonal migrations, has piqued concerns the virus could mutate to spread from birds to humans and among humans. Experts say that could touch off a global pandemic.
At the meeting here, civilian officials could only dream of acquiring the beds, vaccines, ventilators and worldwide outbreak-detection data available in the military system. Health and Human Services officials say these military assets could more than double the national capacity of 970,000 staffed beds and 100,000 ventilators.
But Northcom chiefs emphasized: the military system would treat soldiers, veterans and their families first.
Northcom spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kelly said military capacity figures "aren't available yet, but we do not believe we'd be able to double the national capacity."
Yet, spurred by President Bush during his recent visit here, Northcom officials are preparing to:
Share early-warning data on outbreaks with civilian health authorities.
Inspect passengers at airports and seaports for signs of flu.
Slow travel and help police communities short of attempting fullblown quarantines.
Move medicines to hard-hit areas and victims to clinics for treatment.
Back up civilian doctors by working shifts at overloaded hospitals.
Possibly share vaccines, beds, and ventilators.
"This thing could hit next week, for all we know," said Col. Joseph Bassani, Northcom's chief of planning.
While defense once meant mobilizing armed forces to confront foreign armies and control turf, homeland defense forces over the past year participated in activities ranging from border control to firefighting.
On Monday, Northcom convened military and National Guard leaders to talk about how to handle hurricanes this year.
Bush has said the military would play an important role in responding to pandemic flu. Bush also said that "the best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it in the region in which it begins," and suggested Congress debate quarantines.
Civilian response leaders here - representing diplomatic, environmental protection, emergency management and transportation agencies - welcomed the prospect of military support.
Military forces "have assets we don't have. They move tons of equipment every day. They're also the best at planning," said Lynn Slepski of the U.S. Public Health Service, now serving as a senior health advisor in the Department of Homeland Security.
Compared with civilian hospitals that often are hard-pressed to meet non-crisis needs, the military's medical system can treat thousands of soldiers in critical condition at once.
Fixed and mobile clinics give a "surge capacity" that civilian health officials in cities such as Denver are struggling to arrange.
After Hurricane Katrina, military doctors and nurses treated hundreds of victims. Helicopters evacuated victims to the 500-bed USS Bataan floating hospital.
Military medical teams track disease outbreaks by testing tissue and blood samples at surveillance centers in Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, Thailand and Peru.
Meanwhile, civilian hospital emergency rooms turn away as many as 500,000 people a year, according to recent studies.
The new defense budget includes millions of dollars to prepare for pandemic flu, including streamlined vaccine production.
If pandemic influenza strikes,the military likely will be needed to stabilize communities and enable an effective response, said Colorado College professor Andrew Price-Smith, author of "The Health of Nations," an authority on pandemic threats to the economy and security.
U.S. communities aren't as cohesive as in the past, and "the fragmentation in the government response evident in Katrina is, unfortunately, likely to be replicated during a pandemic," Price-Smith said.
"Do we rely on the military to make up for the diminished capacity in various states? Unfortunately, we are going to need their resources. The question is: How much can the military assist?"
Government worst-case scenarios suggest pandemic flu could infect 90 million Americans, with half needing medical treatment. Up to 40 percent of workers would stay home, and the economic impact could match that of a major recession, according to a new Congressional Budget Office assessment.
The pandemic flu in 1918-19 killed more than 500,000 Americans and 50 million worldwide.
The problem, military leaders told civilians here, is that military facilities likely would be overwhelmed, too.
These exist primarily to serve soldiers and their families, and they'd be treated first in a pandemic, said Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, chief of Northern Command, in an interview.
"Our job in the Department of Defense is principally to fight and win the nation's wars," Keating said. Tens of thousands of soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan "need to know that their families are being taken care of. That's a significant effort."
But "simultaneously, or as soon as we can," military forces would mobilize "to stabilize and ease human suffering," Keating said.
Military planners said soldiers would not attempt large-scale quarantines. Quarantine "really isn't effective with influenza, because influenza is so contagious," said Dr. Tanis Batsel, Northcom's chief of preventative medicine.
Americans likely would stay home anyway, she said. "Most convincing will be that people are going to be dying. Everybody will know somebody."
Soldiers instead would screen travelers at airports, and perhaps restrict movements of those who are infected.
Homeland defense officials also plan an aggressive public information campaign: Vaccinate. Follow cough etiquette. Wash hands. Avoid large groups. Reach out to the homeless and infirm.
By calling civilian emergency planners together, Northcom hoped to encourage agencies "to come up with requests for assistance" as soon as possible, Batsel said.
Then military chiefs can review them and "give a reality check."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3505750
Fuzzychick
Membership Revoked
Peterson Air Force Base - Military commanders called together government emergency-response officials recently for a brainstorming session at this Cold War base turned headquarters for homeland defense.
But rather than dirty bombs or suicide attacks, they wanted to talk flu.
NORAD?
But rather than dirty bombs or suicide attacks, they wanted to talk flu.
NORAD?
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Russia finds new H5N1 bird flu cases - minister
13 Feb 2006 16:09:47 GMTSource: Reuters
MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russia has found new cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild fowl in two regions in the south of the country, the Agriculture Ministry said on Monday.
The virus was found in wild swans and ducks in two regions bordering the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the ministry said.
"Cold weather forces wild fowl to migrate over short distances, spreading the (bird) flu virus of group A, H5N1 strain," the ministry said in a statement.
"Recently, the virus has been found in wild swans and wild ducks in the littoral zone of the Krasnodar region and Dagestan."
The ministry's animal and plants health inspectorate, Rosselkhoznadzor, has sent veterinary experts to the region to monitor the situation.
Russia has been battling with bird flu in poultry since July, culling more than 600,000 domestic fowl.
No new cases of the virus have been found in Russia since the end of last year, but veterinaries warned migratory birds could bring the virus back in the spring.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain has killed at least 88 people since 2003 in Asia and the Middle East. No cases of human infection have been registered so far in Russia.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13103252.htm
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
February 13, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 12 — Iraqi doctors are investigating six suspected cases of bird flu in southern Iraq, including one in which a 25-year-old fisherman died after contact with birds he was keeping in his yard, Iraqi and American health officials said Sunday.
Tests are now being performed to determine whether the fisherman, who died recently in a hospital after exhibiting symptoms of bird flu for more than two weeks, was infected with the A(H5N1) strain of the virus that causes bird flu, said Dr. Ibitsam Aziz, a spokeswoman for an Iraqi government committee looking into the flu.
A(H5N1) is the deadly strain that scientists believe was carried by migrating bird populations from Asia, where it was first identified, into the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe. It has raised concerns of a possible human pandemic.
The fisherman entered the hospital a week after developing a fever, Dr. Aziz said.
He had a high fever and a cough, but X-rays showed no pneumonia, she added. Two weeks after the fever began, the man had difficulty breathing, and his white blood cell count rose sharply.
Five of the fisherman's cousins, who had all been living with him in the city of Amara and had also come in contact with the birds in his yard, are also being tested.
A positive result would show that the strain had spread to the impoverished Shiite heartland of southern Iraq, where the quality of communications and health care is much lower than elsewhere in the country.
The only confirmed human case of bird flu in Iraq was reported in late January in Iraqi Kurdistan by health officials after tests showed that a Kurdish girl had died from bird flu. Two other suspected cases in the same area are being investigated.
But the symptoms of bird flu mimic those of many other serious respiratory illnesses and, in other countries with bird flu outbreaks, many people with suspected cases turned out not to have the disease.
This is partly because people tend to rush to hospitals at the first sign of medical trouble, even if they have had little or no contact with birds.
In December, Turkish authorities reported an outbreak of bird flu in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey, right across the border from Iraq.
So far, almost all humans infected with the virus have caught it from birds, but international health organizations are deeply concerned about the possibility that the strain will mutate to allow widespread human-to-human transmission.
The likelihood of such a mutation increases with each uncontrolled bird outbreak and each human case.
Dr. Sam Yingst, an American veterinarian and virologist who led an international animal investigation team to Kurdistan last week, said the disease was currently an "agriculture problem" rather than a "human health problem."
The disease was not yet "definitely under control," but the Kurds were "doing the best they can" under the circumstances, Dr. Yingst said at a news conference with Dr. Aziz here on Sunday, just hours after he returned from Kurdistan.
Dr. Yingst estimated that in the effort to halt the bird flu outbreak there at least 200,000 chickens had been slaughtered in Sulaimaniya Province, in the north, and tens of thousands in neighboring Erbil Province.
Many Iraqis are now shunning chicken dishes, a basic staple of the diet here, and chicken restaurants have shut their doors across the affected region, Dr. Yingst said, warning of serious and unnecessary damage to a crucial part of Iraq's agriculture industry.
He said chickens could still be eaten if killed and cooked using basic sanitation methods.
Rumors of an outbreak in the south in the last few days have been fomenting "unnecessary panic," Dr. Yingst said.
"Fear of a dead pigeon on the side of the road," he said, "is unnecessary panic."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/international/middleeast/13baghdad.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print
Iraqi Doctors Investigating Possible Cases of Bird Flu
By EDWARD WONGBAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 12 — Iraqi doctors are investigating six suspected cases of bird flu in southern Iraq, including one in which a 25-year-old fisherman died after contact with birds he was keeping in his yard, Iraqi and American health officials said Sunday.
Tests are now being performed to determine whether the fisherman, who died recently in a hospital after exhibiting symptoms of bird flu for more than two weeks, was infected with the A(H5N1) strain of the virus that causes bird flu, said Dr. Ibitsam Aziz, a spokeswoman for an Iraqi government committee looking into the flu.
A(H5N1) is the deadly strain that scientists believe was carried by migrating bird populations from Asia, where it was first identified, into the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe. It has raised concerns of a possible human pandemic.
The fisherman entered the hospital a week after developing a fever, Dr. Aziz said.
He had a high fever and a cough, but X-rays showed no pneumonia, she added. Two weeks after the fever began, the man had difficulty breathing, and his white blood cell count rose sharply.
Five of the fisherman's cousins, who had all been living with him in the city of Amara and had also come in contact with the birds in his yard, are also being tested.
A positive result would show that the strain had spread to the impoverished Shiite heartland of southern Iraq, where the quality of communications and health care is much lower than elsewhere in the country.
The only confirmed human case of bird flu in Iraq was reported in late January in Iraqi Kurdistan by health officials after tests showed that a Kurdish girl had died from bird flu. Two other suspected cases in the same area are being investigated.
But the symptoms of bird flu mimic those of many other serious respiratory illnesses and, in other countries with bird flu outbreaks, many people with suspected cases turned out not to have the disease.
This is partly because people tend to rush to hospitals at the first sign of medical trouble, even if they have had little or no contact with birds.
In December, Turkish authorities reported an outbreak of bird flu in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey, right across the border from Iraq.
So far, almost all humans infected with the virus have caught it from birds, but international health organizations are deeply concerned about the possibility that the strain will mutate to allow widespread human-to-human transmission.
The likelihood of such a mutation increases with each uncontrolled bird outbreak and each human case.
Dr. Sam Yingst, an American veterinarian and virologist who led an international animal investigation team to Kurdistan last week, said the disease was currently an "agriculture problem" rather than a "human health problem."
The disease was not yet "definitely under control," but the Kurds were "doing the best they can" under the circumstances, Dr. Yingst said at a news conference with Dr. Aziz here on Sunday, just hours after he returned from Kurdistan.
Dr. Yingst estimated that in the effort to halt the bird flu outbreak there at least 200,000 chickens had been slaughtered in Sulaimaniya Province, in the north, and tens of thousands in neighboring Erbil Province.
Many Iraqis are now shunning chicken dishes, a basic staple of the diet here, and chicken restaurants have shut their doors across the affected region, Dr. Yingst said, warning of serious and unnecessary damage to a crucial part of Iraq's agriculture industry.
He said chickens could still be eaten if killed and cooked using basic sanitation methods.
Rumors of an outbreak in the south in the last few days have been fomenting "unnecessary panic," Dr. Yingst said.
"Fear of a dead pigeon on the side of the road," he said, "is unnecessary panic."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/international/middleeast/13baghdad.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Suspected bird flu case in S. Jakarta
JAKARTA: A resident of Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, died of respiratory problems after being treated at state-owned Fatmawati Hospital on Sunday evening.
The hospital's medical and treatment director, Chaerul Nasution, said Monday doctors found the avian flu virus in the lungs of the 27-year-old patient.
"We are still examining the virus but he died as we were planning to transport him to Sulianti Saroso Hospital in North Jakarta. We took all the necessary precautions when treating his body, on the assumption he died of bird flu," Chaerul said.
It is standard procedure for the bodies of bird flu victims to be wrapped in plastic and placed in a coffin for burial.
If the diagnosis of bird flu is confirmed, the patient would be the country's 28th human case of avian influenza. -- JP
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20060214.G06&irec=5
Nigeria May Have Bird Flu in Eight States
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=593827
Nigeria May Have Bird Flu in Eight States
Feb 13th - 5:45pm
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Banner Power Company
By DULUE MBACHU Associated Press Writer
KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) - A deadly strain of bird flu may have emerged in eight of Nigeria's 36 states, authorities said Monday, as concerns grew that the virus had been spreading long before officials knew it was in Africa.
ITALY BIRDY FLU
A view of a wild swan taking off in the Ugento lakes, near Lecce, in southern Italy's Puglia region, as the sorrounding area was sealed off and controlled for bird flu, Monday Feb. 13, 2006. Italy has confirmed that six wild swans _ found in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia and Calabria _ had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. The cases in Italy and others confirmed in northern Greece on Saturday marked the first time the highly infectious strain had been detected within the European Union. The United Nations on Monday praised Italy's response to the detection of bird flu in wild swans, saying it was a model for other governments to follow and that Italian consumers had no reason to fear eating poultry. (AP Photo/Ivan Tortorella)
The disease has also apparently spread further into Greece, where a wild goose tested positive on the Aegean Sea island of Skyros _ adding to the three known cases in the northern Greek mainland.
With this weekend's discovery of the H5N1 strain in Greece and Italy _ both European Union members _ countries throughout the continent are increasing preventative measures against the disease, which has killed at least 91 people since 2003, mostly in Asia.
Albania, which is close to both Greece and Italy, is buying protective clothing and stockpiles of antiviral drugs. In Bulgaria, where the disease has been confirmed in wild birds, authorities declared six-mile "risk zones" around the places where the dead birds were found and police were restricting traffic around some wetlands.
In the Netherlands, the agriculture minister has ordered commercial fowl to be kept indoors as a protective measure to prevent an outbreak, Dutch media reported Monday.
Nigeria, which reported Africa's first cases of the disease in birds, was screening workers from the farm where the H5N1 strain was first discovered. It was confirmed in three northern states and has already killed thousands of birds in the area.
On Monday, health officials said five additional stat
es were also suspected to have the disease.
Barry Schoub, executive director of South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said the virus probably has spread over a much more extensive area in Nigeria and that he expected to see large-scale destruction of birds there.
"The Nigeria case is very, very concerning because the spread in poultry appears to have been going on for quite some time and may well be more extensive," Schoub told reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He said destroying birds was the most effective way to stop the spread of the infection in developing countries.
Health officials fear H5N1 could evolve into a virus that can be transmitted easily between people and become a pandemic. Most human cases of the disease so far have been linked to contact with infected birds.
On Sunday, samples taken from a Nigerian family with two sick children suspected of contracting bird flu were sent abroad for testing, said Abdulsalam Nasidi.
Nasidi gave no details on the family's size and declined to say where the tests were sent. He said the children "are in fairly good condition ... but we are still observing them."
In the northern town of Jaji, near the farm where H5N1 was first confirmed, doctors examined 20 workers but lacked proper testing materials, which they said a World Health Organization team would bring by Tuesday.
But scores of workers failed to present themselves for tests. After years of repressive and corrupt military rule, many Nigerians shy away from any contact with officials.
Ibrahim Hassan, who worked at Sambawa Farms before it was quarantined last week, said his co-workers were worried about being taken away somewhere by the health officials if they tested positive for bird flu.
"Many people are afraid to come," he said.
Nigerian officials have tried to contain the disease by burning chickens and other birds suspected of being infected across the north, but poultry markets continue to operate and birds are being shipped around the country despite international recommendations to stop those practices.
___
Associated Press writers Michelle Faul in Johannesburg, South Africa, Daniel Balint-Kurti in Lagos, Nigeria, Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria, and Oloche Samuel in Kano, Nigeria, contributed to this report.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=593827
Nigeria May Have Bird Flu in Eight States
Feb 13th - 5:45pm
Click Here
Banner Power Company
By DULUE MBACHU Associated Press Writer
KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) - A deadly strain of bird flu may have emerged in eight of Nigeria's 36 states, authorities said Monday, as concerns grew that the virus had been spreading long before officials knew it was in Africa.
ITALY BIRDY FLU
A view of a wild swan taking off in the Ugento lakes, near Lecce, in southern Italy's Puglia region, as the sorrounding area was sealed off and controlled for bird flu, Monday Feb. 13, 2006. Italy has confirmed that six wild swans _ found in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia and Calabria _ had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. The cases in Italy and others confirmed in northern Greece on Saturday marked the first time the highly infectious strain had been detected within the European Union. The United Nations on Monday praised Italy's response to the detection of bird flu in wild swans, saying it was a model for other governments to follow and that Italian consumers had no reason to fear eating poultry. (AP Photo/Ivan Tortorella)
The disease has also apparently spread further into Greece, where a wild goose tested positive on the Aegean Sea island of Skyros _ adding to the three known cases in the northern Greek mainland.
With this weekend's discovery of the H5N1 strain in Greece and Italy _ both European Union members _ countries throughout the continent are increasing preventative measures against the disease, which has killed at least 91 people since 2003, mostly in Asia.
Albania, which is close to both Greece and Italy, is buying protective clothing and stockpiles of antiviral drugs. In Bulgaria, where the disease has been confirmed in wild birds, authorities declared six-mile "risk zones" around the places where the dead birds were found and police were restricting traffic around some wetlands.
In the Netherlands, the agriculture minister has ordered commercial fowl to be kept indoors as a protective measure to prevent an outbreak, Dutch media reported Monday.
Nigeria, which reported Africa's first cases of the disease in birds, was screening workers from the farm where the H5N1 strain was first discovered. It was confirmed in three northern states and has already killed thousands of birds in the area.
On Monday, health officials said five additional stat
es were also suspected to have the disease.
Barry Schoub, executive director of South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said the virus probably has spread over a much more extensive area in Nigeria and that he expected to see large-scale destruction of birds there.
"The Nigeria case is very, very concerning because the spread in poultry appears to have been going on for quite some time and may well be more extensive," Schoub told reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He said destroying birds was the most effective way to stop the spread of the infection in developing countries.
Health officials fear H5N1 could evolve into a virus that can be transmitted easily between people and become a pandemic. Most human cases of the disease so far have been linked to contact with infected birds.
On Sunday, samples taken from a Nigerian family with two sick children suspected of contracting bird flu were sent abroad for testing, said Abdulsalam Nasidi.
Nasidi gave no details on the family's size and declined to say where the tests were sent. He said the children "are in fairly good condition ... but we are still observing them."
In the northern town of Jaji, near the farm where H5N1 was first confirmed, doctors examined 20 workers but lacked proper testing materials, which they said a World Health Organization team would bring by Tuesday.
But scores of workers failed to present themselves for tests. After years of repressive and corrupt military rule, many Nigerians shy away from any contact with officials.
Ibrahim Hassan, who worked at Sambawa Farms before it was quarantined last week, said his co-workers were worried about being taken away somewhere by the health officials if they tested positive for bird flu.
"Many people are afraid to come," he said.
Nigerian officials have tried to contain the disease by burning chickens and other birds suspected of being infected across the north, but poultry markets continue to operate and birds are being shipped around the country despite international recommendations to stop those practices.
___
Associated Press writers Michelle Faul in Johannesburg, South Africa, Daniel Balint-Kurti in Lagos, Nigeria, Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria, and Oloche Samuel in Kano, Nigeria, contributed to this report.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Suspected human bird flu case in Greece, virus spreads in Nigeria</font>
02-13-2006, 13h53
<A href="http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=108032">PARIS (AFP)</a></center>
Migratory birds rest in Kalohori village in front of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. A Greek duck hunter was in the hospital waiting to hear if he will become the first European stricken with lethal bird flu that has killed scores of people in Asia as Nigeria admitted it was struggling to cope with Africa's first known outbreak.
(AFP)
More European nations are taking precautionary measures as bird flu spreads, with a Greek duck hunter undergoing tests to confirm whether he is the first person on the continent to contract the potentially lethal virus.</b>
Avian flu, which was first identified in Southeast Asia, has also spread to Africa with Nigeria admitting Monday that it was struggling to cope with the first known African outbreak.
The 160-plus known human cases worldwide have been contracted by people handling infected poultry but health experts fear the virus is close to mutating into a human-to-human form capable of killing millions.
After the often-lethal H5N1 strain turned up in wild birds in four southern European countries in recent days, the European Union attempted to reassure people the threat was under control even as the disease continued to spread.
Leading poultry farms in France, Europe's biggest poultry producer, said on Monday they were preparing to lay off staff as "irrational" fears about bird flu took their toll on consumption.
Demand this year has fallen by 12 percent compared to the same period in 2005, Poultry Industry Federation president Alain Melot told AFP.
Although no cases of bird flu have been detected in France and eating chicken poses no risk of infection, free-range producers have been even harder hit, with consumption down 30 percent.
Nearly all the 90 deaths linked since 1997 to H5N1, the most virulent of more than a dozen bird-flu strains, have been in China and Southeast Asia.
However last month four people succumbed to the disease in eastern Turkey and two in northern Iraq.
Nigerian health officials said suspected cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu were cropping up across the country but defended their failure to close poultry markets.
Traders were free to transport and sell chicken across most of the country, three days after United Nations veterinary experts urged the government to clamp down in order to halt the spread of the highly infectious virus.
Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo and his officials told reporters scientists were analysing samples taken from sick poultry in five more states after last week confirming the presence of the disease in three.
An official monitoring the epidemic, Nasidi Abdussalam, said more cases were being investigated near Nigeria's northern frontier with Niger.
If confirmed they will show that the first outbreak of the H5N1 virus in Africa has spread through most of the north of the country and entered the Niger River basin.
Elsewhere in west Africa, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade called for a "huge mobilisation" against bird flu, notably with increased border controls.
In Europe, with cold winter weather blamed for pushing migratory birds further south than usual, Italy announced that a sixth wild swan tested positive for H5N1, according to press reports Monday.
Tests have also confirmed H5N1 in wild migrating swans in Bulgaria and Greece, as well as the more general H5 virus in Slovenia.
However, initial tests on a dead swan found in northern Belgium came back negative and two of three dead swans from Bosnia were given the all clear.
In Greece, laboratory results were due Tuesday on samples taken from a 29-year-old duck hunter who was admitted to a Salonica hospital with flu-like symptoms after handling wild ducks.
In Bulgaria, where veterinarians said they had detected a fourth case of H5 bird flu in a wild swan in wetlands in the country's east, authorities were resigned to the disease spreading to poultry.
Croatia and Bosnia moved to ban poultry imports from affected countries even as the European Commission announced speeded-up measures to try to contain bird flu and backed member nations' rights to take unilateral action.
The commission has proposed automatic agreement of protection zones sealing off zones around any cases of H5 bird flu.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Cees Veerman announced that poultry would be confined and isolated last week as a preventative measure.
"The important thing is that member states take the measures foreseen without hesitation (so that) citizens can be reassured," said a spokesman for EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou.
<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Suspected human bird flu case in Greece, virus spreads in Nigeria</font>
02-13-2006, 13h53
<A href="http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=108032">PARIS (AFP)</a></center>
Migratory birds rest in Kalohori village in front of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. A Greek duck hunter was in the hospital waiting to hear if he will become the first European stricken with lethal bird flu that has killed scores of people in Asia as Nigeria admitted it was struggling to cope with Africa's first known outbreak.
(AFP)
More European nations are taking precautionary measures as bird flu spreads, with a Greek duck hunter undergoing tests to confirm whether he is the first person on the continent to contract the potentially lethal virus.</b>
Avian flu, which was first identified in Southeast Asia, has also spread to Africa with Nigeria admitting Monday that it was struggling to cope with the first known African outbreak.
The 160-plus known human cases worldwide have been contracted by people handling infected poultry but health experts fear the virus is close to mutating into a human-to-human form capable of killing millions.
After the often-lethal H5N1 strain turned up in wild birds in four southern European countries in recent days, the European Union attempted to reassure people the threat was under control even as the disease continued to spread.
Leading poultry farms in France, Europe's biggest poultry producer, said on Monday they were preparing to lay off staff as "irrational" fears about bird flu took their toll on consumption.
Demand this year has fallen by 12 percent compared to the same period in 2005, Poultry Industry Federation president Alain Melot told AFP.
Although no cases of bird flu have been detected in France and eating chicken poses no risk of infection, free-range producers have been even harder hit, with consumption down 30 percent.
Nearly all the 90 deaths linked since 1997 to H5N1, the most virulent of more than a dozen bird-flu strains, have been in China and Southeast Asia.
However last month four people succumbed to the disease in eastern Turkey and two in northern Iraq.
Nigerian health officials said suspected cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu were cropping up across the country but defended their failure to close poultry markets.
Traders were free to transport and sell chicken across most of the country, three days after United Nations veterinary experts urged the government to clamp down in order to halt the spread of the highly infectious virus.
Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo and his officials told reporters scientists were analysing samples taken from sick poultry in five more states after last week confirming the presence of the disease in three.
An official monitoring the epidemic, Nasidi Abdussalam, said more cases were being investigated near Nigeria's northern frontier with Niger.
If confirmed they will show that the first outbreak of the H5N1 virus in Africa has spread through most of the north of the country and entered the Niger River basin.
Elsewhere in west Africa, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade called for a "huge mobilisation" against bird flu, notably with increased border controls.
In Europe, with cold winter weather blamed for pushing migratory birds further south than usual, Italy announced that a sixth wild swan tested positive for H5N1, according to press reports Monday.
Tests have also confirmed H5N1 in wild migrating swans in Bulgaria and Greece, as well as the more general H5 virus in Slovenia.
However, initial tests on a dead swan found in northern Belgium came back negative and two of three dead swans from Bosnia were given the all clear.
In Greece, laboratory results were due Tuesday on samples taken from a 29-year-old duck hunter who was admitted to a Salonica hospital with flu-like symptoms after handling wild ducks.
In Bulgaria, where veterinarians said they had detected a fourth case of H5 bird flu in a wild swan in wetlands in the country's east, authorities were resigned to the disease spreading to poultry.
Croatia and Bosnia moved to ban poultry imports from affected countries even as the European Commission announced speeded-up measures to try to contain bird flu and backed member nations' rights to take unilateral action.
The commission has proposed automatic agreement of protection zones sealing off zones around any cases of H5 bird flu.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Cees Veerman announced that poultry would be confined and isolated last week as a preventative measure.
"The important thing is that member states take the measures foreseen without hesitation (so that) citizens can be reassured," said a spokesman for EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Azerbaijan Develops Action Plan on Fight against Bird Flu </font>
14/02/2006 01:06
<A href="http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16282">www.bakutoday.net</a></center>
The State Veterinary Service under the Azerbaijan Ministry of Agriculture is preparing an action plan on the fight against the bird flu virus in the country.
The draft plan is being developed jointly with the international experts, the Veterinary Service told Trend. The plan envisions various preventive measures, particularly, conditions for the quarantine introducing, its territory, a number of other organizational issues. </b>
"The project will be ready in the shortest possible time and submitted to the country’s government for consideration," the Veterinary service reported.
The state structure noted specialists from the UNO World Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) are also taking part in the process of the preparatory works.
<B><font size=+1 color=brown><center>Azerbaijan Develops Action Plan on Fight against Bird Flu </font>
14/02/2006 01:06
<A href="http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16282">www.bakutoday.net</a></center>
The State Veterinary Service under the Azerbaijan Ministry of Agriculture is preparing an action plan on the fight against the bird flu virus in the country.
The draft plan is being developed jointly with the international experts, the Veterinary Service told Trend. The plan envisions various preventive measures, particularly, conditions for the quarantine introducing, its territory, a number of other organizational issues. </b>
"The project will be ready in the shortest possible time and submitted to the country’s government for consideration," the Veterinary service reported.
The state structure noted specialists from the UNO World Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) are also taking part in the process of the preparatory works.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>26 human cases of bird flu confirmed in Indonesia </font>
02/14/2006 -- 11:25(GMT+7)
<A href="http://www.vnanet.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=33&NEWS_ID=186146">www.vnanet.vn</a></center>
Jakarta (VNA) - The World Health Organisation has confirmed Indonesia's 26th human case of bird flu in Central Java province, Hariadi Wibisono, the Health Ministry's director of control of animal-borne diseases, said on Feb. 13.
He said that a WHO-affiliated laboratory in Hong Kong had confirmed a November case in which the patient survived.</b>
The same day, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said that it had found new cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild swans and ducks in regions of Krasnodar and Dagestan.
Meanwhile, Romanian authorities confirmed the H5 strain of bird flu was found in Topraisar in the southeast region of the country, making it the 29th village in Romania to be hit by the virus.
Also on Feb. 11, the Greek Agriculture Ministry announced that a wild goose found on the Aegean island of Skyros had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus, the fourth migratory bird found to be infected in the country.
Earlier, on Feb. 11 Greek authorities said three swans found around the northern gulf of Thermaikos had also tested positive for the H5N1, the first time the virus had appeared in wild birds in the European Union.-Enditem
<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>26 human cases of bird flu confirmed in Indonesia </font>
02/14/2006 -- 11:25(GMT+7)
<A href="http://www.vnanet.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=33&NEWS_ID=186146">www.vnanet.vn</a></center>
Jakarta (VNA) - The World Health Organisation has confirmed Indonesia's 26th human case of bird flu in Central Java province, Hariadi Wibisono, the Health Ministry's director of control of animal-borne diseases, said on Feb. 13.
He said that a WHO-affiliated laboratory in Hong Kong had confirmed a November case in which the patient survived.</b>
The same day, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said that it had found new cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild swans and ducks in regions of Krasnodar and Dagestan.
Meanwhile, Romanian authorities confirmed the H5 strain of bird flu was found in Topraisar in the southeast region of the country, making it the 29th village in Romania to be hit by the virus.
Also on Feb. 11, the Greek Agriculture Ministry announced that a wild goose found on the Aegean island of Skyros had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus, the fourth migratory bird found to be infected in the country.
Earlier, on Feb. 11 Greek authorities said three swans found around the northern gulf of Thermaikos had also tested positive for the H5N1, the first time the virus had appeared in wild birds in the European Union.-Enditem
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>Pig cull considered amid bird flu threat </font>
Matt Weaver
Monday February 13, 2006
<font size=+1 color=red>Pigs may act as a "mixing vessel", allowing bird flu to mutate and infect humans.</font>
<A href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/birdflu/story/0,,1708986,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk</a></center>
Pigs in the UK may have to be culled if there is an outbreak of avian flu in an attempt to stop the disease spreading to humans, the government revealed today.
A new government plan, setting out powers to control the disease, said pigs could play a role in allowing avian flu virus to mutate and infect humans.</b>
It said there is a small risk that pigs act as "mixing vessels" when they are infected with both avian and human flus, which create a deadly strain of the disease that easily spreads between humans.
Under a European directive on dealing with the disease, the movement of pigs is to be restricted on farms where an avian flu outbreak has been detected.
A paper published by the Department of the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs, which sets out the regulations, said pigs as well as chickens may have to slaughtered on such farms.
The paper, which focuses on the possible costs of the regulations, said: "Movement restrictions and possible slaughter of the pigs could impose additional costs on a farm in the event that it suffered an outbreak (or suspected outbreak) of avian influenza."
It added there are more than 4,000 farms in the UK with both pigs and chickens.
The UK's plans go further than EU directive by giving the UK the power to close footpaths in a 3km exclusion zone around detected outbreaks. Such protection zones may be extended if the risk is justified, the paper said.
The government would also have the power to ban bird gatherings such as pigeon races and falconry events. The new power comes after a temporary Europe-wide ban on such events was lifted in the UK in December, following lobbying from pigeon fanciers.
The paper said controlling the spread of the disease among birds using existing vaccines was ineffective, as well as slow and costly. But it said vaccines would be used to protect rare or endangered birds in zoos and in wildlife sanctuaries.
In any cull farmers will be paid compensation for the slaughter of healthy poultry. The payout for a culled broiler chicken is £1.23.
The UK's poultry industry is one of the largest in Europe, with over 180m chickens.
Over the weekend it was confirmed that a deadly strain of avian flu had reached Italy. People in Rome are being urged not to touch dead or sick birds after fowl infected with the deadly H5N1 strain were found.
<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>Pig cull considered amid bird flu threat </font>
Matt Weaver
Monday February 13, 2006
<font size=+1 color=red>Pigs may act as a "mixing vessel", allowing bird flu to mutate and infect humans.</font>
<A href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/birdflu/story/0,,1708986,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk</a></center>
Pigs in the UK may have to be culled if there is an outbreak of avian flu in an attempt to stop the disease spreading to humans, the government revealed today.
A new government plan, setting out powers to control the disease, said pigs could play a role in allowing avian flu virus to mutate and infect humans.</b>
It said there is a small risk that pigs act as "mixing vessels" when they are infected with both avian and human flus, which create a deadly strain of the disease that easily spreads between humans.
Under a European directive on dealing with the disease, the movement of pigs is to be restricted on farms where an avian flu outbreak has been detected.
A paper published by the Department of the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs, which sets out the regulations, said pigs as well as chickens may have to slaughtered on such farms.
The paper, which focuses on the possible costs of the regulations, said: "Movement restrictions and possible slaughter of the pigs could impose additional costs on a farm in the event that it suffered an outbreak (or suspected outbreak) of avian influenza."
It added there are more than 4,000 farms in the UK with both pigs and chickens.
The UK's plans go further than EU directive by giving the UK the power to close footpaths in a 3km exclusion zone around detected outbreaks. Such protection zones may be extended if the risk is justified, the paper said.
The government would also have the power to ban bird gatherings such as pigeon races and falconry events. The new power comes after a temporary Europe-wide ban on such events was lifted in the UK in December, following lobbying from pigeon fanciers.
The paper said controlling the spread of the disease among birds using existing vaccines was ineffective, as well as slow and costly. But it said vaccines would be used to protect rare or endangered birds in zoos and in wildlife sanctuaries.
In any cull farmers will be paid compensation for the slaughter of healthy poultry. The payout for a culled broiler chicken is £1.23.
The UK's poultry industry is one of the largest in Europe, with over 180m chickens.
Over the weekend it was confirmed that a deadly strain of avian flu had reached Italy. People in Rome are being urged not to touch dead or sick birds after fowl infected with the deadly H5N1 strain were found.
The Flying Dutchman
Deceased
=
<B><center>Sunday, 12 February 2006 7:58 am EST
Category: iFlu.org comment
<A href="http://www.iflu.org/?p=18426">www.iflu.org</a>
<font size=+1 color=purple>Bird flu inside?</font></center>
News this week that the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus has been discovered in Greece and Italy has demonstrated that existing policies to curb the virus have failed. The EU's poultry and egg industry must now fear that consumer confidence in their products will fall sharply, as they have in other European countries where bird flu is suspected or confirmed. Calls for the mass vaccination of poultry in the EU, rejected so far, are likely to be revisited in the weeks ahead.</b>
The notion that billions of birds can be vaccinated against H5N1 may be superficially appealing, but there are great risks in such a policy.
The notion that billions of birds can be vaccinated against H5N1 may be superficially appealing, but there are great risks in such a policy. Late last year, China announced that it was to vaccinate its entire poultry population and, although they have failed to reach 100% of their flocks, they have demonstrated that it is possible to vaccinate billions of birds in a matter of weeks. Recently however, China has reported human H5N1 infections in areas where there are no signs of the virus in poultry. Information out of China remains centrally controlled so it is unclear whether this is due to their poultry vaccination program, but that is one possibility. Vaccinated birds, despite being able to harbor and spread the virus may not show any symptoms of the disease, the people handling the birds or poultry products however can not be vaccinated, and may fall sick and die without any warning that they were at risk.
The European Commission, if it were to follow China's lead, would therefore be doing so for the benefit of the egg and poultry industry. European consumers however won't be easily convinced that vaccinated poultry is any safer to eat than unvaccinated poultry and demand for organic products, already at an all time high, is likely to explode. The European lawmakers have already anticipated this, and have legislated to make it illegal to declare unvaccinated poultry "bid flu free".
<i>Amendment 95, Article 58 a (new)
Prohibition on advertisement and labelling of meat, in terms of the AI vaccination characteristics of the animals from which the meat originates
Supermarkets and other firms shall be prohibited from advertising and/or labelling meat on the basis of the AI vaccination characteristics of the animals from which the meat originates.</i>
Justification
Supermarkets and other firms should be prohibited to do so, as this will undermine the Community policy towards more use of vaccination in case of outbreaks of contagious animal diseases, and thus limiting the culling of animals. When vaccination is applied, preparedness of the retail to buy the meat concerned is of crucial importance. When other firms are allowed to advertise their products for "bird flue free", "birth flue vaccines free" or other characterisations with the same inclination, this will discourage firms to buy the meat concerned. Moreover, the vaccination characteristics of the animals where the meat originates from, does not have any impact on the healthiness of the product. Labelling and/or advertising this information would give the wrong impression to consumers.
In effect, this would mean that the EU consumer would not have the choice as to whether they pay more for unvaccinated products; they simply won't know what meat is, and what isn't from vaccinated birds. A sticker on a pack of supermarket chicken or turkey stating that the meat does not come from a vaccinated bird would be misleading argues the EU, as the health of the bird - whether H5N1 is inside or not - is not determined by whether it is vaccinated or not.
European consumers though are not easily fooled, and if the EU were to permit the mass vaccination of poultry, whether organized or not, a boycott of poultry products is still likely to follow. The opposite of the banned "bird flu free" labeling is "bird flu inside?" and there can be little doubt that that is how the consumer will be thinking when they shop.
There are no easy answers to bird flu, but the EU must resist the urge to sell consumers short. Vaccination is not the answer. The consumers will tell you that, whether you like it or not.
<B><center>Sunday, 12 February 2006 7:58 am EST
Category: iFlu.org comment
<A href="http://www.iflu.org/?p=18426">www.iflu.org</a>
<font size=+1 color=purple>Bird flu inside?</font></center>
News this week that the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus has been discovered in Greece and Italy has demonstrated that existing policies to curb the virus have failed. The EU's poultry and egg industry must now fear that consumer confidence in their products will fall sharply, as they have in other European countries where bird flu is suspected or confirmed. Calls for the mass vaccination of poultry in the EU, rejected so far, are likely to be revisited in the weeks ahead.</b>
The notion that billions of birds can be vaccinated against H5N1 may be superficially appealing, but there are great risks in such a policy.
The notion that billions of birds can be vaccinated against H5N1 may be superficially appealing, but there are great risks in such a policy. Late last year, China announced that it was to vaccinate its entire poultry population and, although they have failed to reach 100% of their flocks, they have demonstrated that it is possible to vaccinate billions of birds in a matter of weeks. Recently however, China has reported human H5N1 infections in areas where there are no signs of the virus in poultry. Information out of China remains centrally controlled so it is unclear whether this is due to their poultry vaccination program, but that is one possibility. Vaccinated birds, despite being able to harbor and spread the virus may not show any symptoms of the disease, the people handling the birds or poultry products however can not be vaccinated, and may fall sick and die without any warning that they were at risk.
The European Commission, if it were to follow China's lead, would therefore be doing so for the benefit of the egg and poultry industry. European consumers however won't be easily convinced that vaccinated poultry is any safer to eat than unvaccinated poultry and demand for organic products, already at an all time high, is likely to explode. The European lawmakers have already anticipated this, and have legislated to make it illegal to declare unvaccinated poultry "bid flu free".
<i>Amendment 95, Article 58 a (new)
Prohibition on advertisement and labelling of meat, in terms of the AI vaccination characteristics of the animals from which the meat originates
Supermarkets and other firms shall be prohibited from advertising and/or labelling meat on the basis of the AI vaccination characteristics of the animals from which the meat originates.</i>
Justification
Supermarkets and other firms should be prohibited to do so, as this will undermine the Community policy towards more use of vaccination in case of outbreaks of contagious animal diseases, and thus limiting the culling of animals. When vaccination is applied, preparedness of the retail to buy the meat concerned is of crucial importance. When other firms are allowed to advertise their products for "bird flue free", "birth flue vaccines free" or other characterisations with the same inclination, this will discourage firms to buy the meat concerned. Moreover, the vaccination characteristics of the animals where the meat originates from, does not have any impact on the healthiness of the product. Labelling and/or advertising this information would give the wrong impression to consumers.
In effect, this would mean that the EU consumer would not have the choice as to whether they pay more for unvaccinated products; they simply won't know what meat is, and what isn't from vaccinated birds. A sticker on a pack of supermarket chicken or turkey stating that the meat does not come from a vaccinated bird would be misleading argues the EU, as the health of the bird - whether H5N1 is inside or not - is not determined by whether it is vaccinated or not.
European consumers though are not easily fooled, and if the EU were to permit the mass vaccination of poultry, whether organized or not, a boycott of poultry products is still likely to follow. The opposite of the banned "bird flu free" labeling is "bird flu inside?" and there can be little doubt that that is how the consumer will be thinking when they shop.
There are no easy answers to bird flu, but the EU must resist the urge to sell consumers short. Vaccination is not the answer. The consumers will tell you that, whether you like it or not.
okie medicvet
Inactive
the chickens outnumber us. We use chickens to eat...their eggs, and the chickens themselves.
putting many to death does nothing but slow down the inevitable and adversely impact the economies of those doing it..and to what avail?
this will happen.
putting many to death does nothing but slow down the inevitable and adversely impact the economies of those doing it..and to what avail?
this will happen.
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Bird flu kills Indonesian man
A 23-year-old Indonesian man has died of the deadly H5N1 bird flu, according to local test results.
If World Health Organization-approved laboratories confirm the tests, this would bring the total number of Indonesian bird flu deaths to 19.
The man, who was reported to have worked at a wet market in Jakarta, had been in regular contact with chickens.
The WHO says at least 91 people in seven countries have died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu since 2003.
Almost all the deaths have been linked to contact with infected poultry.
Experts fear the virus could combine or mutate into a form that passes easily between humans, possibly sparking a pandemic, but there is no evidence that this has happened yet.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4712074.stm
Published: 2006/02/14 11:10:44 GMT
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Today's Key Article!
February 14, 2006
Are you one of those people who follows only the stuff at the beginning of a newscast or in the front pages of the newspaper?
There are a lot of clues about what's developing on the back pages too. The headline on Page 27 of yesterday's Sun is an example: "Nigeria ignores flu advice."
Don't forget, the first story in the Sun about Hurricane Katrina was a tiny one on Page 12. This story yesterday was about how people on the other side of the world decided to keep open their poultry markets -- despite warnings the latest strain of bird flu could mutate into a virus that could affect humans.
Even though they are waiting to learn if some ill children were hit with the H5N1 strain of the flu, Nigerian agriculture ministry spokesman Tope Ajakaiye said, "We don't want to cause a situation where there will be much panic or alarm."
Time will tell if this was a good decision, to prevent panic. One wonders if it's akin to the glass shaking on a table in the Jurassic Park -- as in, you have yet to see the vicious Tyrannosaurus rex who will try to kill you but you know he is coming. It's not a matter of if, but when. Screenwriters love to foreshadow. Problem is, this is real life.
SCARY STUFF
One thing for sure, a pandemic is not Page 27 news. Are you prepared for one? Walk around town this week and you won't find too many people without the sniffles. It seems everybody has that nasty bug. At least there are antibiotics. But what happens if one day it's some strain of the avian flu and there is no vaccine? Scary stuff.
Are you thinking about this? There are some who are. Dr. Howard Lim, a popular west-end dentist for the past quarter century, takes all airborne germ issues seriously.
"What's good for the patients is good for me," he said of why he installed a new state-of-the-art purifying machine in his Dundas and Bathurst office. "If somebody offers me surgically clean air, I pay attention."
A lot of medical offices, and regular offices, too, are starting to think this way, says Patrick Hill, director of International Clean Air Services in Burlington.
His is one of several Canadian companies working with Chinese manufacturers to build a portable air-cleansing product with a high-density carbon filter that can trap all sorts of microscopic germs, odours, fumes and dust particles from the air -- and protect against viral and bacterial worries.
"We think we have the best product in the world right now," Hill said. "We can't keep them in stock because people are paying attention to what's going on."
Lim is pleased he was one of the first to buy in. "The machine after one month was full of moulds picked up in the air," he said. "I'd rather they be in the machine than in my patients' lungs."
Will there be a day when these machines are in every school, home, office and on every airplane? Meanwhile, one wonders how many Canadians will actually prepare themselves an emergency survival kit.
Allison Stuart, director of the Emergency Management Unit of the ministry of health, thinks you should. "We know, based on history, going back centuries, things can happen. We owe it to ourselves to be ready. We have got to be ready."
The province of Ontario is ready -- at least as ready as you can be. In the past our government has done a great job of responding to things like the ice storm, massive floods, the Walkerton nightmare, the giant power outage and, of course, the SARS situation.
"It's about making plans," said Michael Morton, assistant chief of training and education for Emergency Management Ontario. "In reality, an emergency could happen a minute from now, a year from now or never."
But when it comes to a pandemic, he says, it's only wise to be prepared.
"Ontario is the safest place in the world to live and yet we have seen we can be affected." He and his wife have an emergency kit in both their home and in their car.
Morton suggests you do the same. "I think it's so important for every member of the public to prepare a personal emergency kit," he said.
LIMITED MOBILITY
This would include water, food, money, medical supplies, batteries, a flashlight, a battery-less radio and other items.
Morton says if there ever is a pandemic people will be glad they did it because in such a situation it could be difficult to go outside, go to the bank or get supplies.
If you are fully stocked, a person could get their family in their homes and be able to sustain themselves until the situation is stabilized.
"Having a kit at the minimum will make life more pleasant," Morton said, adding it also puts less strain on the system, which would be taxed in such a reality.
So what's the moral of the story? Well, if you've read this, you're already a person who looks past the first couple of headlines.
Maybe you'll start making your plan for the day the pandemic story moves from Page 27 to Page 1.
http://www.torontosun.com/News/World/2006/02/14/1441704-sun.html
February 14, 2006
News of avian flu may be buried in the back of newspapers, but prepare for the possibility that it will become front-page news
By JOE WARMINGTONAre you one of those people who follows only the stuff at the beginning of a newscast or in the front pages of the newspaper?
There are a lot of clues about what's developing on the back pages too. The headline on Page 27 of yesterday's Sun is an example: "Nigeria ignores flu advice."
Don't forget, the first story in the Sun about Hurricane Katrina was a tiny one on Page 12. This story yesterday was about how people on the other side of the world decided to keep open their poultry markets -- despite warnings the latest strain of bird flu could mutate into a virus that could affect humans.
Even though they are waiting to learn if some ill children were hit with the H5N1 strain of the flu, Nigerian agriculture ministry spokesman Tope Ajakaiye said, "We don't want to cause a situation where there will be much panic or alarm."
Time will tell if this was a good decision, to prevent panic. One wonders if it's akin to the glass shaking on a table in the Jurassic Park -- as in, you have yet to see the vicious Tyrannosaurus rex who will try to kill you but you know he is coming. It's not a matter of if, but when. Screenwriters love to foreshadow. Problem is, this is real life.
SCARY STUFF
One thing for sure, a pandemic is not Page 27 news. Are you prepared for one? Walk around town this week and you won't find too many people without the sniffles. It seems everybody has that nasty bug. At least there are antibiotics. But what happens if one day it's some strain of the avian flu and there is no vaccine? Scary stuff.
Are you thinking about this? There are some who are. Dr. Howard Lim, a popular west-end dentist for the past quarter century, takes all airborne germ issues seriously.
"What's good for the patients is good for me," he said of why he installed a new state-of-the-art purifying machine in his Dundas and Bathurst office. "If somebody offers me surgically clean air, I pay attention."
A lot of medical offices, and regular offices, too, are starting to think this way, says Patrick Hill, director of International Clean Air Services in Burlington.
His is one of several Canadian companies working with Chinese manufacturers to build a portable air-cleansing product with a high-density carbon filter that can trap all sorts of microscopic germs, odours, fumes and dust particles from the air -- and protect against viral and bacterial worries.
"We think we have the best product in the world right now," Hill said. "We can't keep them in stock because people are paying attention to what's going on."
Lim is pleased he was one of the first to buy in. "The machine after one month was full of moulds picked up in the air," he said. "I'd rather they be in the machine than in my patients' lungs."
Will there be a day when these machines are in every school, home, office and on every airplane? Meanwhile, one wonders how many Canadians will actually prepare themselves an emergency survival kit.
Allison Stuart, director of the Emergency Management Unit of the ministry of health, thinks you should. "We know, based on history, going back centuries, things can happen. We owe it to ourselves to be ready. We have got to be ready."
The province of Ontario is ready -- at least as ready as you can be. In the past our government has done a great job of responding to things like the ice storm, massive floods, the Walkerton nightmare, the giant power outage and, of course, the SARS situation.
"It's about making plans," said Michael Morton, assistant chief of training and education for Emergency Management Ontario. "In reality, an emergency could happen a minute from now, a year from now or never."
But when it comes to a pandemic, he says, it's only wise to be prepared.
"Ontario is the safest place in the world to live and yet we have seen we can be affected." He and his wife have an emergency kit in both their home and in their car.
Morton suggests you do the same. "I think it's so important for every member of the public to prepare a personal emergency kit," he said.
LIMITED MOBILITY
This would include water, food, money, medical supplies, batteries, a flashlight, a battery-less radio and other items.
Morton says if there ever is a pandemic people will be glad they did it because in such a situation it could be difficult to go outside, go to the bank or get supplies.
If you are fully stocked, a person could get their family in their homes and be able to sustain themselves until the situation is stabilized.
"Having a kit at the minimum will make life more pleasant," Morton said, adding it also puts less strain on the system, which would be taxed in such a reality.
So what's the moral of the story? Well, if you've read this, you're already a person who looks past the first couple of headlines.
Maybe you'll start making your plan for the day the pandemic story moves from Page 27 to Page 1.
http://www.torontosun.com/News/World/2006/02/14/1441704-sun.html
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Iran
Posted 2/14/2006 8:22 AM Updated 2/14/2006 8:27 AM
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The deadly strain of bird flu has killed 135 swans on the Iranian part of the Caspian Sea coast, the government said Tuesday.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency said laboratory tests confirmed that the H5N1 strain of bird flu killed the swans at two locations in the Anzali marshlands.
The H5N1 strain has killed at least 91 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. The virus has been detected in Iran's neighbors Turkey and Iraq.
Almost all the human deaths have been linked to contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the H5N1 strain of the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, possibly starting a human flu pandemic.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-02-14-iran-bird-flu_x.htm
Posted 2/14/2006 8:22 AM Updated 2/14/2006 8:27 AM
Iran: 135 swans in Caspian Sea die of bird flu
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The deadly strain of bird flu has killed 135 swans on the Iranian part of the Caspian Sea coast, the government said Tuesday.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency said laboratory tests confirmed that the H5N1 strain of bird flu killed the swans at two locations in the Anzali marshlands.
The H5N1 strain has killed at least 91 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. The virus has been detected in Iran's neighbors Turkey and Iraq.
Almost all the human deaths have been linked to contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the H5N1 strain of the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, possibly starting a human flu pandemic.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-02-14-iran-bird-flu_x.htm
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Austria
www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-14 23:19:04
VIENNA, Feb. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Two swans found dead in southern Austria are suspected to have been infected with the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus after having been tested for the strain, Austria's Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
If confirmed, these would be Austria's first cases of H5N1.
"There is the strong suspicion that the two swans ... are infected with H5N1. That arose from first laboratory tests," the ministry said in a statement, adding that samples had been sent to the EU's reference lab in England for confirmation. Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/14/content_4180443.htm
Dead swans in Austria suspected to be infected with bird flu
www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-14 23:19:04
VIENNA, Feb. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Two swans found dead in southern Austria are suspected to have been infected with the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus after having been tested for the strain, Austria's Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
If confirmed, these would be Austria's first cases of H5N1.
"There is the strong suspicion that the two swans ... are infected with H5N1. That arose from first laboratory tests," the ministry said in a statement, adding that samples had been sent to the EU's reference lab in England for confirmation. Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/14/content_4180443.htm
H5N1 in Dogs and Cats
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02140601/H5N1_Dogs_Cats.html
Recombinomics Commentary
February 14, 2006
In an unpublished study carried out last year by the National Institute of Animal Health in Bangkok, researchers led by virologist Sudarat Damrongwatanapokin tested 629 village dogs and 111 cats in the Suphan Buri district of central Thailand. Out of these, 160 dogs and 8 cats had antibodies to H5N1, indicating that they were infected with the virus or had been infected in the past.
The above comments on H5N1 in dogs and cats are not a surprise. H5N1 has been isolated from fatal infections of leopards and tigers in Thai zoos. H5N1 has also been isolated from a domestic cat and has been experimentally transmitted in laboratory cats.
Similarly, although an earlier report of H5N1 detected in a dog in Thailand was denied, later media reports indicated the original report was accurate and the denial was part of a cover-up.
In Croatia dogs were being destroyed and media reports included pictures of dead dogs and cats. Other unconfirmed reports indicate dead hyenas litter the roadside in Nigeria.
H3N8 has been found in racing and companion dogs in the United States providing additional evidence for expanding hosts ranges for influenza.
The large number of wild birds infected with H5N1 may provide a mechanism for infection of a wide range of carnivores. The number of countries reporting dead swans has increased dramatically in the past several days, and reports of H5N1 in the East Atlantic Flyway suggests the global spread of H5N1 will continue.
The expanded geographical reach and host range of H5N1 is cause for concern. The spread of H5N1 allows for more dual infections, recombinations, and new sequences causing new problems. Moreover, these new sequences can increase the affinity for human receptors, such as S227N, and can be generated in avian hosts infected with H5N1 and H9N2 as predicted previously.
Recombinomics Inc. Predicts Important Genetic Change in the H5N1 (Avian Flu) Virus
http://www.recombinomics.com/PR/021406.html
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Recombinomics Inc. issued an avian influenza prediction and warning on October 22, 2005 of a likely genetic alteration in the H5N1 hemagglutinin gene that would lead to more efficient transmission of H5N1 to humans. This genetic change was linked to H5N1 from migrating birds flying into the Middle East and infecting birds indigenous to the region already carrying another avian influenza sero-type, H9N2.
Recombinomics clearly predicted that this dual infection would allow the
genetic material of the two viruses to recombine and create an important
genetic change. Specifically, the company's President, Dr. Henry Niman,
predicted that the serine at position 227 (also called 223) would change to asparagine. This change would increase the affinity of the hemagglutinin glycoprotein for human receptors, leading to an increased efficiency of transmission of H5N1 from birds to humans, and very possibly from humans to humans.
On January 5, 2006 the WHO announced that H5N1 had been confirmed in a human index case in Turkey. On January 19th, the scientific journal, Nature, summarized this development and described ongoing research at the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), in London, that identified the genetic alteration, S227N (also called S223N) -- confirming the change predicted in the aforementioned Recombinomics warning of October 22, 2005. Recombinomics stood alone in making this prediction.
"Recombinomics, Inc. utilized a proprietary understanding of the natural
process of recombination to identify potential Influenza donor sequences,
which could then recombine with H5N1 in wild birds to produce an altered hemagglutinin gene product that would increase the efficiency of H5N1 infections in humans" said Dr. Henry Niman. "Our patent pending technology, coupled with information on wild bird migration patterns, allowed us to identify the general timeframe, geographic location, and the specific genetic change that would occur in the H5N1 virus".
The genetic alteration predicted by Recombinomics was identified in the
index case of a large familial cluster involving at least three sets of human
cousins in Turkey. Included in this H5N1 familial cluster were seven
confirmed cases, four of which became fatal, and nine additional hospitalized cases. The size of the clusters demonstrated how small, but "predictable," genetic changes can dramatically increase the transmission efficiency of H5N1 from birds to humans, and humans to humans. This increased efficiency is the last remaining step in the progression of H5N1 toward a catastrophic pandemic.
H5N1, like most rapidly evolving viruses, uses homologous recombination to create novel genes that enhance the ability of the virus to evolve and remain competitively viable. Recombinomics' proprietary approach predicts these changes and identifies novel gene targets for new vaccines, which in turn allows manufacturers to develop vaccine in advance of the emergence of new genetically altered, and potentially pandemic viral strains.
About Recombinomics, Inc. -- The Company was founded by Dr. Henry Niman, a former Scripps Institute Assistant Member, based on his pioneering work in the area of viral evolution. Dr. Niman's research identified recombination as the underlying mechanism driving rapid genetic change, allowing him to file a series of patents based on a deep understanding of this paradigm shifting process. Recombinomics is in the process of commercializing its patent-pending approach to significantly improve the standard vaccine development process.
Recombinomics, through its analysis and commentary section of its website (http://www.recombinomics.com), has been consistently ahead of both the scientific community and government agencies in anticipating the genetic evolution and geographic expansion of H5N1.
Contact Information: Dr. Henry Niman
President
Recombinomics, Inc.
648 Field Club Road,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15238
Tel. 866.973.2662
henry_niman@recombinomics.com
SOURCE Recombinomics Inc.
Web Site: http://www.recombinomics.com
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Austria
14 February 2006 | 18:45 | FOCUS News Agency
Vienna. Austria confirmed the first cases of bird flu on Tuesday after two swans found dead in the south of Austria tested positive for the lethal H5N1 strain, Reuters reported.
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=135&newsid=82662&ch=0&datte=2006-02-14
Austria Confirms Firsts Cases of Bird Flu
14 February 2006 | 18:45 | FOCUS News Agency
Vienna. Austria confirmed the first cases of bird flu on Tuesday after two swans found dead in the south of Austria tested positive for the lethal H5N1 strain, Reuters reported.
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=135&newsid=82662&ch=0&datte=2006-02-14
PCViking
Lutefisk Survivor
Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) - Two dead swans in Germany have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ministry said on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the ministry told Reuters two of four dead swans found on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen had registered positive in an initial test for the virus -- the first such positive result in Germany.
The spokeswoman added that Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Horst Seehofer was due to make a statement in Berlin on the matter at 2045 GMT.
"Our emergency committee is meeting right now," the spokeswoman said, adding that samples were on the way to the reference laboratory in Great Britain for further testing.
Earlier on Tuesday, neighbouring Austria as well as Iran said it had detected the virus in dead birds. The deadly strain of bird flu has so far killed 91 people worldwide.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=278604+14-Feb-2006+RTRS&srch=H5N1
H5N1 bird flu found in dead swans in Germany
Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:26 PM ETBERLIN (Reuters) - Two dead swans in Germany have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ministry said on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the ministry told Reuters two of four dead swans found on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen had registered positive in an initial test for the virus -- the first such positive result in Germany.
The spokeswoman added that Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Horst Seehofer was due to make a statement in Berlin on the matter at 2045 GMT.
"Our emergency committee is meeting right now," the spokeswoman said, adding that samples were on the way to the reference laboratory in Great Britain for further testing.
Earlier on Tuesday, neighbouring Austria as well as Iran said it had detected the virus in dead birds. The deadly strain of bird flu has so far killed 91 people worldwide.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=278604+14-Feb-2006+RTRS&srch=H5N1
Two People with Bird Flu Symptoms in Bulgaria's Varna - Report
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=59164
Politics: 14 February 2006, Tuesday.
Two people in Bulgaria's Black Sea city Varna have been put to medical tests over fears of bird flu infection, local Darik radio reported.
One of the men is a veterinary inspector from Shabla, who was in direct contact with one of the swans found dead in the Durankulak lake. The swan was infected with the deadly H5N1 virus.
The second person was reported to be a veterinary inspector from Varna, who was also in direct contact with a H5N1-infected swan that was found near Dalgopol, Varna.
The initial results from the tests are negative.
On Saturday, the EU confirmed that a dead swan found at Bulgaria's Danube riverside carried H5N1. The highly pathogenic strain of bird flu can be dangerous to humans as well as birds.
Its spreading westwards - from the original location in Southeast Asia to Europe and Africa - has raised concerns that the virus could mutate to a form of human-to-human contamination.
Bulgarian veterinarians' biggest concern now is that domestic poultry may come into contact with migratory birds, which are expected to leave the country no earlier than April.