02/22 | H5N1: Deadly bird flu strain is found in 14 additional countries

Link to yesterday's thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=187156

Deadly bird flu strain is found in 14 additional countries​

February 21, 2006

GENEVA They're finding bird flu in a lot more countries -- and that means that there are many more opportunities for it to mutate into a global outbreak.

In the past few weeks, 14 countries have reported their first cases of birds infected with the deadly strain of bird flu, known as H-Five-N-One. Those countries include India, Nigeria, Egypt and France.

And a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization says it's something that hasn't been seen before -- so many outbreaks of the same virus in different regions.

Maria Cheng tells The Associated Press that humans could potentially come into contact with infected birds. And that, she says, "would mean populations worldwide are potentially at risk."

It's still hard for humans to catch the disease. Most of the 170 human cases that have been confirmed since 2003 have been in east Asia.

http://www.abc25.com/Global/story.asp?S=4533542&nav=menu213_2

Bird flu prompts further measures in India, Malaysia​

(CBC) - Indian health authorities have quarantined eight people in hospital in an effort to contain the country's first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Six people, including three young children, with flu-like symptoms were hospitalized on Monday, joining a woman and a child who were placed in an isolation ward the previous day.

Tens of thousands of chickens have been slaughtered in western Maharashtra state, where the bird flu outbreak was detected among birds last week. More birds will be culled in neighbouring Gujarat state.

The Indian government has said poultry farmers will be compensated for their loss. However, many farmers are furious at the prospect of losing their livelihoods.

Khalil Bardolia, the owner of a poultry farm in the small town of Navapur in Maharashtra, watched men in protective suits go about the business of killing 27,000 of his chickens.

"There's no disease in this area," he said. "What they are doing is unacceptable. I'm thinking of committing suicide."

Meanwhile Malaysia says it will slaughter all poultry in and around four villages following confirmation of the country's first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in over a year.

Malaysia confirmed the new outbreak late on Monday after the deaths of 40 chickens north of Kuala Lumpur. About 110 birds were culled immediately and now birds within a one-kilometre-radius radius will be killed.

Malaysia's last H5N1 outbreak came in late 2004 in a village in northern Kelantan state. It declared itself free of bird flu in January 2005.

More than 90 people have died from bird flu in China, Southeast Asia, Iraq and eastern Turkey since 2003.

So far, there have been no human deaths in Malaysia due to the virus.

At least 11 nations worldwide have reported outbreaks of bird flu over the past three weeks.

In Germany, soldiers in biohazard suits have been deployed to prevent the spread of bird flu after H5N1 reached the mainland.

About 30,000 Italian workers have been laid off in the poultry industry as demand for chicken meat plunged by 70 per cent in recent days.

Officials in Egypt say bird flu had spread to new parts of the country.

http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=cbc/world_home&articleID=2177566

Avian influenza –spread of the virus to new countries​

21 February 2006

Rapid geographical spread of the virus

The occurrence of the disease in India, reported on 18 February, is part of a recent pattern of rapid geographical spread of the virus in wild and domestic birds. India is one of 13 countries that have reported their first cases of H5N1 infection in birds since the beginning of February. (The 13 countries, listed in order of reporting, are Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India and France.)

On 20 February, Malaysia reported a fresh outbreak in poultry after having been considered free of the disease for more than a year.

The situation in these recently affected countries varies greatly. Most European countries with good veterinary surveillance have detected the virus in a small number of wild birds only, with no evidence to date of spread to domestic birds.

In Azerbaijan, detection of the virus has coincided with die-offs of domestic birds.

In Egypt, outbreaks in domestic poultry have now been confirmed in 10 governorates; deaths have also been reported in exotic zoo birds. In Iraq, presence of the virus in birds was found only after the country confirmed its first human case.

In Nigeria, as in India, the first cases were detected in large commercial farms, where the disease is highly visible and outbreaks are difficult to miss.

Apart from Iraq, none of the countries newly affected during February has reported human cases. Iraq has reported two human cases, both of which were fatal; samples from several other patients are currently undergoing tests.

For human health, experience elsewhere over the past two years has shown that the greatest risk of cases arises when the virus becomes established in small backyard flocks, which allow continuing opportunities for close human contact, exposures, and infections to occur.

All available evidence indicates that the virus does not spread easily from poultry to humans. To date, very few cases have been detected in poultry workers, cullers, or veterinarians. Almost all cases have been linked to close contact to diseased household flocks, often during slaughtering, defeathering, butchering, and preparation of poultry for consumption.

No cases have been linked to the consumption of properly cooked poultry meat or eggs, even in households where disease was known to be present in flocks.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_02_21b/en/index.html

Avian influenza: significance of mutations in the H5N1 virus​

20 February 2006

Several recent media reports have included speculations about the significance of mutations in H5N1 avian influenza viruses. Some reports have suggested that the likelihood of another pandemic may have increased as a result of changes in the virus.

Since 1997, when the first human infections with the H5N1 avian influenza virus were documented, the virus has undergone a number of changes.

These changes have affected patterns of virus transmission and spread among domestic and wild birds. They have not, however, had any discernible impact on the disease in humans, including its modes of transmission. Human infections remain a rare event. The virus does not spread easily from birds to humans or readily from person to person.

Influenza viruses are inherently unstable. As these viruses lack a genetic proof-reading mechanism, small errors that occur when the virus copies itself go undetected and uncorrected. Specific mutations and evolution in influenza viruses cannot be predicted, making it difficult if not impossible to know if or when a virus such as H5N1 might acquire the properties needed to spread easily and sustainably among humans. This difficulty is increased by the present lack of understanding concerning which specific mutations would lead to increased transmissibility of the virus among humans.

Animal viruses

Virtually all the known subtypes of influenza A viruses circulate in some wild birds, most notably wild waterfowl. In these birds, different viruses constantly mingle with each other and frequently exchange genetic material, resulting in a huge pool of constantly changing viruses. Mutations and reassortment events are commonly observed in the affected bird populations.

In animals, some recent evolutionary changes in the H5N1 virus appear to have made control efforts more difficult and further international spread of the virus in birds more likely. Such changes are fully understandable, particularly in view of the exceptionally large number of birds that have been infected with the H5N1 virus and the frequent interactions between infected free-ranging poultry and wild waterfowl.

Studies have shown that H5N1 viruses from the current outbreaks, when compared with viruses from 1997 and 2003, have become progressively more lethal in experimentally infected chickens and mice, and are also hardier, surviving several days longer in the environment. Other studies have shown that the virus is not yet fully adapted to poultry and is continuing to evolve.

Domestic ducks have acquired an ability to resist the disease caused by some strains, and are now capable of excreting large quantities of highly pathogenic virus without showing the warning signs of illness. In endemic countries, this altered role of domestic ducks is now thought to contribute to perpetuation of the transmission cycle. Research conducted in South-east Asia has recently shown that multiple distinct lineages of H5N1 virus have become established in poultry in different geographical regions, indicating the long-term endemicity of the virus in parts of Asia. That research also detected highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in apparently healthy migratory birds.

In birds, one important recent finding has been the remarkable similarity of viruses from recent outbreaks to those isolated from migratory birds that began dying at the Qinghai Lake nature reserve in central China in late April 2005. Evidence is mounting that this event, which resulted in the deaths of more than 6,000 wild birds, signalled an important change in the way the virus interacts with its natural reservoir host.

Unlike the case with mutations of human viruses (some of which have been transient), it appears that some changes have become fixed in viruses circulating in at least some species of wild birds.

Prior to the Qinghai Lake event, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus was known to cause occasional sporadic deaths in migratory waterfowl, but not to kill them in large numbers or be carried by them over long distances.

Viruses from Qinghai Lake showed a distinctive mutation at one site experimentally associated with greater lethality in birds and mice. Viruses from the most recent outbreaks, in Nigeria, Iraq, and Turkey, as well as from earlier outbreaks in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, are virtually identical to Qinghai Lake viruses.

It is considered unusual for an avian influenza virus causing outbreaks in birds to remain this genetically stable over so many months. This finding raises the possibility that the virus – in its highly pathogenic form – has now adapted to at least some species of migratory waterfowl and is co-existing with these birds in evolutionary equilibrium, causing no apparent harm, and travelling with these birds along their migratory routes.

If further research verifies this hypothesis, re-introduction of the virus or spread to new geographical areas can be anticipated when migratory birds begin returning to their breeding areas.

The recent appearance of the virus in birds in a rapidly growing number of countries is of public health concern, as it expands opportunities for human exposures and infections to occur. These opportunities increase when the virus spreads from wild to domestic birds, especially when these birds are kept as backyard flocks in close proximity to humans..

To date, no human cases have been linked to exposure to wild birds. Close contact with infected poultry and other domestic birds remains the most important source of human infections.

Human viruses

Some mutations have been detected in human viruses isolated in 2005 and, most recently, in one virus isolated from a fatal case in the January 2006 outbreak in Turkey. Although these mutations were found at the receptor-binding site and involved the substitution of more mammalian-like amino acids, the effect of these changes on transmissibility of the virus, either from birds to humans or from one person to another, is not fully understood. Moreover, recent studies show that these mutations were transient and did not become fixed in the circulating viruses.

Scientists do not presently know which specific mutations are needed to make the H5N1 virus easily and sustainably transmissible among humans. For example, it is not known whether the absence of a specific receptor in humans for this purely avian virus is responsible for the present lack of efficient human-to-human transmission. For this reason, virological evidence of mutational changes must be assessed together with epidemiological information about transmission patterns actually occurring in human populations. This necessity further underscores the importance of close surveillance and thorough investigation during every outbreak involving human cases.

Assessments of the outbreak in Turkey, conducted by WHO investigative teams, have produced no convincing evidence that mutations have altered the epidemiology of the disease in humans, which was similar to the pattern consistently seen in affected parts of Asia. There is no evidence, at present, from any outbreak site that the virus has increased its ability to spread easily from one person to another.

Let's see...H5N1 and a civil war in Nigeria.

Yup, $3.50 per gallon by Memorial Day, easily.

China, Indonesia...

Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India and France....

Malaysia

Azerbaijan


Is there a compiled list somewhere of all of the countries? What are all of the countries?


Thanks.
Seabird

Seabird said:

China, Indonesia...

Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India and France....

Malaysia

Azerbaijan


Is there a compiled list somewhere of all of the countries? What are all of the countries?


Thanks.
Seabird

Click to expand...

Today's Thread said:

India is one of 13 countries that have reported their first cases of H5N1 infection in birds since the beginning of February. (The 13 countries, listed in order of reporting, are Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India and France.)

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_02_21b/en/index.html

Click to expand...

Now that's this month... then there's China, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey...

Thanks, PCViking.


So the current tally is: (Not necessarily in order)

China
Thailand
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Cambodia
Turkey
Iraq
Nigeria
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Greece
Italy
Slovenia
Iran
Austria
Germany
Egypt
India
France
Malaysia
Azerbaijan


This is pretty scary, isn't it? 22

PCViking, is there any way you could keep the total countries listed on the first post of your daily threads, with updates as they occur? I think this is an important part of the story, and the visual stats really bring the message home.

Seabird

Nigeria: H5N1 spreading fast​

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1885487,00.html

21/02/2006 21:04 - (SA)

Kano - Nigeria's bird-flu epidemic entered its second week on Tuesday as a top United Nations expert voiced fears that Africa's first outbreak showed no signs of abating.

Meanwhile, Nigeria said on Monday the deadly H5N1 virus strain that can kill humans had been confirmed in three new states and the capital, Abuja, bringing the number of areas affected to seven.

Joseph Domenech, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's chief veterinary officer said: "The situation is very worrying.

"Given the case of Nigeria, given the extreme mobility of people and poultry, it will continue to spread. From Nigeria, this could become a regional crisis very easily."

Domenech said from Rome that the only sure way to halt the spread of the virus was vaccinating chickens.

He dismissed arguments that the measure would be prohibitively expensive.

Confirmed in six states

"Pure stamping out will not control the epidemic," he said, referring to the Nigerian mass poultry slaughter programme.

"We have been asking that there are strategic stocks of vaccines in Nigeria."

Nigerian information minister Frank Nweke confirmed on Monday the presence of bird flu in six states - Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara - as well as in Abuja and its surrounds.

"The situation is under control to the extent that the outbreak is mostly localised to contiguous states," he said, underlining that there was "no report of any human infection in spite of the extensive diagnostic tests".

The government had also received stocks of "Tamiflu which is being used in the management of the flu among humans in countries where this has occurred", said Nweke.

Asking for help

Nigerian health minister Eyitayo Lambo had asked for 250 000 doses of the anti-viral drug.

Nigeria, the first country in Africa to confirm the presence of bird flu, finally paid heed on Saturday to UN warnings and banned the movement of poultry across the vast country of 36 states.

In Paris, the foreign ministry spokesperson announced that minister Douste-Blazy would visit Nigeria at the end of this week "to assess the needs of the country and identify measures which could be put in place to respond to the situation".

If you have not yet, NOW is the time to stock the freezer with frozen chicken and frozen eggs, WHILE THERE IS PLENTY AVAILABLE. I just finished, this evening, filling up the freezer with chicken(already had 45 dozen eggs frozen.)

This bird flu is moving from nation to nation much faster than I had anticipated it to move. I now fully expect to hear within 60 days that it has been found in Canada and all over South America. WHEN IT HAPPENS, IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN SO FAST THERE WILL BE NO TIME OR OPPORTUNITY TO STOCK UP ON NON-SUSPECT CHICKEN BEFORE THEY ARE GONE FROM THE SUPERMARKETS ALONG WITH EGGS.

People, there are REALLY relatively FEW Chicken Factory farms in America and when they are hit with bird flu it will mean killing MILLIONS of even healthy chickens to avert the spread of the disease. You CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE WHAT IMPACT THE LACK or SHORTAGE OF CHICKEN AND EGGS WILL HAVE ON OTHER FOOD AVAILABILITY!!! If America is forced to kill off most of the poultry in this nation you will be shocked beyond belief how much that will REVERBERATE impacting EVERYTHING.

ainitfunny said:

If you have not yet, NOW is the time to stock the freezer with frozen chicken and frozen eggs, WHILE THERE IS PLENTY AVAILABLE. ... If America is forced to kill off most of the poultry in this nation you will be shocked beyond belief how much that will REVERBERATE impacting EVERYTHING.

Click to expand...

Yes, I agree completely! Dried eggs are good too.

Don't forget your pets. Look at the label on their food. Odds are great that there is poultry in it. It difficult and expensive to locate food with nothing but alternative meats such as lamb, venison, beef, ostrich, etc. I did a label search trying to find a treat for my cat without poultry or beef (per the vets recommendation). I was unsuccessful. STOCK UP ON PET FOOD NOW!

Russia

17 villages quarantined in southern Russia following bird flu outbreaks​

www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-22 17:19:47

MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Local authorities have quarantined 17 villages in Russia's southern Dagestan province after the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain was identified in three poultry farms,an official confirmed.

All transportation of fowl and poultry products from these affected villages have been banned, said Zaidin Dzambulatov, chief of Dagestan's government veterinary committee.

Access to 10 poultry farms has also been severely restricted, she emphasized.

On Wednesday, local authorities confirmed a third case of H5N1 virus in a Dagestan poultry farm after detecting the virus in two similar farms last week, which were the first confirmed cases of the virus in the Russian Caucasus region.

The region borders Azerbaijan where bird flu cases have been confirmed this month. Neighboring Turkey has also seen 21 cases of the virus being recorded in human beings.

Russia's first H5N1 case was confirmed in Siberia last year, but, to date, no human case has been registered in Russia.

So far at least 90 people have been killed by the human-infecting H5N1 strain around the world.

Experts are still concerned that the virus could mutate into a form, not just transmissible from animals to humans, but between humans, with the potential to lead to a devastating pandemic. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/22/content_4213158.htm

Hungary

Posted on Wed, Feb. 22, 2006

Bird flu confirmed in Hungarian swans​

European countries taking measures to protect captive birds

PABLO GORONDIAssociated PressBUDAPEST, Hungary - Test results confirmed Tuesday that three dead swans found in Hungary were infected with deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, and other countries reported new cases as Europeans sought measures to keep the disease from spreading.

Hungary was the seventh European Union nation - in addition to Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, France and Slovenia - to confirm the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu.

The 1,000-year-old Tower of London moved its famous six ravens inside for protection. Britain so far has been spared, but wardens were taking no chances - legend holds that the British monarchy will fall if the ravens ever leave the Tower.
"It's purely precautionary," Derrick Coyle, the tower's Yeoman Raven Master, said Tuesday.

The zoo at Paris' Jardin des Plantes also closed its aviary Tuesday and another on the city's outskirts took measures to keep its flamingos from mixing with wild ducks.

The deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu has devastated poultry stocks and killed at least 92 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. It has been found in wild birds such as swans in several European countries including Italy, Germany and France. graphic 1by 3
email thisprint this

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/13927681.htm

Fixing S227N and Acquiring G228S in Avian H5N1 in Europe​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02210601/H5N1_S227N_G228S.html

Recombinomics Commentary
February 21, 2006

Viruses from Qinghai Lake showed a distinctive mutation at one site experimentally associated with greater lethality in birds and mice. Viruses from the most recent outbreaks, in Nigeria, Iraq, and Turkey, as well as from earlier outbreaks in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, are virtually identical to Qinghai Lake viruses.

Some mutations have been detected in human viruses isolated in 2005 and, most recently, in one virus isolated from a fatal case in the January 2006 outbreak in Turkey. Although these mutations were found at the receptor-binding site and involved the substitution of more mammalian-like amino acids, the effect of these changes on transmissibility of the virus, either from birds to humans or from one person to another, is not fully understood. Moreover, recent studies show that these mutations were transient and did not become fixed in the circulating viruses.

The above comments from the WHO update on address two well known changes in the Qinghai strain of H5N1, PB2 E627K and HA S227N. The Qinghai strain has been transported and transmitted by long range migratory birds.

The strain has a characteristic poly-basic cleavage site of GERRRKKR. The sequence was first reported in isolates from two duck from Hong Kong in 2004, A/Duck/Hong Kong/ww487/2000 and A/Duck/Hong Kong/ww461/2000. More recently, it was in two 2004 chicken isolates in Hubei, A/Chicken/Hubei/14/2004 and A/chick/Macheng/2004. In 2005, three for the six migratory bird isolates from Jiangxi (A/migratory duck/Jiangxi/2136/2005, A/migratory duck/Jiangxi/2295/2005, A/migratory duck/Jiangxi/2300/2005). The polymorphism became fixed at Qinghai lake and was found in all 16 isolates. This change was found in isolates from each country reporting the Qinghai stain in 2005 and 2006.

Another polymorphism that was fixed at Qinghai Lake was PB2 E627K. This polymorphism has been found in all human isolates with the common human serotype (H1, H2, H3). The isolates at Qinghai Lake were the first reported E627K in H5N1 from birds. The polymorphsim was in all 16 isolates and present in all subsequent reported isolates, which are listed below

A/bar-headed goose/Mongolia/1/05
A/chicken/Kurgan/3/2005
A/Cygnus olor/Astrakhan/Ast05-2-2/2005
A/Cygnus olor/Astrakhan/Ast05-2-3/2005
A/Cygnus olor/Astrakhan/Ast05-2-4/2005
A/Cygnus olor/Astrakhan/Ast05-2-5/2005
A/Cygnus olor/Astrakhan/Ast05-2-6/2005
A/Cygnus olor/Astrakhan/Ast05-2-7/2005
A/duck/Novosibirsk/56/2005
A/Environment/Qinghai/31/2005
A/grebe/Novosibirsk/29/2005
A/whooper swan/Mongolia/3/05
A/whooper swan/Mongolia/4/05
A/whooper swan/Mongolia/6/05

The E627K was associated with increased virulence in mammals, and the change was associated with increased activity at 33 C. Although the Qinghai isolate was highly virulent in experimental chickens and mice, there were no human cases associated with any of the above isolates or infections in Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, or Western Turkey.

The migration of H5N1 into the Middle East however, created an opportunity for the acquisition of S227N via recombination with indigenous H9N2. The first human case was reported at the end of 2005 and confirmed shortly thereafter. Isolates from the index case contained S227N, which had been previously reported to have an increased affinity for human receptors. The index case in Turkey was linked to the largest familial cluster linked to H5N1. Three siblings were hospitalized with bird flu symptoms. Two were confirmed to be H5N1 positive after their death. Ten members of a related family were hospitalized and H5N1 was confirmed in two. Two members of a third related family were hospitalized and both were confirmed to be H5N1 positive and one died.

Media reports indicated that S227N was not detected in an isolate from one of the siblings. However, isolation of H5N1 with S227N can be dependent on the isolation procedure. Other polymorphisms with increased affinity for mammalian receptors are lost when virus is isolated in chicken eggs. The S227N positive isolates from Hong Kong in 2003 were isolated in mammalian MDCK cells. Moreover, since S227N was identified in the Qinghai strain in Turkey for the first time, it would not be expected to be in all isolates. However, additional familial clusters were identified in Turkey as well as northern Iraq, suggesting S227N was present and transported and transmitted by wild birds.

Migration of H5N1 into western Europe may generate additional acquisitions of polymorphisms that have increased affinity for mammalian receptors. European swine H1N1 isolates have donor sequences for the acquisition of G228S. Thus, it is possible that H5N1 with and without S227N will migrate into western Europe. There have already been recent reports of H5N1 in western Europe. However, more H5N1 is expect to migrate north from Africa via the East Atlantic Flyway, creating additional opportunities for recombination and acquisition of G228S.

Immunization of swine against H1 and H5 may be warranted, as the number of H5N1 infected birds increase in western Europe in the upcoming months.

IIRC, Japan, Russia and the Koreas had a few minor cases as well.

Seabird said:

Thanks, PCViking.


So the current tally is: (Not necessarily in order)

China
Thailand
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Cambodia
Turkey
Iraq
Nigeria
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Greece
Italy
Slovenia
Iran
Austria
Germany
Egypt
India
France
Malaysia
Azerbaijan


This is pretty scary, isn't it? 22

PCViking, is there any way you could keep the total countries listed on the first post of your daily threads, with updates as they occur? I think this is an important part of the story, and the visual stats really bring the message home.

Seabird

Click to expand...

Thanks, Jumpy. 26 countries and counting.


So the current tally is: (Not necessarily in order)

China
Thailand
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Cambodia
Turkey
Iraq
Nigeria
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Greece
Italy
Slovenia
Iran
Austria
Germany
Egypt
India
France
Malaysia
Azerbaijan
Japan
Russia
North Korea
South Korea






Seabird

ainitfunny said:

If you have not yet, NOW is the time to stock the freezer with frozen chicken and frozen eggs, WHILE THERE IS PLENTY AVAILABLE. I just finished, this evening, filling up the freezer with chicken(already had 45 dozen eggs frozen.)

This bird flu is moving from nation to nation much faster than I had anticipated it to move. I now fully expect to hear within 60 days that it has been found in Canada and all over South America. WHEN IT HAPPENS, IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN SO FAST THERE WILL BE NO TIME OR OPPORTUNITY TO STOCK UP ON NON-SUSPECT CHICKEN BEFORE THEY ARE GONE FROM THE SUPERMARKETS ALONG WITH EGGS.

People, there are REALLY relatively FEW Chicken Factory farms in America and when they are hit with bird flu it will mean killing MILLIONS of even healthy chickens to avert the spread of the disease. You CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE WHAT IMPACT THE LACK or SHORTAGE OF CHICKEN AND EGGS WILL HAVE ON OTHER FOOD AVAILABILITY!!! If America is forced to kill off most of the poultry in this nation you will be shocked beyond belief how much that will REVERBERATE impacting EVERYTHING.

Click to expand...

I agree with you.....but since I research this BF daily.....my appetite for chicken has gone down to ZERO...... Oh well.......

Kenya tests dead crows for possible bird flu​

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22344576.htm

22 Feb 2006 13:57:34 GMT

Source: Reuters

NYERI, Kenya, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Five dead crows found in the central Kenya town of Karatina, where coffee and some tea is grown, are being tested for the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu, a veterinary official said on Wednesday.

The birds found on Monday are being tested at a laboratory in Nairobi, the capital.

"A committee solely formed to deal with this menace took samples from all the dead crows for testing," Frederick Gisemba, director of veterinary services for Kenya's Central Province told Reuters.

Kenya has no known cases of bird flu but health authorities are extremely concerned about the outbreak of the disease in poultry on the other side of the continent in Nigeria.

Karatina, just outside the provincial capital Nyeri, is located about 140 km (87 miles) north of Nairobi.

Deadly flu sweeping the planet​

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18241187%5E663,00.html

Barani Krishnan and Krittivas Mukherjee
23feb06

SEVEN Malaysians are in hospital with breathing problems and India is nervously awaiting tests on 12 people as bird flu spreads rapidly across the globe.

After an uneasy lull, bird flu has spread across Europe, into Africa and now India, the world's second most populous nation, where the majority of people live in rural areas side by side with domestic fowl.

Malaysia and Hungary have joined 13 other countries this month to report outbreaks of the H5N1 virus in birds.

Indian health workers, some wringing the necks of chickens, others using poison, are culling hundreds of thousands of birds to try to stamp out the country's first outbreak of the virus.

The dozen quarantined people have been placed in an isolation ward of a hospital in Navapur town in western Maharashtra state – where the virus was found in poultry at the weekend.

Adding to fears, there were reports of more poultry dying beyond Maharashtra, where the sudden death of 50,000 birds heralded the outbreak.

Malaysian Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said two adults and five children staying within 300m of the outbreak site had been taken to hospital after being exposed to sick chickens.

"We are admitting them for investigation to be on the safe side because if they later came out to be true (cases) and they have been moving around town, then it's not safe," Mr Chua said.

No human cases have been reported in Malaysia, which last reported the H5N1 virus in a chicken in Kelantan in 2004.

H5N1 avian influenza has spread in chickens from Korea, across China, south into Indonesia, west across Turkey into western Europe and into the African continent.

It has killed or forced the culling of more than 200 million birds in more than 30 countries.

While it does not easily infect people, it has affected 170 people and killed 92, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures.

Of those fatalities 19 were in Indonesia and 42 in Vietnam.

The Indonesian Government plans to distribute the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to health centres in high-risk areas such as Jakarta and provinces on the island of Java.

Hungary said yesterday that tests showed the virus in three dead swans found last week, while Croatia also confirmed H5N1 had been found in a dead swan on an island in the Adriatic.

India

'Bird flu could have jumped to humans'​

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 08:38:11 pm

NEW DELHI: The Indian government said on Wednesday it could "not rule out the possibility" of avian influenza spreading to human beings in a village in Maharashtra.

"We cannot rule out the possibility of bird flu being transmitted to humans. There is a distinct possibility of such transfusion," Health Secretary Prasanna Hota told a TV news channel.

Hota was reacting to reports that two people in Maharashtra's Navapur village, from where India's first case of bird flu was confirmed on Saturday, were suffering from a mild case of human avian influenza.

Twelve people, including two children, had been kept in an isolation ward in Navapur's sub-district hospital after they reported flu-like symptoms. The two people displaying bird flu-like symptoms were part of this group.

Hota said there was a "protocol" to be followed in such cases and details about the suspected cases would be available only on Thursday.

This apart, blood samples had been collected from 104 Navapur residents to ascertain if the H5N1 strain of avian influenza had affected them.

Known to spread to human beings, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has resulted in nearly 100 human casualties across Southeast Asia, mostly in Vietnam. It has so far been reported in seven countries.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1424639.cms

Nigeria

Bird Flu Confirmed in Katsina, Zamfara ​

Daily Trust (Abuja)
NEWS
February 22, 2006
Posted to the web February 22, 2006

By Joe Oroye


The outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in Katsina and Zamfara States by the federal government.

Briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Information and Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr.,

The outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in Katsina and Zamfara States by the federal government.

Briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Information and Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr., said the Presidential Committee on the Prevention and Management of the Bird Flu confirmed the spread of the virus to the two states.

The committee, Mr. Nweke revealed, has already directed the immediate slaughter of all infected birds in the affected farms.

Other states visited by the presidential surveillance teams he stated are, Abia, Edo, Rivers, Niger, Sokoto, Anambra and Nasarawa, where samples from poultry birds in these states have tested negative to the flu virus.

"Extensive diagnostic tests have been conducted and are ongoing amongst poultry workers nationwide, and to date no human cases have been recorded in Nigeria," he said.

Government, the minister stated, has taken delivery of the drug - currently used in the treatment of the virus amongst humans.

He explained that though scientific evidence puts the rate of human infection as low, extra care is strongly advised amongst poultry workers through the minimisation of contact with infected and dead birds and the use of appropriate protective gear.

The Presidential Committee, he revealed, will commence payment of compensation to affected poultry farmers.

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200602220390.html

Euro-Poultry

Bird flu hits EU poultry for first time​

February 22, 2006, 17:49 gmt

VIENNA (AFP) - The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was detected in poultry in the European Union for the first time, infecting two chickens in Austria, as the disease threatened to run rampant despite worldwide efforts to confine it.

The chickens were contaminated in the Noah's Ark animal pound in the southern city of Graz, where an injured swan infected with bird flu had been housed, health ministry spokeswoman Daniela Retzek said.

Hans Seitinger, agriculture official for the Steiermark region, told reporters that three ducks from Noah's Ark had also tested positive for H5N1.

Also on Wednesday, the European Commission approved French and Dutch plans to vaccinate millions of their poultry against bird flu, the first time such measures have been endorsed by Brussels.

Poultry sales have plummeted across the continent in recent weeks amid consumer fears of infection.

The Commission, however, imposed certain conditions. Vaccination remains controversial because vaccinated birds, while protected, can remain carriers of the virus without showing symptoms.

Some experts also argue that vaccination could make it easier for bird flu to mutate and endanger people.

In Nigeria, meanwhile, a top Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) official warned Wednesday that the continuing spread of the H5N1 strain -- lethal to birds and humans alike -- could cause a regional disaster despite concerted control efforts.

Africa is considered to be especially vulnerable due to poor health infrastructure and weakened immune systems in much of the population as a result of malnourishment and the AIDS pandemic.

The Austrian cases -- the first in domestic fowl in the EU -- are especially alarming to the Union's poultry industry, so far untouched by the epidemic, and to health officials worried about human infection.

The nearest outbreaks on chicken farms have been in Ukraine and Romania.

In Asia, where the H5N1 strain has killed nearly 100 people since 1997, the disease is thought to have spread from wild birds to domestic fowl, and then to humans working with infected chickens.

The greatest fear is that the disease could mutate into a form easily communicable between humans, as has happened historically during global flu pandemics.

Despite massive efforts to halt the disease's spread following outbreaks among migratory water fowl in a dozen European countries, new H5N1 cases are appearing daily across the continent.

Initially optimistic, health and government officials are now saying that swift eradication is highly unlikely.

"We will have to live with the virus for the foreseeable future," Germany's Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday.

Similar warnings came from Afghanistan on Wednesday, where an FAO official -- noting that the country is "virtually surrounded" by confirmed H5N1 cases -- said that "an outbreak of the disease among birds in Afghanistan is virtually unavoidable."

In Africa a top UN health official suggested that the disease was defying all attempts to halt its spread.

"There is ample evidence that the Nigerian bird flu situation is difficult and worrisome," said Joseph Domenech, the UN body's chief veterinary officer.

"The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus continues to spread in poultry in Nigeria and could cause a regional disaster despite strong control efforts taken by the Nigerian authorities," he said.

Nigerian health workers, meanwhile, continued the gruesome task of suffocating tens of thousands of chickens in plastic bags in the northern state of Kano, one of the epicentres of the deadly H5N1 virus.

The process is necessary as chopping off their heads increases the risk of infection to the workers involved.

The FAO said it was particularly concerned about Niger, which directly borders affected areas in Nigeria and where two million people are suffering "acute hunger".

"If a poultry epidemic should develop beyond the boundaries of Nigeria the effects would be disastrous for the livelihoods and the food security of millions of people," Domenech said on Friday as he visited the country.

http://www.bakutoday.net/afp/english/shared/int/060222164158.lp5ncqg7.php

Nigeria

Bird Flu Spreads To Several Commercial Farms In Nigeria​

Article Date: 22 Feb 2006 - 18:00pm (UK)

Authorities in Nigeria say that several commercial farms in states neighbouring Kaduna state now have H5N1 infected poultry.

Infected farms have been found in the following areas of Nigeria:

-- Kano
-- Plateau
-- Katsina
-- Bauchi
-- Abuja

Some humans with respiratory symptoms are also being tested for bird flu infection. Samples have been sent to a laboratory in Surrey, England.

The first bird flu outbreak (among poultry) is known to have started in Kaduna state on January 10th. Experts believe the virus had already been around for a while and that many other birds, and perhaps some humans, had been infected.

Patient records are being checked in the states of Kaduna, Kano and Katsina for signs of bird flu like symptoms - to check whether infection had taken place earlier. So far, nothing has been found.

Backyard poultry is very common in Nigeria, making it very hard for authorities to really gauge the scale of this outbreak. There are probably about 140 million heads of poultry in Nigeria, most of them are in the south-western part of the country. 60% of the country's poultry can be found in small backyard flocks.

The World Health Organization has expressed concern about the possible spread of bird flu to Nigeria's neighbours, where borders are porous and restrictions are difficult to enforce. Rumours are flying that the H5N1 virus strain has spread rapidly into neighbouring countries - there is no official confirmation of this, neither by national governments nor international organisations.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=38209

CBN Report: Are You Ready for Global H5N1?

CBN Report: Are You Ready for Global H5N1?

By Eric Toner, M.D., February 21, 2006

Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Increases Spread to EU Countries, Africa and India

The last 2 weeks have brought troubling news about the continued rapid global spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It is worth remembering that although H5N1 HPAI was first isolated from a goose in Guandong, China in 1996, the current strain, genotype Z, only appeared 25 months ago[1]. In those 25 months, the virus has spread throughout Asia and into Siberia, the Middle East, North and West Africa, the Mediterranean, Central Europe, India and now Northern and Western Europe (Map).


Migratory Water Fowl are Asymptomatic Carriers

In addition to being spread by the poultry trade, the virus is being carried by asymptomatic migratory water birds, primarily ducks, which are infecting other species, primarily swans and poultry. Although low pathogenic avian influenza viruses are commonly found in the guts of migratory water fowl, this is the first time that birds have been known to be asymptomatic carriers of a highly pathogenic virus, which has resulted in the first known highly pathogenic influenza panzootic[1]. At this point, it seems increasingly likely that the virus will continue be transmitted from one migratory species to another, eventually finding its way to the Americas. That could happen as early as this year.


Infected Poultry Poses the Greatest Threat to Humans

To date, most of the 170 human cases have been associated with close contact with infected poultry. Water fowl, poultry and people each have different hemagglutinin attachment receptors for influenza A viruses. Poultry receptors are more similar to the human receptors than are those from wild water fowl. Therefore, the viruses that are most likely to infect humans are those that have adapted to poultry[2]. Thus, although infected swans and other wild birds are good indicators of the geographic distribution of the virus, their infections with the H5N1 virus are not likely to directly result in many human infections. On the other hand, outbreaks among poultry, such as those seen in Asia, are likely to continue to cause occasional human infections. The extensive outbreaks in chickens in Nigeria, India and Egypt are also likely to result in human cases.


The HIV “Wild Card”

The biggest threat is the possibility of efficient human-to-human transmission either by continued gradual evolution of the virus, as has been seen in Turkey, or by a sudden reassortment event. In either case, every additional human case increases the risk that the virus will adapt to a human host. In many parts of the world, but particularly in Africa, an unpredictable wild card is the high rate of HIV infection. So far only one H5N1 patient has been reported to also be infected with HIV[3]. The literature on HIV and human influenza suggests that HIV/AIDS patients are more susceptible to adverse complications, including both viral and bacterial pneumonia[4, 5]. They also shed the H5N1 virus longer--sometimes for months[6]. In addition, antiviral resistance has recently been found to occur more frequently in immunocompromised patients [7]. The interaction of H5N1 and HIV could have significant implications for the health of those who may be co-infected. Moreover, if HIV and H5N1 co-infection amplifies the spread of H5N1, it could cause a significant increase in the numbers of people infected with the avian flu virus.



Are You and Your Hospital Prepared?

Clinicians in two thirds of the world now face the real possibility of seeing human H5N1 cases in their own hospitals in the near future, even in the absence of an actual pandemic. Recent events underscore the likelihood the physicians in the western hemisphere may be faced with the same situation in the not too distant future as well. Clinicians should ask themselves, am I ready for human H5N1 in my hospital?



References:
[1] Chen H, Smith GJ, Li KS, Wang J, Fan XH, Rayner JM, Vijaykrishna D, Zhang JX, Zhang LJ, Guo CT, Cheung CL, Xu KM, Duan L, Huang K,
Qin K, Leung YH, Wu WL, Lu HR, Chen Y, Xia NS, Naipospos TS, Yuen KY, Hassan SS, Bahri S, Nguyen TD, Webster RG, Peiris JS, Guan Y.
Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: Implications for pandemic control. Proc Natl Acad Sci.
2006;13(8):2845-2850.


[2] Horimoto T, Kawaoka Y. Influenza: lessons from past pandemic, warning from current incidents. Nature reviews/Microbiology 2005;3:591-600.


[3] Chotpitayasunondh T, Ungchusak K, Hanshaoworakul W, Chunsuthiwat S,Sawanpanyalert P, Kijphati R, Lochindarat S, Srisan P, Suwan P, Osotthanakorn Y, Anantasetagoon T, Kanjanawasri S, Tanupattarachai S, Weerakul J, Chaiwirattana R, Maneerattanaporn M, Poolsavathitikool R, Chokephaibulkit K, Apisarnthanarak A, Dowell SF. Human disease from influenza A (H5N1), Thailand, 2004. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Feb;11(2):201-9.
[4] Lin JC, Nichol KL. Excess mortality due to pneumonia or influenza during influenza seasons among persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Arch Intern Med. 2001 Feb 12;161(3):441-6.


[5] Radwan HM, Cheeseman SH, Lai KK, Ellison III RT. Influenza in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients during the 1997-1998 influenza season. Clin Infect Dis. 2000 Aug;31(2):604-6.


[6] Evans KM, kline MW. Prolonged influenza infection responsive to rimantidine therapy in an immunodeficiency virus-infected child. Ped Infect Dis J 1995;14:332-334


[7] Ison M, et al. Recovery of drug-resistant influenza virus from immunocomprimised patients: A case study. JID 2006;193:760-76.4




www.upmc-cbn.org/dmz/index.html?whereto=%2F

India

'Possibility of bird flu in humans'​

Kounteya Sinha & Chandrika Mago

Thursday, February 23, 2006 12:12:57 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: The next 24 hours will be an agonising wait for the government and India’s health experts. The verdict on five human samples is awaited.

Will they test positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus? The government will know by Thursday evening. Till then, officials will be praying for an all-clear certificate. That 90 of 95 samples have tested negative can hardly soothe their nerves.

For even if one sample tests positive, the panic will spread, sweeping everything in its path —from the poultry industry to tourism, and the millions of people associated with these industries. All eyes now are on the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and National Institute of Virology. They are doing the tests.

Health secretary P K Hota on Wednesday said there was a distinct possibility of the avian flu virus having infected some humans. But only the final lab reports can say whether their nightmare has come true.

The only comfort officials have is that till date, the virus has still not mutated into a form which can jump from human to human—this is the international community’s very real fear. And since most of the people in Nawapur, where the virus was detected among poultry for the first time, are tribals, the chances that any other infected humans are walking free without being tested is remote. All the locals have been quarantined.

People living in this area belong to a self-contained community. "So we don’t anticipate anybody having moved out without being tested," an official said.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1424917.cms

It all started in China, says study​

Ashok B Sharma

New Delhi, Feb 22 Do you know from where the deadly bird flu virus flew in? The journal New Scientist has revealed that the dangerous H5N1 virus is of Chinese origin.

The H5N1 virus has been circulating continuously in south-east China for a decade. Genetic analysis by scientists has shown that the virus in poultry infected wild birds which carried it from south-east China to Turkey.

Samples from 13,000 migratory birds and 50,000 market poultry in south-east China were collected during the period from January 2004 to June 2005 and analysed by researchers. This was the time when Chinese government banned independent sampling. The H5N1 virus was found in about 2% of apparently healthy ducks and geese and some chickens. The Chinese authorities have, however, denied these reports, although Yi Guan and others at Shantou University and scientists in Xiamen and Hong Kong suggested to eliminate bird flu in the region.

The genetic makeup of the virus slightly differed in Guangdong, Hunan and Yunnan provinces. But all these viruses descended from a 1996 Guangdong virus.

According to the co-author of the paper, Robert Webster of St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis in US, the virus originated from these provinces and circulated in the region long enough to develop divergent strains.

The virus having new strains flew to neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand. Genes from Vietnamese viruses reveal its origin from Guangxi and Guangdong virus.

The virus found in Indonesia has its own related clusters.

URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=118485

Question. How does one freeze eggs? Just stick the whole egg in the freezer? Maybe a dumb question, but I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Russ3

Thank you, PCViking, for the work you are doing to keep us all up to date on this - I really appreciate it.

squeeks

Nigeria tests dead woman, kids for bird flu​

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/23/content_4214732.htm

LAGOS, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Nigeria is testing one woman who died last week and two kids to find out whether they are the firsthuman cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Africa, a World Health Organization official told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"The old woman, 67, in Kano (northern Nigeria) died last week after developing respiratory problems. But we are lucky to take some blood from her before she died," said Mohammed Belhocine, theWorld Health Organization's representative in Nigeria by telephone.

Belhocine said two kids from a chicken farm in the northern state of Kaduna, where Africa's first bird flu cases were detected,were also being tested although Nigerian health officials had already ruled them out as bird flu victims after they recovered.

"Our team is in the field to identify and take some samples ...We want to make sure," he said.

Belhocine also said a lady in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial city,who was reported to have developed flu-like symptoms, has tested negative to the avian group antigen.

Nigeria is the first country on the African continent to reportan outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus which has claimed atleast 92 lives, mostly in Asia, since 1997.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned on Wednesday the bird flu continues to spread in Nigeria and could cause "a regional disaster." Enditem

russ3 said:

Question. How does one freeze eggs? Just stick the whole egg in the freezer? Maybe a dumb question, but I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Russ3

Click to expand...

Good question.......I've never done it!

russ3 said:

Question. How does one freeze eggs? Just stick the whole egg in the freezer? Maybe a dumb question, but I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Russ3

Click to expand...

Wouldn't the insides (when frozen) expand to the point of bursting the shell?

U.S. Department of State

22 February 2006


Washington -- The deadly bird flu virus continues to spread in poultry in Nigeria and could cause a regional disaster despite strong control efforts taken by Nigerian authorities, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a February 22 press release.

The FAO also called for a poultry vaccination campaign involving thousands of veterinarians and international donor support.

“There is ample evidence that the Nigerian bird flu situation is difficult and worrisome,” FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said in a statement from the agency’s Rome headquarters.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus was discovered earlier in February in Nigeria, the first African occurrence in the current outbreak.

Since December 2003, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, H5 or H5N1 infections in poultry or wild birds have been reported in 30 countries.

Since January 2004, the World Health Organization has reported human cases of avian flu in seven countries – Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey and Iraq. (See related article.)

Since the first reports of H5N1 in Asia at the end of 2003, some 170 human cases have been reported, 92 of them fatal, mostly in Southeast Asia and China. Cases so far have been traced to infection directly from diseased birds.

Nearly 200 million domestic birds have died or been culled to contain the spread.

“Considering the possible widespread entrenchment of the disease in poultry,” Domenech said, “FAO is advising the government to prepare for a targeted vaccination campaign. Culling and the application of biosecurity measures alone may not stop the spread of the virus.”

Nigeria has an estimated poultry population of 140 million. Backyard farmers account for 60 percent of all poultry producers, commercial farmers, 25 percent, and semicommercial farmers, 15 percent.

In that country, vaccination campaigns will require the mobilization of several thousand private and public veterinarians and will need a strong commitment from national and regional authorities and the support of the international donor community for vaccines, cars, vaccination teams and training.

Domenech stressed the importance of compensating farmers for the loss of animals to encourage early reporting of outbreaks and effective application of control measures.

U.N. health officials have warned that the virus could evolve into a lethal human pandemic if it mutates into a form that can transmit easily among people.

The FAO statement is available on the organization’s Web site.

For more information on the disease and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/d...lcnirellep0.715008&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Bird flu virus advances in Nigeria
FAO warns of a regional disaster - targeted vaccination campaigns needed​

22 February 2006, Rome – The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus continues to spread in poultry in Nigeria and could cause a regional disaster despite strong control efforts taken by the Nigerian authorities, FAO said today.

“There is ample evidence that the Nigerian bird flu situation is difficult and worrisome,” said Joseph Domenech, FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer.

“The movement and trade of poultry have strongly contributed to the further spread of the virus. The government has taken the right measures such as culling in outbreak areas and biosecurity controls, but the authorities are facing immense difficulties to enforce controls,” Domenech said.

“Considering the possible widespread entrenchment of the disease in poultry, FAO is advising the government to prepare for a targeted vaccination campaign. Culling and the application of biosecurity measures alone may not stop the spread of the virus,” he added.

Vaccination campaigns will require the mobilization of several thousand private and public Nigerian veterinarians and will need a strong commitment from national and regional authorities and the support of the international donor community.

Such campaigns would require funds for vaccines, cars, vaccination teams, training, etc. Surveillance teams should be able to carefully monitor the situation and intervene immediately when an outbreak occurs.

“The close coordination of control activities and the need for a central chain of command at the level of the federal Chief Veterinary Officer and between the regional states are crucial,” Domenech said.

FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), in collaboration with the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union, are assisting the government in assessing the situation and defining the appropriate strategies to stop the spread of the disease.

This includes building up strategic stocks of vaccines, syringes and protective gear for people involved in control operations. In addition, equipment such as generators for electricity supply, computers and laboratory equipment are urgently needed. The country has already established an avian influenza crisis centre for the rapid collection and dissemination of information.

Compensation and communication

“Compensating farmers for the loss of their animals is another important tool to encourage early reporting of outbreaks and for effective application of control measures. Without financial incentives, people will probably continue to hide outbreaks and sell infected poultry,” Domenech said.

FAO reiterated that people should avoid any contact with obviously diseased or dead birds, maintain personal hygiene (handwashing) after handling poultry or poultry meat and should cook chicken meat and eggs at or above 70° Celsius throughout the product, so that absolutely no meat remains raw and red. In outbreaks areas, chicken and eggs should not be eaten.

Massive communication campaigns are needed to support control efforts in poultry and reduce the potential exposure of people to infected poultry. FAO commended UNICEF for having initiated a communication campaign.

FAO has allocated around one million dollars to support surveillance and control activities in Nigeria, Niger, Algeria, Mauritania, Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mali and Cameroon. This will allow recruiting local consultants and procuring items for surveillance and training. Personal protective equipment has been procured for Nigeria and Niger.

Nigeria’s poultry population is estimated at 140 million. Backyard farmers account for 60 percent of all poultry producers, commercial farmers for 25 percent and semi-commercial farmers for 15 percent.

One dose of chicken vaccine costs between 5 and 20 US cents.

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000238/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4739800.stm

India seals off 'bird flu town'



Officials in India's Maharashtra state have begun sealing off an entire town where bird flu has been discovered.

No-one will be allowed in or out of Navapur, which has a population of nearly 30,000, or 19 nearby villages.

The measures come after reports that blood samples from people in hospital have tested positive for bird flu. Health officials deny the reports.

Hundreds of thousands of birds are being culled after deadly H5N1 bird flu was found in Navapur last week.

QUICK GUIDE

Bird flu

Health Ministry officials say tests on 90 of 95 people for bird flu have proved negative.

The other five samples, taken from 12 people who have been quarantined with flu-like symptoms in Maharashtra, are being tested further. Results are expected on Thursday.

"We do not rule out the possibility of humans being affected, and it is a distinct possibility," Health Secretary PK Hota told reporters in Delhi.

'Safe to eat'

Chicken and eggs are off the menu in most parts of India.



The country's poultry industry, one of the world's largest, has already been hit with massive losses.

On Wednesday, the Indian parliament banned poultry products from its cafeterias.

Major airlines, the country's railway service and the army have all taken similar steps.

"We are not cooking poultry dishes but have put extra mutton and fish dishes on the menu," a parliamentary chef told the AFP news agency.

But other government officials are reassuring people that chicken and eggs are safe to eat if cooked properly.

Health officials served chicken dishes and ate them in front of the media at a scheduled news briefing on bird flu in the capital, Delhi, on Tuesday.

Slaughter

Teams of health workers have killed hundreds of thousands of birds around the town of Navapur.

Reports say the focus has now shifted to cleaning up the area after the mass slaughter.

But poultry traders and farmers say they are struggling after a sharp drop in sales.

One trader in the city of Mumbai (Bombay) distributed 2,000 chickens for free on Wednesday in an attempt to dispel fear.

Poultry exporters say they have already suffered more than $45m in losses and say exports have been badly hit, particularly to the Middle East.

The H5N1 virus does not pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another.

Experts, however, fear the virus could mutate to gain this ability, and in its new form trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.

Bird flu most likely in Australia, scientists say​

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SYD644.htm

23 Feb 2006 01:27:05 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Birds from neighbouring Indonesia have most likely brought avian flu to Australia's sparsely populated northern shores, but it is yet to be detected, two of the nation's top scientists said on Thursday.

"There is no magic curtain between Indonesia and Australia, and given the expanse of our land it would not be surprising if it was here," said Professor Mark von Itzstein from Griffith University in the state of Queensland.

"In my view it is highly likely," von Itzstein, who led the Australian team that developed the flu drug Relenza, told Reuters.

Another top bird flu expert, Macquarie University's Professor Peter Curson, agreed avian flu had probably reached Australia.

"There's certainly no doubt that parts of northern Australia, and perhaps slightly further afield, are on the normal flight path of migrating birds from parts of Asia and Southeast Asia, so I think it's a reasonable assumption," Curson said.

Australia and Indonesia are separated by the Timor Sea, which at the closest point would take only a day boat ride to cross.

In Indonesia, 19 people have died from avian flu. The Indonesian health ministry on Wednesday said tests showed a 27-year-old woman in the capital Jakarta had died of bird flu. The WHO is yet to confirm the death is due to avian flu.

The highly contagious H5N1 avian flu has killed more than 90 people in seven countries in Asia and the Middle East since 2003 and two million birds have died of the virus or been culled.

Alarm is growing at the sudden resurgence of the H5N1 virus as it spreads rapidly across Europe, into Africa and now India, where hundreds of millions of people live in rural areas side-by-side with livestock and domestic fowl.

Human victims contract the virus through direct contact with infected birds, but experts fear it is just a matter of time before the virus mutates and spreads easily among people, triggering a pandemic.

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service said testing of wild birds in northern Australia had not detected avian flu.

"These species are waders and shore birds, so fortunately they're highly unlikely to come into contact with domestic poultry, and that's the serious risk for Australia," said spokesman Carson Creagh.

"We do conduct surveys every spring-time when migratory birds arrive and samples are sent off to the national reference libraries for testing. So far we're free of the disease and we're certainly hoping that we remain that way."

Von Itzstein said his comments should not panic Australians as the vast majority of the country's 20 million people live in the far south of Australia, where few migratory birds reach.

But he said if migratory birds could spread avian flu across Asia to Europe and Africa, then it was only logical that infected birds would have reached Australia.

"It is quite a small stretch of ocean compared with the flights migratory birds do to northern Europe. We have to realise that we are not isolated," he said.

"It is clearly on the march in Europe, it is mobile, so there is no reason it is not going to be mobile towards us. It is highly likely that somewhere on the northern parts of the country, on the vast coastline, there are birds that have flu."

However, von Itzstein said the arrival of infected birds did not necessarily mean the disease would spread in Australia.

"They could die, they could disappear, fly back," he said.