03/26 | Daily Bird Flu Thread: Holidaymakers with flu symptoms to be isolated

Link to yesterday's thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=190952

Since January, 2004 WHO has reported human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the following countries:

* East Asia and the Pacific:
o Cambodia
o China
o Indonesia
o Thailand
o Vietnam

* Europe & Eurasia:
o Azerbaijan
(see update)
o Turkey

* Near East:
o Iraq

For additional information about these reports, visit the
World Health Organization Web Site.

Updated March 21, 2006

Since December 2003, avian influenza A (H5N1) infections in poultry or wild birds have been reported in the following countries:

* Africa:
o Cameroon
o Niger
o Nigeria

* East Asia & the Pacific:
o Cambodia
o China
o Hong Kong (SARPRC)
o Indonesia
o Japan
o Laos
o Malaysia
o Mongolia
o Myanmar (Burma)
o Thailand
o Vietnam

* Europe & Eurasia:
o Albania
o Austria
o Azerbaijan
o Bosnia & Herzegovina (H5)
o Bulgaria
o Croatia
o Denmark (H5)
o France
o Georgia (H5)
o Germany
o Greece
o Hungary
o Italy
o Poland
o Romania
o Russia
o Serbia and Montenegro (H5)
o Slovak Republic
o Slovenia
o Sweden
o Switzerland
o Turkey
o Ukraine

* Near East:
o Egypt
o Iraq (H5)
o Iran
o Israel

* South Asia:
o Afghanistan
o India
o Kazakhstan
o Pakistan (H5)


For additional information about these reports, visit the
World Organization for Animal Health Web Site.

Updated March 21, 2006

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/outbreaks/current.htm

WHO, Avian Flu Timeline in .pdf: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/timeline.pdf

Holidaymakers with flu symptoms to be isolated​

RICHARD GRAY HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

PATIENTS recently returned from holiday who visit their doctor with flu-like symptoms could find themselves being forced into isolation rooms under tough new guidelines issued to tackle the spread of bird flu.

Doctors around Scotland have been told to isolate their patients with suspect symptoms if they have recently visited a country affected by bird flu.

Health Protection Scotland sent out the guidance to GPs and hospital staff earlier this month as part of the measures being put in place to stop the deadly virus being brought into the country.

Doctors fear that the rapid spread of the bird flu virus into European countries such as France, Germany and Denmark will increase the chance of travellers and visitors bringing it into the UK.

Under the new rules, any patient suffering from fever and respiratory illness who has recently returned from areas of the world known to have cases of bird flu will be immediately isolated while tests are carried out.

Patients who have also had close contact with sick and dying birds will be subjected to the precautionary measures by being isolated in hospital side rooms or in their own homes.

And patients who refuse to be isolated could be forced to do so by police following a court order from a sheriff.

The guidance also states that staff must take strict infection-control measures by wearing protective clothing and asking the patient to wear a surgical mask.

If a patient's condition deteriorates, doctors are then instructed to inform health protection teams and begin treatment with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.

Dr Martin Donaghy, medical director at Health Protection Scotland, said: "These guidelines are an extension of algorithms that were drawn up for SARS and have been adapted for avian influenza as the threat it presents has grown.

"They are designed to make it absolutely clear what doctors need to do in certain situations and to make it easier for them to make decisions.

"The movement of avian influenza into European countries has raised concerns about it coming to the UK, but with global air travel the risk remains the same as it did when the virus was in South-east Asia."

Donaghy added that patients could be legally forced into isolation if they were considered a risk, under legislation designed to protect the public from infectious diseases.

He added: "Patients will be asked to go into isolation voluntarily on the recommendation of a doctor.

"It would be extremely rare for a patient to refuse, but there are legal powers that can be used to isolate a patient in hospital."

No health boards in Scotland have had to isolate any patients since the guidance was issued at the start of the month, but last autumn doctors in Lanarkshire isolated two patients who fell ill after returning from Thailand.

Both patients tested negative for bird flu and were later found to be suffering from other complaints.

Under the new guidelines, if a patient ever did test positive, doctors would inform health protection teams.

They would, in turn, kick-start a national response, including the possibility of anti-viral treatment for members of the public.

In May, the Patients Association is due to hold a summit on whether the country is prepared for bird flu.

Spokeswoman Katherine Murphy welcomed the guidelines.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=469502006

Scientists learn bird flu testing techniques​

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/7565023p-7476287c.html

The Associated Press

Published: March 25, 2006
Last Modified: March 25, 2006 at 05:48 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Biologists from around Alaska came to Anchorage to learn how to test wild birds for a strain of flu that hasn't showed up in North America, but has killed birds and people in several countries.

Government agencies tracking bird flu say there's no known case of the disease, H5N1, being passed from a wild bird to a person. And no one knows whether wild bird-to-person transmission is possible.

But officials are taking precautions anyway. In a few weeks, biologists and others hired for the task will swab birds around Alaska in what's touted as the main avian flu surveillance project in the country. Many birds will be tested and released, while others killed during seasonal hunts will be tested after they have died.

The USGS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game are working together to study live birds, birds killed during Alaska Native subsistence hunts in spring and fall.

Alaska is an ideal avian flu laboratory because it's at the crossroads of migratory pathways for birds flying between the U.S. and other countries. Some of these birds arrive in Alaska annually from Asia, where the deadly H5N1 bird virus has been detected, said Scott Wright, branch chief with the U.S. Geological Survey's disease investigations department.

Nationwide, the goal is to sample 75,000 to 100,000 wild birds. In Alaska, about $4 million in federal money will be allocated to study about 15,000 birds, said Bruce Woods, spokesman with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Scientists said significant sample results should not be expected until early May.

Other bird surveillance efforts will continue in the state. Researchers with the University of Alaska Fairbanks have studied thousands of birds for all types of avian influenza in recent years and plan to keep studying these birds this year, said Kevin Winker, an associate professor with the university.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation also intends to continue looking at Alaska's domestic bird populations.

Last year, state veterinarian Bob Gerlach visited agricultural fairs to swab chickens, turkeys and other domestic birds.

Kristin Ryan, director of the DEC's Division of Environmental Health, said her department's staff hopes to visit fairs again this summer. It also is working with people who own domestic poultry, asking them to report suspicious symptoms of bird influenza.

---

Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com

Serbia

UPDATED: 11:14, March 26, 2006

First case of H5N1 confirmed in Serbia​

font size ZoomIn ZoomOut

Serbia on Saturday confirmed its first case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a rooster, agricultural officials announced.

The test results have been confirmed by the European Union reference laboratory in Weybridge, UK, a statement made by the Serbian Agriculture Ministry said.

The infected rooster was found on March 15 in an area near the Bosnian border, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, more than 30 people in the affected area were under intense medical supervision. In the meantime, veterinarians are monitoring all fowl in a 10 km radius.

The H5N1 strain has killed more than 100 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200603/26/eng20060326_253569.html

Israel's foreign minister requests that the World Bank help the Palestinians who are effected by bird flu. From article: "Livni has asked Wolfowitz to give incentives to the Palestinian farmers to exterminate the infected birds immediately, in wake of concerns that in lack of international intervention, the required procedures will not take place in the Palestinian Authority (PA)."


http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=13871
(fair use applies)


WB to aid Palestine Authority fight bird flu

The World Bank has announced it plans to transfer more than US$2 million in aid to Palestinian poultry farmers whose chickens contracted the bird flu virus, local media reported Saturday.

The World Bank has decided to funnel the money in compliance with a request by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who spoke with the Bank's President Paul Wolfowitz, and following talks between senior bank officials and Foreign Ministry Director General Ron Prushor.

Livni has asked Wolfowitz to give incentives to the Palestinian farmers to exterminate the infected birds immediately, in wake of concerns that in lack of international intervention, the required procedures will not take place in the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The foreign minister has also spoken with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and requested the organization help in eliminating the virus in the PA.

Following their conversation, Annan stated he will direct the World Health Organization and The Agriculture and Food Organization to reinforce the aid teams operating in the PA, in a bid to boost efforts to fight the virus' spread.

The bird flu was discovered in the PA Wednesday, and consequently Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed all the professional offices working opposite the PA to lend all the assistance required in order to contaminate the virus' outbreak.

According to Olmert's instructions, all ministries working in cooperation with the PA, including the Health and Agriculture Ministries, will provide the Palestinian with all necessary assistance, including protection gear and instruction materials.

Jordan: Virus threatens to spread

Agriculture Minister Zeev Boim spoke Friday with his Jordanian counterpart after the bird flu was identified in the neighboring kingdom as well.

Boim offered Jordan the Agriculture Ministry's assistance and emphasized the need for a regional cooperation in order to fight the virus.

The Jordanian minister noted in the conversation that his country has been following the Israeli Ministry's activities and that it would be happy to receive further updates and assistance.

On Monday, officials from both countries are set to meet and discuss the situation. The two ministers may also hold a meeting at that time.

Same story as reported by Reuters. Notice how the leave out it was the Israelis who urged that the world community help the Palestinians. MSM has no agenda Posting because there are some interesting tidbits in this article that weren't in the one posted above.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25421545.htm
(fair use applies)


Palestinians get $2 mln in World Bank bird flu aid
25 Mar 2006 15:47:00 GMT
Source: Reuters

GAZA, March 25 (Reuters) - The World Bank will donate $2 million to help Palestinians contain an outbreak of the deadly avian flu in the Gaza Strip, a bank official said on Saturday.

Contagions were discovered in two Gaza chicken farms this week, the first cases in Palestinian-ruled areas. But the culling of the poultry has been held up, with the owners insisting they be guaranteed compensation. The World Bank official said the pledge followed requests by the Palestinian Authority and humanitarian agencies.

"The World Bank has agreed to pay $2 million to the Palestinian Authority in order to limit the spread of bird flu," the official said.

Israel, which is battling its own outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus, has agreed to donate protective gear and culling equipment to the Palestinians.

Bird flu can infect people who come into close contact with infected poultry and has killed about 100 people since late 2003. Experts fear the virus will mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person.

There have been no confirmed cases of the virus infecting humans in Gaza or the West Bank, where Palestinians seek statehood. The outbreak in the West Bank has so far been limited to a Jewish settlement under Israeli control.

http://bham.redstate.com/story/2006/3/24/16437/9013
(fair use applies)

Pandemic Flu Conference - Experts Forecasts
By: Bham · Section: Diaries

Carnagie-Mellon University has released proceedings of "Pandefense 1.0," a Nov 2005 conference of health experts convened to discuss the implications of an H5N1 Avian flu pandemic. Some key consensus forecasts include:

* Probability of the US having "adequate stockpiles of vaccine and antiviral drugs to prevent a [flu] pandemic within three years" is only one percent.

* Probability of a human-human transmissible mutation of the H5N1 strain within three years is 15 percent.

* Median worst-case US mortality forecast is six million (180 million worldwide).

A summary of this research can be found here. (edit to add link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060322180137.htm)

In addition to the profound public health implications of such a disaster scenario, it would (I think inevitably) be accompanied by major economic, geopolitical, and domestic destabilization. In the same way, and for the same reasons, that many historians believe bubonic plague was a major catalyst in ending the European Middle Ages - by undercutting the system of landed aristocracy and indentured serfs, and by enhancing the bargaining power of tradesmen and guilds, for example - this could be as transformative, if it happens?

The conventional wisdom is that the epidemics that largely destroyed the Incan civilization of Central and South America were brought by the conquistadors (smallpox for example). But newer Mexican research suggests it may have in fact been a series of hantavirus pandemics precipitated by the end of long droughts resulting in the overpopulation of infected rodents. In either case, epidemic diseases did as much or more than foreign conquest to "revolutionize" pre-colonial American culture. Whether the revolution was for better or worse is obviously debated, but my only point is the change was profound.

What will become of us in a pandemic scenario? Six million fatalities (the conference median worst case forecast) is still just two percent of the US population of 300 million. That's really bad, but the accompanying economic disaster as transport and business shut down would touch all 100 percent of Americans. Would we, could we, hold a civil society together under such pressure?

For me, an inescapable lesson of Hurricane Katrina is the importance of prior planning at the individual and family level, and of self-reliance. A flu pandemic, and its sequelae, could be a thousand-fold more challenging than any weather or seismic disaster... perhaps on a par only with an astronomical-scale event like a large meteor strike.

After most disasters, the most uplifting stories are the people-helping-people kind... ignoring for the moment the dark side like the New Orleans looters or the NYC blackout riots... but by definition in a pandemic people at large will seek to minimize interpersonal contract. This could be either our finest, or darkest, hour. The same could be said for our leaders, and our civil and political institutions. Will it be Mad Max or Florence Nightingale?

Mar 24th, 2006: 16:04:37

Here's the article mentioned above:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060322180137.htm
(fair use applies)

Source: Carnegie Mellon University

Posted: March 24, 2006

Medical Experts: U.S. Unlikely To Have Enough Vaccines To Stop Avian Flu

A group of medical experts who attended a national avian flu conference last fall believe there is little chance the United States will be able to manufacture and stockpile enough vaccine or antiviral medication to stop a bird flu pandemic should the virus mutate into a form that can be spread easily from human to human, according to a survey led by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. The results of the survey will be published in the June 2006 issue of the journal Global Public Health.

The 19 medical experts who attended the Pandefense 1.0 meeting in November gave a median estimate of a less than 1 percent chance that the U.S. will have adequate stockpiles of vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent a pandemic within the next three years. The same experts gave a median estimate of 15 percent for the probability that the avian flu virus will mutate into a strain that can spread efficiently by human-to-human contact within that time. Their median worst-case estimate of the number of people who would die, should that happen, was 6 million in the United States and 180 million worldwide. Their median best-case estimates were 500,000 dead in the United States and 20 million worldwide.

"It surprised me that they thought it was going to be this bad," said Wändi Bruine De Bruin, lead author of the study and research faculty member in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon.

The survey also included 17 non-medical experts from a variety of fields who were more pessimistic about the likelihood of human-to-human transmission, giving a median 60 percent chance that it would occur within three years. They did, however, have more faith in medical science, giving a median 15 percent chance of the United States having enough vaccine and a 30 percent chance that the nation would have enough antiviral medications to halt a pandemic.

"The medical experts' estimates suggest this is a bigger risk than anything else we are facing," said Baruch Fischhoff, a study co-author and the Howard Heinz University Professor of Social and Decision Sciences and Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon.

Both the medical and the non-medical experts agreed that the greatest hope for mitigating the effects of an avian flu outbreak among humans lies in heightened global surveillance and, should the virus become pandemic, hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing. Unfortunately, the efficacy of such strategies in preventing the spread of infectious diseases has not been extensively studied, Bruine de Bruin said. Although the federal government has expressed a commitment to open communication about these risks, its messages have not yet been scientifically evaluated, according to Fischhoff.

The survey results were co-authored by Larry Brilliant with the Google Foundation and Denise Caruso with the Hybrid Vigor Institute.

Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here. (edit to add link: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060317_flu.html)

As flu pandemic swept world, locals sought isolation​

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/14191058.htm

Virus of 1918, which killed tens of millions, meant East Bay residents donned masks, closed public gathering places
By Sandy Kleffman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Concord shut down its saloons, suddenly becoming "a bone dry town."

Livermore banned card playing and dice shaking.

UC Berkeley required students and faculty to wear masks, creating an eerie atmosphere on campus and more than a little identity confusion.

The 1918 flu pandemic profoundly affected the East Bay.

As the virus swept the world, killing 40 million to 50 million people and making many others gravely ill, local residents hunkered down, isolating themselves in often-vain attempts to prevent the virus' spread.

The Richmond city health officer closed schools, pool rooms and bowling alleys "until further notice." The schools remained shuttered for more than two months, according to Times' historical writer Nilda Rego.

"The entire state is practically all closed up," reported the Independent, a Richmond newspaper.

Livermore leaders encouraged residents to avoid public gatherings, including church services, notes historian Gary Drummond in an article on the pandemic. Attendance at funerals was limited to family members.

In Martinez, the Shell Oil Company converted its old mess hall into a temporary hospital for employees. Workers who fell ill had to present a doctor's certificate verifying their recovery before they could come back inside the refinery gates.

Many cities aggressively enforced mask requirements. Oakland created a 300-person special police force to crack down on its residents, notes Rex Adams in an article for the Chronicle of the University of California.

Two days after Berkeley's mask ordinance took effect, authorities arrested 171 men and four women "mask slackers." They faced fines up to $500.

Fears of the virus extended to weddings. On Oct. 28, Abraham Rothenstein kissed his bride, Annie Nicholson of San Pablo, through a gauze mask.

At UC Berkeley, the virus first spread rapidly among members of its Students' Army Training Corps. To protect the city, the university quarantined the SATC students, banning them from leaving campus.

As the virus spread throughout the university, halls and gyms became infirmaries for hundreds of ill students.

Classes continued, but with many empty seats. The UC Berkeley president recommended a moratorium on new class assignments for 10 days to prevent large numbers of students from falling behind.

The demand for masks exceeded supply. UC Berkeley women began producing them by the thousands, as did Red Cross volunteers in Martinez.

One student, writing in the UC Berkeley campus newspaper, remarked on the anonymity of those who wore masks.

"It was rather an unusual sight to see people go about the campus yesterday, trying to decide whether the persons in front of them were or were not acquaintances. No doubt several unintentional 'snubs' were given and probably some may have thought a wildly democratic fever had suddenly seized every member of the university.

"... Few of us stopped to consider the serious side of the order issued to wear masks."

Cambodia's latest bird flu outbreak a 'serious' problem - WHO​

http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2006/03/26/afx2622042.html

03.26.2006, 06:45 AM

PHNOM PENH (AFX) - The World Health Organization expressed 'great concern' over Cambodia's latest bird flu outbreak after three more suspected cases were hospitalised following last week's death of a child from H5N1.

'It's a great concern, it's a serious problem ... we have to take this as seriously as possible,' WHO representative Michael O'Leary told Agence France-Presse.

Three people -- one adult and two children -- are being treated for fever and respiratory problems at a hospital in the capital Phnom Penh, health officials said.

The suspected cases come from a village neighboring that of three-year-old Mon Vuthy, who died Tuesday after falling ill with the H5N1 strain of the virus.

She was the first bird flu death in Cambodia this year and the fifth since 2003.

Five other people who had contact with the suspected cases are also being tested, said Ly Sovann, head of the health ministry's department of infectious diseases.

It is unknown how the three might have become infected with the deadly virus, he said.

Agriculture ministry officials said tests are being done on poultry in the area, but no traces of H5N1 have been found so far in any birds, despite the deaths of hundreds in the area earlier this month.

This is particularly troubling, O'Leary said, because if the three people are found to have bird flu it would mean they had some exposure to birds that 'we are not aware of'.

Seven other villagers thought to have caught bird flu after the girl died tested negative for the virus, Ly Sovann said Saturday.

'All the seven suspected patients are negative ... all of them are better,' he said.

The seven, all from the girl's village, fell ill with fevers around the same time that the girl died.

Officials think the toddler became infected after playing with sick chickens in Phum Prich village in Kompong Speu province, 45 kilometers west of the capital.

Cambodia's last outbreak of bird flu in humans occurred in early 2005, while the virus has been found in ducks in eastern Kompong Cham province twice since February, triggering the slaughter of hundreds of birds.

AFX News Limited

H5N1 Indonesian Pandemic Vaccine Sequence Released​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03260601/H5N1_Vaccine_Indo_Sequence.html

Recombinomics Commentary
March 26, 2006

The human H5N1 sequence selected for the next US pandemic vaccine target was just released at Los Alamos (A/Indonesia/5/2005). It is from the father of the index case in Indonesia. Samples from the index case and her sister were not collected, but H5N1 was isolated from her father. Media reports of the familial cluster were in mid-July, and the sequence sof the HA and NA were deposited at Los Alamos by the CDC on August 1. 2005 at 9:29 GMT. The sequence was just updated and released to the public, although the other 6 gene segments are still locked up in the password protected side of the database, along with dozens of other H5N1 sequences from around the world.

Although the sequence is most closely related to Indonesian poultry, especially A/chicken/Wajo/BBVM/2205, there are many polymorphisms not in the most closely related sequence. Moreover, at the protein level there are human specific changes not found in the database, including a new glycosylation site, A90T, as well as a novel cleavage site RESRRKKR.

Many other changes are in the sequences and these polymorphisms are easily linked to H5N1 sequences in the area or in a range of migratory birds. There are polymorphism found in Vietnam and not Thailand as well as Thailand and not Vietnam. There are sequences in the migratory ducks from Jiangxi that appeared at Qinghai Lake and sequences that did not. There are Qinghai sequences not in the Jiangxi ducks and sequences from Henna tree sparrows and Hunan blackbirds. There are a few polymorphisms not limited to H5N1 isolates, including the recent Bavarian mallard sequence or the Canadian or Spanish swine.

In short, the Indonesian sequence is a genetic passport of where sequences have recombined to produce a rapidly evolving deadly H5N1 in Indonesia in July of 2005. The more recent infections no doubt have sequences that have evolved significantly since July of 2005 because of the large number of sequences flying into Indonesia as well as the sequences in people, pigs, and poultry resident within Indonesia.

This genetic soup is getting thicker as Indonesia fails to test and cull and WHO keeps the evolving story under lock and key, available to its consultants who have yet to issue any public statement acknowledging that H5N1 is rapidly evolving via recombination. Instead they issue press releases about reassortment and random mutations and chase the evolving H5N1, which is no contest with current approaches.

It is long past time to release the data. All 8 gene segments of the first official H5N1 case in Indonesia should have been released in August, 2005 and the locked up sequestered sequences should be released immediately.

Sounds like WHO is very worried about the situation in Cambodia.

More people suspected of bird flu reported in Cambodia and Indonesia​

http://www.vnanet.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=33&NEWS_ID=192229

03/26/2006 -- 22:21(GMT+7)

Phnom Penh (VNA) - Three more Cambodian people were hospitalised for having symptons similar to those of bird flu virus infection, said the country's Health officials on March 25.

The patients, including one adult and two children, come from a village next to the home village of the three-year-old girl, who died five days ago after falling ill, affected by the H5N1 virus.

In addition, five others, who had contacts with the suspected cases, were being tested, the officials said.

The same day, a senior official of the Indonesian Health Ministry said that local test confirmed a one-year old baby girl who died in Jakarta on March 23 was positive for bird flu virus. It was not clear whether she had contacts with poutry, the official added.

If confirmed by the World Health Organisation's Hongkong-based laboratory, this will be Indonesia's 23rd bird flu fatality in Indonesia.-Enditem

Ga. Expecting Millions For Bird Flu​

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=77813

Provided by: The Associated Press
Last Modified: 3/26/2006 12:20:03 PM

ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia could receive more than $8 million from the federal government to prepare for bird flu or other potential pandemics.

Dr. Stuart Brown, a state health official, on Friday said federal officials have already promised Georgia $2.6 million. And after additional planning, the state could qualify for another $6 million.

Georgia's pandemic plan was first released in October. It predicts that 6,200 Georgia residents would die and 22,000 would be
hospitalized if a world-spanning strain of severe flu hits the state.

Brown said although a state plan is in place, hospitals, schools and businesses in the state do not have detailed plans that will help them function during a pandemic.

The state is asking county health departments to form community working groups to identify current holes in pandemic planning.

Brown said getting the state ready is -- quote --"a daunting challenge."

Chickens smuggled from India: Bird flu may spread in Rajshahi areas​

http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_26690.shtml

By BDNEWS, Rajshahi
Sun, 26 Mar 2006, 10:27:00

Bulanpur, Amirpur and Zianagar - three quays of Padma river in west Rajshahi city have been major trafficking routes of Indian chicken possibly carrying 'bird flu' virus.

Sources said some Kamal, Bhashan, Altaf and Shafiq operate the chicken trafficking through these routes.

The 11,000 chickens sold in auction from Rajshahi Customs Godown on March 22 have are reportedly been smuggled through these routes.

Sources also said as poultry owners of Rajshahi can easily identify the Indian chickens, each day thousands of chickens smuggled from these routes are distributed all over the country, with a small volume of sale in Rajshahi zone.

The poultry owners get an advantage of Tk 10 with each chicken when buying smuggled Indian one instead of a local chicken.

According to a source, the smugglers earn Tk 5 with every single chicken they traffic.

Reportedly every day one to ten thousand chickens are smuggled by each smuggler through west Rajshahi routes in broad daylight.

Other than these three mentioned routes, there are about 50 smuggling routes for chickens in Rajshahi only.

Some Murtuza and Mojam control these three smuggling routes by collecting tolls, negotiating government administration etc, said a local source.

On the other hand, the probe committee to investigate the complaint of selling 'bird flu' affected chicken in the customs auction on March 22.

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>New bird flu virus highly aggressive, changeable</font>

By a staff reporter
26 March 2006
<A href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2006/March/theuae_March830.xml&section=theuae&col=">www.khaleejtimes.com</a></center>
ABU DHABI — Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Emirates Falconers' Club, has cautioned that a new highly aggressive and changeable type of bird flu virus is prevalent which might prove disastrous if transferred to humans.</b>

"No one can be away from the threat of this virus because it is highly infectious and dangerous and moves with migrating birds, people and goods," Shaikh Hamdan noted in the editorial in the new issue of Al Saggar magazine, published by the Emirates Falconers' Club.

In history the influenza transferred from birds to humans has caused three big disasters, killing around 46 million people and millions of birds besides innumerable social and economic losses in different parts of the world. Now the virus has reached Europe, parts of Africa, and other spots closer to us in India, Iraq, Turkey, etc. People started to feel the tragic effects of the virus in these areas even before becoming epidemic.

Shaikh Hamdan praised the efforts of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to provide all possible procedures to protect the people and economy of the country from this virus.

"Thanks to the efforts of the National Bird Flu Committee and other concerned bodies we have now a plan and work teams to face the crisis, and we have done all necessary procedures and legislations to protect ourselves and our country from the expected danger," Shaikh Hamdan added.

He also made clear that there are no guarantees that entry of the pandemic could be prevented. "We still cannot guarantee that the virus will not enter the country, although we hope that our efforts and the awareness of our people would prevent it. We can not depend on official regulations and control procedures, even if they were very strict and efficient, because they alone can not protect us from a virus that can be transferred through many uncontrollable means, such as the migrating birds and secretions of infected birds. However, we first depend on transparency and frankness to firm up the communication and trust between government officials and the public."

He said the world should work together to keep off the threat of this virus. "Actions should go beyond sympathy, conferences and daily news, and take the form of a worldwide programme led by the World Health Organisation and patronised by the United Nations and effective international forces with the participation of the pioneering organisations and establishments specialised in disease prevention, care and treatment. We might also need to create task forces of experts, scientists, researchers and administrators who have the back up, the will, and the motivation to save mankind from an imminent danger," Shaikh Hamdan concluded.

As part of its commitment to heighten awareness about nature and wildlife conservation in the minds of its readers, Al Saggar presented an article on bird flu and its connection with the sport of falconry, including a simple comprehensive description of the disease, methods of transmission, symptoms, treatment and prevention.

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<B><center>Bird Flu Update:
<font size=+1 color=brown>Three more hospitalised with bird flu symptoms</font>

March 26 2006
<A href="http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Saturday/National/20060325075411/Article/index_html">www.nst.com.my</a></center>
KUALA LUMPUR: Three more people were admitted to hospital yesterday with bird flu symptoms.

They were a 21-year-old man in Taiping, a three-year-old child in Penang and a 23-year-old man in Batu Gajah.</b>

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the three were detected by health officials who were conducting door-to-door checks within 300 metres of the bird flu outbreak areas on Thursday.

However, there is no one currently afflicted by the virus in the country.

Dr Chua said people with bird flu symptoms were admitted for observation and isolation in case they were infected with the virus.

The number of hospitals specialising in treating bird flu patients will be increased from the present 21 if the situation gets worse.

The move is part of the national bird flu epidemic plan which is being drafted by the ministry and agriculture authorities in the event that the H5N1 virus becomes widespread.

Health Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the implementation of the plan would depend on how widely the virus spread across the country.

Meanwhile, in Ipoh, Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) director Dr Sharifah Syed Hassan said genetic sequences extracted from the H5N1 virus which affected livestock in Perak and Penang recently, would be sent to the World Health Organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The sequence will be entered into the world body’s genetic database to enable scientists worldwide to study the evolving characteristics of the virus and the severity of its effects on the human and poultry population.

She said the VRI was still investigating the type of H5N1 variant which infected village livestock and an aviary this month.

Dr Sharifah said H5N1 found in livestock culled in Tumpat, Kelantan, almost two years ago was identified as the Thailand/Vietnam variant.

In Gombak, Selangor, it was the China/Indonesia variant that had infected livestock early this year.

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<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>More people suspected of bird flu reported in Cambodia and Indonesia</font>

03/26/2006 -- 22:21(GMT+7)
<A href="http://www.vnanet.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=33&NEWS_ID=192229">www.vnanet.vn</a></center>
Phnom Penh (VNA) - Three more Cambodian people were hospitalised for having symptons similar to those of bird flu virus infection, said the country's Health officials on March 25.</b>

The patients, including one adult and two children, come from a village next to the home village of the three-year-old girl, who died five days ago after falling ill, affected by the H5N1 virus.

In addition, five others, who had contacts with the suspected cases, were being tested, the officials said.

The same day, a senior official of the Indonesian Health Ministry said that local test confirmed a one-year old baby girl who died in Jakarta on March 23 was positive for bird flu virus. It was not clear whether she had contacts with poutry, the official added.

If confirmed by the World Health Organisation's Hongkong-based laboratory, this will be Indonesia's 23rd bird flu fatality in Indonesia.-Enditem

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<B><center>Sunday, March 26, 2006

Bird flu:
<font size=+1 color=blue>Human spread of virus still limited, but backyard poultry may be at risk</font>

By DEBBIE GILBERT
<A href="http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20060326/localnews/80666.shtml">The Times </a></center>
There was good news and bad news about bird flu last week. The good news: Scientists have discovered why the highly pathogenic H5N1 flu virus has not yet mutated into a form that can be passed from human to human.

Ordinary flu viruses are easily contagious because they live in the nose and throat and can be transmitted through coughing and sneezing. </b>

But H5N1 prefers to live deep inside the lungs, which makes transmission more difficult. It also explains why people who do contract bird flu often develop a fatal case of pneumonia.

Now, the bad news: As of Friday, the World Health Organization had confirmed 186 human cases and 105 deaths in eight Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Nearly all of the cases occurred in people who lived or worked with birds.

If the virus never mutates to a human-to-human strain, there won't be a global pandemic. But anyone who has close contact with birds still could be at risk, and that may have implications for some people in Hall County.

So far, the risk is hypothetical. H5N1 hasn't reached the Western Hemisphere, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has banned imports of poultry from any country where the virus has been detected in birds.

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin believes customs inspectors will be able to thwart any illegal imports.

"Security is about as tight as we can get it," Irvin said. "We think the system is in place to catch somebody if they're trying to smuggle a bird in."

Even if someone does manage to bring in an infected bird, it poses almost no threat to commercial poultry flocks. The industry has taken extensive precautions to prevent an epidemic.

Anyone who walks into a chicken house must go through a disinfection process, and the chickens spend their entire lives indoors, isolated from wild birds. Also, all flocks are tested for the virus before slaughter.

But not all poultry is raised commercially. With Hall County's growing immigrant population, it's not unusual to see residents keep roosters or other domestic fowl in their back yards. Some are pets, some are intended for human consumption, and others are bred for illegal cockfighting.

"You can't maintain a pit or other facilities for fighting, but the county has no law against owning birds," said Rick Phillips, Hall County Animal Control supervisor. "There's a lucrative business in the buying and selling of specially bred roosters."

Kept in cages or roaming free in yards, domestic fowl can come into contact with wild birds. Though the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among wild species in Europe and Asia, scientists initially thought the United States was at low risk because migratory pathways in the Eastern Hemisphere don't intersect with those in the West.

Recently, however, biologists have speculated that infected birds could cross the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska. Birds from the Lower 48 states that spend the summer in Alaska then could carry the disease back to the mainland when they return home for the winter.

On Monday, the USDA and Department of the Interior announced they had expanded testing for avian flu in migratory birds on the Alaska flyway.

But surveillance is not the same as prevention. A few years ago, the West Nile virus spread like wildfire across the United States despite sophisticated tracking methods. And wherever the disease showed up among birds, human cases soon followed.

John Glisson, director of avian medicine at the University of Georgia's veterinary school, thinks if the H5N1 virus leaps from wild birds to domestic poultry, the most likely point of entry will be the live-bird markets that are common in the northeastern U.S.

"That's been the source of most of our (low-pathogenic) avian flu strains," he said. "The government knows it but doesn't have the will to shut those places down."

The live-bird markets cater to Asian and Latino immigrants who prefer the taste of fresh-killed poultry. There are no such markets in Georgia. And, coincidentally or not, Georgia has never had an outbreak of any type of avian flu.

Locally, most noncommercial poultry is sold at livestock auction houses or flea markets, such as the popular one in Pendergrass. Irvin said these establishments are monitored by the state agriculture department.

"Vendors who sell birds at flea markets must test them (for bird flu) at the point of sale, and we do inspect for that," he said.

What worries Glisson are the birds sold on the black market, undetected by regulators.

"Often the people who have these birds are themselves illegal (immigrants), so if we can't even control them, how can we control their animals?" he said.

Cockfighting is illegal in Georgia and 47 other states, but the activity still continues. In November 2003, the Hall County Sheriff's Office broke up a cockfighting ring in Gainesville. Eight people were arrested, most of them Vietnamese immigrants.

"You can make laws against things, but that doesn't mean they go away," Glisson said. "These birds are hauled around, taken to cockfights or to places where they will be sold, and they're exposed to other birds. That's really a nightmare for the spread of disease."

National Guard prepares for pandemic flu (S.Dakota)


http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/abe...ws/14193026.htm

Posted on Sun, Mar. 26, 2006

Associated Press RAPID CITY, S.D. - The South Dakota National Guard needs to prepare for whatever is asked of it if an avian-flu pandemic develops, the Guard's commander said.
Last week, 14 National Guard officials at Camp Rapid were among those from 54 states and U.S. territories involved in a tabletop exercise to assess the status of Guard planning efforts to respond to a potential pandemic.
Scientists are worried that the H5N1 virus that is killing poultry could change into a version that spreads easily from person to person, touching off a pandemic. It has killed 105 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Maj. Gen. Mike Gorman, the adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard, said the state's soldiers are up to the challenge.
"This is not new to any of you," he told the group assembled in the conference room. "We are highly capable of dealing with whatever goes on."
Gorman was among those who attended a recent summit in Sioux Falls during which U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said the federal government can do only so much in the event of a flu pandemic.
"Our state has to plan down to the local level," Gorman said. "We can't just say that somebody is going to ride in here and solve the problem for us. That's going to drive a lot of the planning over the next year."
"We are going to continue what we are doing, and that is to do everything we can to be prepared to be supportive of whatever is needed of us, within the realm of what we bring to the table," such as transportation and communications, Gorman said.
"We can't afford to panic over this thing, but I think the healthy sense of concern thats part of better planning is the key," he said. "And that's what I see happening at the state level."
He said the cooperation among agencies and groups that was common after the late November ice storm would be duplicated with a pandemic.
Gorman said it is likely that a flu pandemic will be the focus of the Guard's next disaster exercise.
He also said that what the Guard learns from pandemic planning can be applied to other disasters such as an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, forest fires, tornadoes and floods.

Egypt reports new suspected human bird flu case​

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/27/content_4348089.htm

CAIRO, March 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Egyptian Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali announced on Sunday that a new suspected case of human bird flu had been found in the country's Nile delta region, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.

Shaimaa Khairi el-Desoqi was being treated in a local hospital in the governorate of Kafr el-Sheikh, some 125 km north of Cairo. The 18-year-old girl, who had come into contact with dead birds, started to show bird flu symptoms on Thursday, including high temperature, sore throat and muscle ache, according to the report. Members of her family are currently being tested for the avian influenza virus.

The latest case brought to five the total number of suspected human bird flu cases in the populous north African country. Egypt confirmed on March 18 that a woman who had been raising chickens at home died of H5N1 bird flu virus, the first human case of the lethal disease in the country.

The other patients either have recovered or are still under treatment in hospitals.

Egypt reported first case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in dead poultry on Feb. 17 and the government has since taken tough measures to curb the spread of the disease.

The deadly H5N1 strain has killed over 100 people worldwide since its outbreak in southeast Asia in late 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

Most victims were infected after close contact with sick birds. The virus currently can only jump from birds to humans, but scientists fear that it could mutate into a form capable of passing easily among humans and thus spark a global human flu pandemic which might kill millions. Enditem

Suicides follow the bird flu​

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=121708

BV MAHALAKSHMI
Posted online: Monday, March 27, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

HYDERABAD, MARCH 26: Having reeled under the bird flu fear, poultry industry across the country is now facing a suicide spree.

Due to a reported loss of over Rs 4,000 crore across the country, small farmers are scared due to low prices. The industry is badly hit with prices going down to as low as 50 paise per egg and Rs 5 for one kg of chicken from an all-time high of Rs 1.80 and Rs 65 respectively. Apparently, domestic prices are hurting the small farmers and forcing some of them to even commit suicide.

According to K Narayana Reddy, president, Andhra Pradesh Poultry Federation, three farmers - one each from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal had committed suicide in the recent weeks. It has also been reported that over 10 farmers in the country have committed suicide since the bird flu scare broke out. Blaming the insensitive attitude of the Centre, Mr Reddy said, farmers are committing suicide due to mounting losses and inablility to feed the birds due to very low egg prices over 35 days.”

KVS Subba Raju, zonal chairman, National Egg Coordination Committee, said when there is no single case of human to human transmission of Avian Influenza anywhere in the world and not even a single case of human blood sample testing positive for bird flu anywhere in the country, the Central government officials are unnecessarily terrorising the public with their statements on spread of bird flu to human beings.

“The loss incurred by the poultry sector is Rs 200 crore per day and the mounting losses is leading to desperation and farmers committing suicides,” said KG Anand, general manager, Venkateshwara Hatcheries.

Bird Flu Economic Impact Potential​

http://www.kbcitv.com/x70944.xml

By Teri Nelson

BOISE -

Monday Idaho government and business leaders will meet to discuss how they would handle a bird flu pandemic.

Government officials have already asked families to stockpile food in case they need to stay inside for days. Now Tom Shanahan, with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, tells Local Two News they're looking for ways the economy could continue to function in a pandemic situation. "If we have 25% of our workforce out, if we ask people to stay home for days or even possibly weeks to stop the spread of Avian Flu--we need to figure out ways for business continuity." Shanahan said.

Shanahan also said that emergency preparation is a good investment because the basic plan can be adapted for any disaster situation-- even if a bird pandemic never occurs.

Link to tomorrows (3/27) Bird Flu thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=191163