04/01 | Daily BF: "Countries must share information" - UN

Link to yesterday's thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=191729

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

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

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

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


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

Updated March 29, 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

Bird flu: countries must share information despite fears of short-term losses – UN​

30 March 2006 – Some countries worry that sharing information about bird flu will affect their economies, poultry industry and tourism business, but transparency is still the long-term solution for those concerns, a senior United Nations point man in the fight against the disease said today.

“It’s a very tricky issue,” the UN System’s Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza David Nabarro, told UN television in an interview when asked how such fears could be eased. He cited Viet Nam as a good example of the policy that speedy transparency benefits the long-term economic interest.

Timely information-sharing is vital in mobilizing resources to contain the H5N1 bird flu virus which has so far spread out of Asia into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, leading to the deaths or culling of more than 150 million birds. Experts fear that in a worst case scenario it could mutate into a deadly human pandemic.

“You can’t reassure a country, a government that if they share information, that it won’t necessarily mean that in the short term at least they will feel some pain, they may have a reduction in tourism, they may have a reduction in the willingness of other countries to buy their poultry,” Mr. Nabarro said.

“But, I’ve talked to the Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam, for example, and he said to me: ‘We know in Viet Nam we have to be open because we want our tourism industry so stay strong in the long term. Tourists will come to our country if they trust us to be honest.

“‘If they find out that we’ve hidden something then the long-term damage to our tourist industry will be substantial, therefore we’re going to be open [with] everything we know,’” he quoted the minister as saying.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday made an impassioned plea for greater funding beyond the $1.9 billion already pledged to help poor countries, above all in Africa, to fight bird flu. “We know that H5N1 avian influenza can be controlled if outbreaks are identified quickly, infected animals are culled, and movement and marketing of poultry are stopped in outbreak areas,” he said.

“But such measures can succeed only if communities and animal health authorities work together, if we keep the public informed about risks and the means to reduce them, if we monitor progress carefully, and if we provide swift and adequate financial compensation for culled birds,” he added of the need to prevent fear of lost livelihood from impeding speedy reporting of the disease.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18004&Cr=bird&Cr1=flu#

Summit attendees plan for worst, hope for best​

http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_090230655.html

By Bev Davis
REGISTER-HERALD SENIOR EDITOR

Those who gathered Friday for the Regional Pandemic Flu Summit in Beckley all said they hope a worldwide disaster such as a bird flu pandemic never occurs. However, they all want to be prepared if it does.

“We still have time to plan and prepare, and coordinating local agencies and community organizations is a critical part of that preparation,” said Kim Coleman of the West Virginia Division of Threat Preparedness, WVDHHR.

Hurricane Katrina provided an opportunity for Americans to see the scope of issues that arise in a widespread crisis.

“Everyone from public health officials to funeral home directors are involved,” Coleman said.

Fayette County Health Officer Dr. Donald Newell Jr. said local health departments have already done a great deal of planning, but the summit provides an opportunity for networking with other agencies and developing a comprehensive plan for responding to a pandemic.

“We have always given flu vaccinations every year. We are now giving it in a way that that we could duplicate in a pandemic flu,” Newell said. “We have developed a core of volunteers that we nurture and keep track of so we can call them in to help if we need them.”

State Veterinarian Dr. Joe Starcher added a note of levity amid all the serious conversations. “I’m here to represent the chickens,” he said, pointing to a flock of hens on his tie.

A pandemic flu spread initially by birds would have a dramatic impact on West Virginia’s economy. “We have a $250 million poultry industry in this state. If the bird flu comes here, we want to keep it out of the poultry population, but if it reaches the poultry population, we want to keep it out of the human population, so our goals are twofold,” Starcher said.

David Hoge, emergency services director for the American Red Cross, said these summits provided the localized educational efforts necessary for all people who would be called upon to help in an emergency.

“This will help us to be able to coordinate a response if a situation would develop,” Hoge said. “We would be able to work together more efficiently and to avoid duplicating services so that each agency can be maximally effective.”

Dr. Catherine Slemp, executive director of the Division of Threat Preparedness, Public Health, WVDHHR, said thinking through a potential crisis before it occurs enables agencies and individuals to cover all the bases.

“We plan for the worst case scenario,” she said. “Pandemic flu is an issue bigger than health care alone. This summit enables agency representatives to talk with one another and to pose questions and think through those issues and come up with positive solutions,” Slemp said.

Indonesia

Indonesian man tests positive for bird flu​

Sat Apr 1, 1:15 AM ET

An Indonesian man has tested positive for the bird flu virus, one day after the government confirmed the country's 23rd human death from the disease, a health official said on Saturday.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus has spread in birds at an alarming rate in recent months, sweeping through parts of Europe, into Africa, and flaring anew in Asia. It has killed at least 105 people since it re-emerged in late 2003.

"A 23-year-old man was positive (for the disease) according to a local test. He is at Jamil Hospital in Padang, West Sumatra," I Nyoman Kandun, Director General of Disease Control at Indonesia's Health Ministry, told Reuters.

"He is alive and so far is in stable condition," Kandun added, saying blood samples will be sent to a World Health Organisation-affiliated lab in Hong Kong for further tests. Such labs are considered definitive in determining flu cases.

Indonesia has had 12 WHO-lab confirmed bird flu human deaths so far in 2006, the highest of any country. On Friday, the health ministry said that tests had confirmed that a one-year-old baby girl who died this month was Indonesia's latest bird flu victim.

Experts fear the virus could evolve into a form passed easily from human to human, causing a pandemic that could kill millions.

In Indonesia, the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has affected birds in about two-thirds of the country's provinces.

Regarding the man who has tested positive, Kandun said: "It was unclear whether he had any contact with sick chicken or not."

Stamping out the virus is a huge, if not impossible, task in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of about 17,000 islands and 220 million people, making it the world's fourth most populous country.

The government has resisted the mass culling of fowl seen in some other countries, citing the expense and the impracticality in a country where the keeping of a few chickens or ducks in backyards of homes is common in cities and on farms.

Agriculture officials estimate that Jakarta alone -- where the 23-year-old man had recently been -- has some 500,000 fowl.

Agencies have concentrated on selective culling, and on public education and hygiene measures aimed at prevention.

A sweeping door-to-door campaign to try to control the disease in the capital Jakarta, the country's biggest city which along with its suburbs has about 12 million people, only got underway at the end of February.

Similar efforts elsewhere in the country have hit glitches ranging from poor funding to transportation problems.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060401/wl_nm/birdflu_indonesia_dc

Switzerland

Switzerland Finds 4th Wild Bird Case Of H5N1 Flu Strain ​

BERN (AP)--A fourth case of the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu in a wild bird has been confirmed in Switzerland, authorities said Friday.

Switzerland's Federal Veterinary Office said a European Union laboratory in Weybridge, England had confirmed the H5N1 subtype in a dead duck found on the Swiss side of Lake Constance, which also borders Germany and Austria.

(END)

March 31, 2006 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT)

http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2006033111300020&Take=1

Czech Republic

Fifth case of bird flu registered in Czech Republic​

Prague- The bird flu virus has been confirmed in a fifth dead swan that was found in Bavorovice near Ceske Budejovice, south Bohemia, Josef Duben, spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration, said.

A sample will be sent for further examination to the EU Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, Britain, just as in the previous cases.

The tests of the first dead swan, found in Hluboka nad Vltavou, south Bohemia, confirmed the pathogenic virus H5N1 that is also dangerous to man.

In the second case, that occurred about four kilometres away form the first, the Czech National Reference Laboratory proved the presence of the most infectious H5 virus.

It was also confirmed in the third swan that was again found in Hluboka.

The results of the Weybridge tests for the H5N1 stem have not yet been available.

The virus type in the fourth swan is not yet known either.

13:47 - 01.04.2006

Bangladesh

Bangladesh seizes Indian chickens on bird flu fears​

Sat Apr 1, 2006 4:30 PM IST

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh, which has tightened its borders following the outbreak of bird flu in India, said on Saturday that its frontier guards seized and burned about 16,000 chickens smuggled from the neighbour in the past two days.

"We seized the Indian chickens from border areas in eastern district of Comilla and northern district of Rajshahi on Thursday night and Friday," said Major Motiur Rahman of Bangladesh Rifles.

"The Indian chickens were burnt later." he told Reuters.

There have so far been no reported outbreak of the H5N1 virus in Bangladesh, and officials strongly deny it might have spread quietly beyond the notice of health inspectors.

"We are keeping a close watch on the borders and within the country, monitoring all poultry farms," a health ministry official said.

"So far there is no sign of any outbreak of bird flu," he added.

Bangladesh has banned the import of poultry from 25 bird flu-hit countries, including India, as a precaution and asked border forces to crack down on smuggling of birds.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus has spread in birds at an alarming rate in recent months, sweeping through parts of Europe, into Africa, and flaring anew in Asia. It has killed at least 105 people since it re-emerged in late 2003.

Bird flu has delivered a major blow to poultry trade in India, where chicken is a staple for meat-eaters in India as beef and pork are not eaten for religious reasons or quality concerns.

Bangladesh has about 150,000 poultry farms with an annual turnover of $750 million dollars, industry officials said, adding that poultry production and consumption had fallen recently on bird flu fears.

"Production of young chickens have fallen from 4.5 or 5 million to 3.5 or 4 million per week," said Moshiur Rahman, secretary of poultry Breeders Association of Bangladesh.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/ne...161901Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-243228-1.xml

DJ H5N1 Virus Found In Poultry Near Cambodia Bird Flu Victim​

http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2006033107260003&Take=1

Copyright © 2006, Dow Jones Newswires

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)--Poultry raised by the neighbor of a toddler who died from bird flu were infected by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, according to test results on birds in the southern Cambodian village, officials said Friday.

Mon Puthy, 3, who died from bird flu last Tuesday, might have been infected after playing near the droppings of infected poultry, said Kao Phal, director of the Agriculture Ministry's animal health department.

Cambodian officials on Friday swept Tuol Prik village to cull remaining poultry to prevent the spread of the virus.

Kao Phal said the virus was found in a duck and a chicken from the neighbor's house, but not among the poultry raised by the girl's family.

The two birds found to be infected were from a batch of samples from 78 ducks and 17 chickens taken March 24 from the village in Kampong Speu province, the Food and Agriculture Organization said in its latest bulletin released Friday.

Farther south, in Kampot province's Angkor Chey district, the FAO said Friday that officials culled about 160 ducks and chickens after finding three ducks that tested positive for the H5N1 virus.

At least 105 people have died worldwide from bird flu since a wave of outbreaks of the H5N1 strain swept through Asian poultry populations in late 2003.

The human cases generally are traced to direct contact with sick birds, but medical experts fear the virus could mutate into form that spreads among people, sparking a pandemic.

-Edited by Michael Kitchen

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Bird flu warning</font>

By CARLY CRAWFORD and LINCOLN WRIGHT
02apr06
<A href="http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18678650%255E662,00.html">www.heraldsun.news.au</a></center>
A DOOMSDAY scenario for a bird flu epidemic has been drawn up amid fears the disease could reach Australia next year.</b>

Hundreds of thousands of deaths, the breakdown of essential services and the collapse of the health system have been forecast in the worst-case modelling.
H5N1, or the avian flu virus, can be transferred only from birds to humans, but researchers fear a mutation could result in it spreading between humans -- causing a pandemic. Confidential documents reveal radical contingency plans are being prepared and major employers briefed.

A scientist attached to the World Health Organisation said modelling suggests the virus might reach Australia next year. A Federal Government source said that if the virus mutated, a worst-case scenario suggests up to 60 per cent of the population could be infected.

"In a worst-case scenario, it is envisaged that society would collapse down to the family unit for eight to 10 weeks," the source said. "People would be sent home from work . . . and businesses would shut down. Essential services such as police, electricity generation and hospitals themselves might cease to function if staff became casualties."

Health Services Australia, which provides occupational health and safety advice, says on its website that pandemics usually affect one quarter of the population.

That could bring about up to 44,000 deaths and 148,000 hospitalisations.

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<B><font size\=+1 color=brown><center>City, region preparing for bird flu </font>

By Adam Leech
aleech@seacoastonline.com
<A href="http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/04012006/news/95540.htm">www.seacoastonline.com/news</a></center>
PORTSMOUTH - The greater Portsmouth area is prepared to respond to an outbreak of the avian flu, according to hospital and city officials.
Since 2003, instances of avian flu in animals have been reported in 46 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. Eight of those countries have reported human cases, many resulting in death. </b>

It is not clear when, or if, it will get to America, but local officials aren’t taking any chances.

"I would say we’re prepared for it any day," said Martha Wassell, infection control practitioner at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

The state presented its pandemic plan specific to avian flu two weeks ago. It outlines needs for the state using models of past influenza outbreaks, as well as spread and transmission models.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital is currently screening patients for symptoms of avian flu. Wassell said one of her responsibilities is to check every emergency room patient’s chart every day to identify any trends in symptoms.

The hospital is actively seeking alternative treatment facilities where patients can be treated if the hospital is full. Wassell said the inability of some hospitals in the Gulf Coast to respond adequately to the "hospital surge" after Hurricane Katrina has taught all emergency personnel a lesson.

"Every hospital or municipality in the country learned from Katrina," said Wassell. "Whether it comes today, next week, two weeks from now or never, we need to be prepared."

The strain of the virus has killed or forced the slaughter of more than 200 million birds across Asia since 2003. At least 105 people have died worldwide from bird flu since a wave of outbreaks of the avian flu strain swept through Asian poultry populations in late 2003.

The human cases generally are traced to direct contact with sick birds, but medical experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads among people, sparking a global pandemic.

"What we have seen in animal-to-human transfers indicates it creates significant respiratory distress in humans," said Wassell. "And because of that the risk to humans is perceived as great."

Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire, chairman of the Portsmouth Area Emergency Planning Team, said the city has worked with Newington, New Castle, Rye and Greenland and area care agencies, like the hospital, to prepare for a pandemic.

"We have a mass inoculation plan in place now ... to deal with any mass issue or pandemic that may arise," he said. "But whether it’s avian flu or something else, we need to be prepared for any emergency."

An avian flu drill was held in Portsmouth in November, which provided 2,000 free flu shots to the public and provided the PAEPT with assurance the area is prepared for an outbreak.

"It gave us renewed confidence that if something happened, we could respond to whatever issue," said LeClaire.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this article.

MEETING MONDAY

The Portsmouth Area Emergency Planning Team will meet Monday morning at 9 a.m. in Conference Room A at the City Hall. State epidemiologists are expected to be in attendance to update the group.

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<B><font size=+1 color=green><center>Building Your Bird Flu Preparedness Kit</font>

By Tom Banse
OLYMPIA, WA 2006-03-30
<A href="http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=896043">www.publicbroadcasting.net</a></center>
Dick and Sarah Bullard of Olympia have stockpiled ample food stores Photo By Tom Banse

The looming threat of bird flu is causing emergency planners to rethink some of their advice. </b>

You've no doubt heard for years now that you need to be prepared to survive on your own for three days after a natural disaster. In a flu pandemic, you could well have to hold out longer. Correspondent Tom Banse has the updated thinking.

-------------

John Wiesman: "'Social distancing' is a very simple concept. Basically, it's about how do you limit the amount of face-to-face contact with other people. How do you avoid being in crowds."

Officials like Clark County Health Department Director John Wiesman agree: Good hygiene and keeping several arms-lengths away from other people will be primary flu control strategies.

John Wiesman: "You might close down school or ask movie theaters or places where there would be large crowds to not open...cancel sporting events."

Wiesman says a good analogy would be an extended "snow day." You'll want to build up your emergency stash accordingly.

John Wiesman: "If you're one of the those who already had three days of supply, start working towards something longer, maybe as much as two weeks."

With officials like Wiesman saying the disease could well disrupt commerce and services in your town for six to eight, or even twelve, weeks, how do you prepare? We asked one group that knows -- the Mormons.

(Sound of a crowd in a church hall.)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Olympia annually hold a preparedness fair.

Congregation leader John Anderson says readiness and self-reliance have long been tenets of the Mormon faith.

John Anderson: "We talk about home storage and family preparedness that goes up to a year. Depending upon what the circumstance might be, your family may be in need of basic food supplies and water for a longer period of time. Whether that be a job situation or a disaster or whether it be a pandemic or an epidemic."

There's no mention of bird flu at any of the displays that line the church hall. But there doesn't need to be, because the same advice applies for all kinds of disasters.

A married couple, Dick and Sarah Bullard, have barrels and plastic buckets of dry goods stacked five high against one wall of their garage.

Dick Bullard: "The church says hey, for a person to live he needs so much wheat, and so much honey, salt, and so much water for a period time. We tried to match with that."

(Sound of a thump on a barrel.)

Dick Bullard: "There's a big barrel with 350 pounds of wheat in it. So there's probably four, five hundred pounds right there. These have dried corn in them that we could grind and make corn meal if we wanted to. And some water there (taps on barrel). Then some pinto beans and there's some Great Northern Beans here someplace."

Sarah Bullard: "Yeah, it'll be a hardship. We'll all miss our Twinkies and Ho-Hos and Oreos. But we're living you know, and that's the basic point."

The Bullards' six kids are all grown up, so they'll be spared the challenge of keeping a cooped-up household peaceable. Other congregation members have stashed toys, games, and homework.

Of course, entrepreneurs are swooping in to help the less prepared, even though bird flu has not appeared in this country and the virus is presently incapable of rapid human-to-human transmission.

In Oregon City, website operator John Hart says he's doing a brisk business selling facemasks coated with a "viruscide." They start at three for 89 bucks.

John Hart: "You don't need to wear a mask in the house, but if you go outside you surely better be wearing something, because we will not know who is sick and who isn't."

John Hart: "So I think it's a valuable investment. It's a piece of insurance. Look at it that way. You gotta have something. What if it comes, and you're caught with nothing? Do you really think all the masks that are out there will still be there? I doubt it."

Public health experts are quite dubious about bird flu survival kits sold on the internet. But a surgical mask could be an item to add to your emergency kit anyway. That's because if you start hacking and coughing, it can prevent your germs from landing on someone else.

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<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>Every man for himself’ in Europe’s bird flu simulation</font>

By Andrew Jack in London
March 31 2006 19:22
<A href="http://news.ft.com/cms/s/62e60ba6-c0e0-11da-9419-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=3f6a0854-c8f8-11d7-81c6-0820abe49a01.html">news.ft.com</a></center>
Plans by Switzerland to seal itself off in the event of a flu pandemic triggered “serious concern” by other countries during Common Ground, a recent simulation exercise, because of its strategic location as home to many drug and vaccine manufacturers.

This was just one of the many differences to emerge between European nations over border closures and emergency health measures in a training exercise whose results were published on Friday.</b>

Similar concerns were raised about France, another important drug production centre, which also said it was considering border closures. However, French officials stressed they would exempt pharmaceutical workers and materials from travel bans.

Although judged “fit for purpose”, national plans paid less attention to international co-operation, incl-uding how to care for expatriates, restrict emigration and curb travel.

Several countries had not considered the possibility of school closures, or disruptions to public order, electricity supply and businesses.

The evaluation of the exercise, commissioned by the European Commission from the UK’s Health Protection Agency, called for greater understanding by member states of the laws governing travel restrictions across Europe.

Participants, who came from all EU member countries and neighbouring states, showed reluctance to share antiviral drug stocks with other countries.

The report said there was a need for greater transparency on the location of antiviral stockpiles, and more clarity for manufacturers on how the stocks they hold should be distributed.

The drug companies for their part called for greater guidance on legal liability, and an indication of which authority would decide when they should switch from the production of seasonal flu vaccines to those that would protect people from a pandemic strain. This was most likely to take place if bird flu were to mutate into a form transmissible between humans, which has yet to happen.

In the exercise, the European Commission’s Early Warning and Response System, designed to notify officials of human infections, became overloaded. The report called for back-up communications facilities and greater co-ordination between officials and the media.

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<B><font size=+1 color=purple><center>'Mass grave' a possibility for victims if flu strikes' </font>

Mar 31 2006
<A href="http://iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk/news/headlines/tm_objectid=16883244%26method=full%26siteid=53340%26headline=%2dmass%2dgrave%2d%2da%2dpossibility%2dfor%2dvictims%2dif%2dflu%2dstrikes%2d-name_page.html">iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk</a></center>
VICTIMS of a flu pandemic in Croydon could be buried in a mass grave if the illness hits council workers.

A report into how the town would deal with a flu pandemic on the scale of the one that struck after the First World War has put the number of potential fatalities at 8,000 - with a quarter of the town's 330,000 population becoming infected.</b>

A report drawn up by the council says the number of people dying would increase from 45 to more than 400 a week. At peaks this would mean the crematorium running 24 hours a day to cope and the council employing eight teams of gravediggers.

If the contingency fails, either through excessive staff sickness or through the failure of power supplies, "then the plan falls back on the use of a mass grave," the report says.

It adds: "This will only be used as a last resort as it poses many moral and psychological challenges."

Cllr Paul Smith, cabinet member for public protection and crime reduction, said: "This plan is not intended to scare anyone, quite the reverse. It is about saying we recognise the risk that exists and we are working with other London boroughs to make sure that whatever happens we are there to meet it."


The plan looks at a general flu pandemic but it leaves the council prepared to deal with an out-break if bird flu hit humans.

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>Ickler: Stocking up to battle the bird flu</font>

Saturday, April 1, 2006 - Updated: 01:09 AM EST
<A href="http://www3.metrowestdailynews.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=126065">www3.metrowestdailynews.com</a></center>
"Did you bring any canned tuna or powdered milk with you?" asked my Uncle Fud as he ushered me into his kitchen at Chigger Mountain Farm.

"I assume that you’re collecting these items in response to the government’s suggestion for combating bird flu," I said.

"That’s right," said Uncle Fud. "Your Aunt Dud and I don’t get out much in the cold weather, so we’ve been askin’ any visitors to drop off a can of tuna or a box of powdered milk when they come." </b>



"I wondered if anyone took Mike Leavitt’s suggestion seriously," I said.

Leavitt, who is secretary of Health and Human Services, recently said that we should prepare for an avian flu pandemic by buying an extra can of tuna and a box of powdered milk every time we go to the store, and put these items under the bed.

"There’s no room under our bed, it bein’ full of boxes, books and dust bunnies, but we could store stuff in the fallout shelter I built in the basement back in the ’60s when the Russians were gonna nuke us,"Uncle Fud said.

"I remember that you had the fallout shelter stocked with canned goods and water and a case of bourbon," I said. "Is any of that stuff still there?"

"The only thing still in there is the shotgun I was gonna use to scare off any strangers that tried to get in," he said.

"I’m kind of surprised that you’re taking this tuna and powdered milk cure-all seriously," I said. "You’re usually skeptical of the Bush administration’s emergency plans."

"You mean like wrappin’ your house in plastic and duct tape to keep out anthrax, like the guy from Homeland Security suggested?" asked Uncle Fud.

"That’s a good example," I said. "I didn’t see you doing that."

"You’re right," he said. "And you won’t see me pilin’ cans of tuna and boxes of powdered milk under the bed or anywhere else, either. And while we’re talkin’ about it, I think tuna is a strange thing to suggest as a survival food." [continue]

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Well, yer Aunt Dud has a newspaper clippin’ on the refrigerator door that tells about a joint advisory from the FDA and the EPA, warnin’ people to limit their intake of tuna because it contains high levels of mercury," said Uncle Fud. "I think salmon would be a lot better, or maybe canned beans."

"Apparently Mike Leavitt has forgotten about the mercury warning," I said.

"As for the powdered milk, I think it would be smarter to spend the money for some kind of oxygen pump," he said. "I just read in the paper that the government thinks we’d need as many as 742,500 ventilators to pump oxygen into sick people’s lungs if bird flu swept through the country."

"Did the story say how many are available?" I asked.

"We’ve got 105,000, but 100,000 are generally in use throughout the regular flu season," said Uncle Fud. "Buyin’ enough ventilators to handle a flu outbreak like the country had in 1918 would cost $18 billion. George Dubya recommended $7.1 billion to fight bird flu, and Congress authorized $3.8 billion."

"That’s kind of scary, isn’t it?" I said. "What do you think we should do to protect ourselves?"

"Our best bet looks like a faith-based program," he said. "We’d better all start prayin’ that the Tamiflu shots work."

"At least the Bush administration is thinking about bird flu in advance, instead of waiting until after a disaster like Hurricane Katrina occurs," I said.

"Maybe so, but they need to think a lot bigger than canned tuna and powdered milk," he said.

"They also need to think a lot faster," I said. "I recently read a comment by a University of Minnesota epidemiologist, who was asked what the country should do if the avian flu hit soon. He replied, ’I don’t know what we could do about it except say we’re screwed."’ [continue]

Heck, I’ve been sayin’ that ever since the Supreme Court made Dubya the president," said Uncle Fud.

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<B><center>TAIWAN

<font size=+0 color=green>PRESIDENT URGES THE PUBLIC TO PREPARE FOR BIRD FLU</font>

2006-04-01 14:56:01
<A href="http://www.cna.com.tw/eng/cepread.php?id=200604010011">www.cna.com.tw</a></center>
Taipei, April 1 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian urged the public to be prepared and to cooperate with the government in the event of a bird flu outbreak.

He pointed out that experts have said bird flu will definitely break out and that it is just a matter of time. "We cannot be negligent. That is why I have raised the response programs to bird flu to national security level. The government is mobilizing every department and agency and we dare not become lax. I hope the public will work with the government, " he said. </b>

Chen made the remarks during the anniversary of the opening of the Ketagalan Institute, which Chen established in 2003 to nurture the country's future leaders.

Chen predicted that if bird flu should break out, it will affect Taiwan 10 times worse than the SARS outbreaks of 2003. He said that in 1918, when the world had its first major bird flu pandemic in which the virus made the jump from animals to humans, 25,000 Taiwanese people died out of the whole population of 3 million.

(By Debby Wu)

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March 31, 2006 11:51 PM PST


<B><font size=+1 color=blue><center>Hunters get caution on waterfowl</font>

By the Associated Press
<A href="http://www.gazettetimes.com.cob-web.org:8888/articles/2006/04/01/news/oregon/satore02.txt">www.gazettetimes.com</a>

Bird flu concerns call for extra measure</center>

MEDFORD — Oregon waterfowl hunters might find themselves on the front lines of the fight against an avian flu outbreak in North America.

Birds found in Oregon are known to mix in Alaska with birds from Asia, where the virus is most prevalent, leaving birds migrating through the western United States as one of the virus’ possible routes to America.</b>

Waterfowl experts are warning hunters to take precautions as a result, from wearing gloves when field-dressing waterfowl to dousing knives with a bleach solution when done. They are also advising hunters to clean and disinfect decoys and waders if hunting in waters where the virus is found.

Hunters are also being told to provide samples waterfowl they’ve killed for testing, and to ensure that all waterfowl are fully cooked before eaten.

“It’s like (hurricanes) Katrina and Rita,’’ spokesman Gregg Patterson of the Tennessee-based Ducks Unlimited told The Medford Mail-Tribune. “You realize we’re not insulated against this kind of stuff. What everybody needs to do is prepare for it.’’

Avian Influenza, or AI, is a set of viruses that are naturally found in wild birds, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds that normally suffer no ill effects from them. However, domestic birds like chickens are generally more susceptible.

But the H5N1 strain now found in 41 countries in Asia, Africa and parts of Europe is frequently fatal to birds and easily transmissible between species. To date, scientists’ ultimate fear is that the virus will mutate into one that can be passed among humans.

The National Wildlife Health Center in Wisconsin says as of mid-March, the H5N1 virus has sickened 177 people and killed 98, mostly in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Turkey. Most of those were infected from eating or handling infected chickens.

Just the mention of avian flu has scared some Oregonians out of waterfowl hunting, said Brad Bales, waterfowl biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“I got, maybe, a dozen calls (last season) from hunters who said their families won’t let them hunt anymore because of avian influenza,’’ Bales said.

Oregon expects to receive about $400,000 in federal funds for various sampling efforts beginning in the fall, Bales said.

Cackling Canada geese, a priority species, will be tested by sampling birds at hunter check-in stations in Northwest Oregon, where they concentrate, Bales said. Other species, such as shovelers, pintails and green-winged teals, could be tested elsewhere in the state, he said.

Posted: 1-Apr-2006 05:19 hrs

The United States, Canada and Mexico agreed in a statement here to coordinate their response to any outbreak of bird flu in the region.
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"Given the highly integrated nature of our economies, an outbreak of pathogenic avian flu or human pandemic influenza in any one of our countries would affect us all," read the statement, signed by US President George W. Bush, Mexico's President Vicente Fox and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the end of a two-day summit here.
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The three leaders "have agreed to develop a comprehensive, science-based and coordinated approach within North America to avian influenza and human pandemic influenza management".
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The plan calls for trilateral cooperation "in all stages of avian influenza and human pandemic influenza management: prevention; preparedness; response; and recovery".
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US, Canadian and Mexican officials "will develop, as an immediate priority, incident management protocols to ensure that we are well prepared in advance of an outbreak in North America".
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The three nations have "agreed to work together to accelerate research, development, production, and availability of human pandemic influenza vaccines, and develop a strategy to best facilitate the sharing of information to enhance the availability of vaccines to the region".
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The H5N1 bird flu virus was first detected in Southeast Asia in 1997. Since 2003, about 200 people have been infected with H5N1, half of whom have died.
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The disease so far is spreading by direct contact with infected birds, not by person-to-person transmission. However, experts fear the virus may mutate to a human variant, increasing the likelihood of a pandemic. — AFP

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/110369.asp

Photo Caption: L-R: US President George W. Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox and Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper pose after a press conference at the end of the summit in Cancun, Mexico. The United States, Canada and Mexico agreed in a statement here to coordinate their response to any outbreak of bird flu in the region.

Sixth bird flu-suspected case reported in Egypt​

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=844566

HLT-EGYPT-FLU
Sixth bird flu-suspected case reported in Egypt

CAIRO, April 1 (KUNA) -- The Egyptian government announced on Saturday it was carrying out sample tests on people who have been in close contact with birds or work on farms in a bid to contain the spread of the bird flu which has infected a number of people.

The government yesterday suspected that a young boy might have been infected by the virus in Al-Fayoum governorate, raising the number of suspected cases to six.

The boy was believed to have culled some birds in one of the infected farms.

The boy's case was reported by the Jordanian Health Ministry when he began feeling flu-like symptoms, a matter which triggered the ministry to report the case to the Egyptian Health ministry through the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Jordanian Health Ministry, when contacted about the condition of the boy, stated that his condition was stable and is being followed up closely. (end) mhm.

McDonald's & BF

April 01, 2006
By Julie Jargon

Avian flu threat looms over McD's
Focus on chicken could backfire if virus hits U.S.​

Hurrying to grab lunch downtown last week, Vanita Moore decided to try McDonald's new chicken club, one of the priciest items on the menu.

But on her way out of the River North restaurant, Ms. Moore, who usually orders a burger, said her new taste for chicken would vanish with any outbreak of avian flu in the U.S. "I don't know much about avian flu other than it's happening in another part of the world," says the 43-year-old marketer.

Uninformed but skittish customers like Ms. Moore could pose a serious problem for McDonald's Corp. in the event the bird flu makes its way to the U.S. — despite the fact that no fatal cases of avian flu have come from eating fully cooked chicken. The company is counting on its new sandwiches and other chicken offerings to fuel growth and help shape its image as a healthier fast-food chain.

But chicken consumption is likely to drop off quickly if any Americans catch bird flu.

Priced at $3.90, the chicken club is more than three times the price of a regular hamburger and costs a buck more than a Big Mac.

Jan Fields, president of McDonald's U.S. central division, described chicken as "the new frontier" while addressing a group of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. analysts in Las Vegas last month. "The reality is, chicken consumption is up 38% over the last five years, and we have to participate at the highest levels in this category," she told the analysts.

That trend could change, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which in February warned of a small decline in chicken consumption worldwide this year due to "unfounded fears of disease transmission."

Almost half the respondents of a national telephone survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health in January said they'd stop eating chicken if avian flu spreads to poultry in the U.S.

"McDonald's and other restaurant chains are going to have to get the message out to consumers that if chicken is properly cooked, it's safe," says Mike Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. "If they get on it soon, the economic risk will be minimized. I'd do it right now."

CHAIN HAS ADDED CHICKEN ITEMS

Several customers interviewed after leaving the McDonald's at 405 N. Wabash Ave. during a lunch-hour rush last week said they didn't realize the avian flu virus can't survive in fully cooked chicken.

"If that's true, it should be stressed more," says Alice Riske, a 38-year-old researcher at an executive recruiting firm who often eats McDonald's chicken sandwiches.

McDonald's has been tight-lipped on the topic, saying only that it has contingency plans in place. To understand why the chain doesn't want to discuss it, one only has to look at McDonald's menu. The chain has recently added white meat chicken nuggets, larger fried chicken pieces called "chicken selects," premium salads that can be topped with chicken and premium chicken sandwiches. McDonald's will introduce a new Asian chicken salad later this month and is testing new equipment in Atlanta that can pressure-cook chicken to seal in flavor.

INFECTED BIRDS INEVITABLE IN U.S.

Some experts say a bird-flu outbreak in the U.S. is inevitable because of the migratory patterns of infected bird populations. "Within the next six months, we'll have infected birds in the U.S.," says Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

But it's unlikely that chicken sold in U.S. grocery stores and restaurants would come into contact with migrating birds, since most poultry sold in the U.S. is raised in isolation.

"McDonald's chicken products are absolutely safe to eat," a company spokesman says in a statement. "Our chicken products are cooked at temperatures well beyond guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization and USDA."

Other chains specializing in chicken — KFC, Popeyes and Chick-fil-A — have formed avian flu task forces. KFC, which suffered a sales slowdown in Asia last year due to bird flu fears, has an ad campaign on the safety of fully cooked chicken ready to go if need be. A spokesman for the National Chicken Council acknowledges that "we need to get the word out to the public" and says the trade group is preparing an educational video.

Courtney Erhardt, a 27-year-old administrative assistant who ordered a McDonald's spicy chicken sandwich last week, says that if avian flu comes to the U.S., "I'd stay away from chicken for awhile until they could prove it's safe to eat."

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=20047

Human bird flu victims face end in 'plague pits'​

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2114985,00.html

David Cracknell


FAMILIES may have to wait for four months to bury their dead in the event of an avian flu pandemic, stirring up folk memories of the burial pits of the great plague of 1665.

A confidential Home Office report says as many as 320,000 people could die from the H5N1 strain of the virus if it mutates into a form that can readily be passed between humans.

It says the emergency services may have to enforce mass burial. “Common [mass] burial stirs up images of the burial pits used in the great plague of 1665 — where in London 70,000 people died,” it adds.

The report, Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic, dated March 22, says vaccines against bird flu should not be seen as a “silver bullet” solution and “will not be available in the first wave of a pandemic [possibly longer]”.

The document will guide local authorities on how to cope with a pandemic. Some scientists, however, now question whether the threat is as severe as first feared. Studies have found H5N1 may struggle to become established in humans because it is inefficient at infecting cells high up in the human airway. This means it may be hard to be passed on by breathing or coughing.

The Home Office report says local authorities have the capacity to cope with 48,000 deaths in England and Wales in a pandemic lasting 15 weeks. But it warns: “Even with ramping local management capacity by 100%, the prudent worst case of 320,000 . . . deaths is projected to lead to a delay of some 17 weeks from death to burial or cremation.”

BTTT

Link to tomorrows (4/2) Bird Flu thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=192009