04/26 | Daily Bird Flu Thread: H5N1 spreads in Asia, maybe England

H5N1 spreads in Asia, maybe England​

By Kate Walker Apr 25, 2006, 23:22 GMT

OXFORD, England (UPI) -- Bird flu appears to be spreading in south and central Asia, with both Pakistan and Afghanistan reporting an increase of outbreaks in poultry.

Pakistani authorities announced Tuesday that 11 farms around Islamabad had confirmed avian-flu outbreaks, and that test results were pending for a number more.

The Ministry of Agriculture is concerned that despite widespread culls that have so far seen the deaths of some 60,000 birds, the disease appears to be gaining a foothold in the country. All farms around Islamabad and Rawalpindi are being tested for avian influenza, and a vaccination program is under way.

In Afghanistan, avian flu has been reported in a fourth province, sparking United Nations concern that the disease has become endemic in the nation`s poultry flocks.

Test results from more than 100 birds sent to Italy earlier this month have been returned and confirmed that Kapisa, to the north of Kabul, has joined Kabul, Logar and Nangarhar on the list of provinces to have been affected thus far.

Meanwhile:

-- Following the discovery that a number of ducks on Bali were infected with avian influenza, Indonesian authorities began a widespread cull of ducks on the island.

Sixteen of a flock of 400 ducks on a Bali farm were found to have been infected with the H5N1 strain of avian flu. The flock has since been culled, and the farm disinfected.

Anak Agung Gde Putra, Bali`s senior government veterinarian, explained that the ducks had been smuggled to Bali from the neighboring island of Java after Bali banned the import of live poultry as a result of the bird-flu epidemic in Indonesia.

'We don`t want to take any risks because ducks infected with bird flu would spread the disease to other birds,' Putra told reporters.

-- The World Bank Monday approved a $34.4 million loan to Turkey to help in its efforts to combat the spread of bird flu.

In January the bank approved a $500 million credit line for countries to use in the fight against pandemic influenza. The Turkish loan falls under the remit of the credit line, and was financed from it.

-- Counter to the restrictions put in place by most governments following news of avian influenza, the Scottish government has announced it is to begin lifting restrictions imposed on the movement of poultry and eggs.

The restrictions were originally put in place in early April, following the discovery of a swan infected with avian influenza. Subsequent tests have shown no further cases in the country, and it was concluded that the swan died before it was able to infect other birds.

If there continue to be no further signs of avian influenza in the country, the Scottish government has indicated that it may lift even more restrictions from May 1.

-- A dead bird found in the north of England is being tested for H5N1 infection.

Alan O`Brien found the bird while walking along the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal, near his home. He told the Bolton Evening News: 'I just spotted it in the water and it seemed to be in a very odd position, lying on its front with its wings spread out and its head tucked under its body.

'With the recent reports of bird flu, I thought it was something I should report. There`s a lot of geese and swans which seem to be nesting on the canal at this time of year.'

The bird has been sent to the avian-influenza laboratory in Weybridge, England, for testing, although British veterinary authorities were quick to point out that the bird could have died for a number of reasons, and that the tests were prudent, not a mark of concern.

-- Five Asian nations and Canada have joined forces to combat the spread of avian influenza.

The Asian Research Partnership on Pandemic Influenza, which includes Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, in addition to Canada, will study means of dealing with outbreaks of avian flu and their effectiveness.

Stephen McGurk, IDRC regional director for South-East and East Asia, told SciDev.net: 'The five Asian countries joining the partnership have quite different practices for controlling bird flu.

'With this partnership, we can study the impacts of different control measures as well as their costs and risks, to find more satisfactory solutions.'

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/health/article_1158425.php/H5N1_spreads_in_Asia_maybe_England

Opposition grows to U.S. flu-fighting plan​

By UPI
Apr 25, 2006, 19:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Airlines, health experts and rights advocates say a U.S. plan to detain sick airline and ship passengers would be costly and violate privacy, a report said.

A coalition of groups urged the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reconsider the proposal to require airlines and cruise ships to collect passengers` personal information and quarantine those who are ill to fight a potential flu pandemic.

'What they`re proposing is nonsensical,' Tara O`Toole of the University of Pittsburgh`s Center for Biosecurity told USA Today. 'People are going to be contagious without being symptomatic.'

The International Air Transport Association said airlines can`t afford to set up huge databases to turn over information to the CDC on 12 hours notice.

The CDC estimates the plan would cost the airline industry $100 million.

Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union said the CDC should drop the idea he says would give the government 'free pass' to detain people.

'We couldn`t do this to a criminal,' Steinhardt said.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/...hp/Opposition_grows_to_U.S._flu-fighting_plan

Cover Ups on Pneumonia Warned ​

The potential spread of suspicious pneumonia cases and any cover ups or delays in quickly reporting any concerns could lead to the spread of infectious diseases, China's Ministry of Health warned Tuesday. They restated the need for timely reporting of cases.

Respiratory diseases were common at this time of year and heightened awareness was needed to prevent and control SARS and infections of the highly pathogenic bird flu, said a statement on the ministry website.

However, some medical institutes were failing to quickly report on "pneumonia cases with unknown causes" or avoided using the term by diagnosing them as severe pneumonia, it said.

Local health authorities had failed to respond quickly to reports and some pneumonia patients who had been in contact with sick or dead poultry were moved to other hospitals without guidance, risking the spread of infectious diseases.

The ministry reiterated that medical institutes must make direct reports of suspicious pneumonia cases through the national network and inform local health authorities immediately.

It instructed local health authorities to use experts to investigate cases as soon as they received reports. Centers for disease control (CDC) were ordered to carry out epidemiological research and laboratory testing and provide the results quickly.

CDCs without the facilities and expertise for testing must deliver samples to CDCs at higher levels, and positive samples and those required by the ministry must be sent to the national CDC for verification without delay.

Careful screening was necessary for possible human cases of bird flu, said the ministry, noting that suspicious pneumonia cases must be verified jointly by epidemiological history, lab testing and clinical studies.

Samples testing negative for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, but with an epidemiological history, were required with two antibody tests being taken in the acute and recovery periods.

Pneumonia cases with no clear epidemiological history required further tests and medical observation before the possibility of acute infectious respiratory diseases like bird flu could be ruled out.

Suspicious pneumonia fatalities were required to undergo autopsies, the ministry said, adding that investigation of each case with an unknown cause should be reported.

China has reported 17 human bird flu infections, 12 of which resulted in fatalities. The Ministry of Health has urged local medical institutes and health authorities to improve surveillance, staff training and laboratory capacity as well as to educate the public to avoid all contact with sick and dead poultry.

The World Health Organization had recorded 204 human cases of bird flu involving 113 deaths by April 21. Experts have warned the virus could mutate into a form which may be able pass between people and cause a pandemic.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2006)


http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Apr/166871.htm

Bali ducks test positive for bird flu​

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=626872006

DENPASAR, Indonesia (Reuters) - Hundreds of ducks have been culled on Indonesia's Bali island after samples tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, a senior veterinarian said on Wednesday.

The birds were culled in Gianyar regency on the popular tourist island and came from a farm and its surrounding areas.


"We burnt 432 ducks yesterday, 392 of them came from that farm while the rest were owned by surrounding residents," Dewa Nyoman Raka Jaya, head of Gianyar's animal husbandry office, said by phone from the central Bali town.

"We assumed that all of them had the bird flu virus because all of the samples were positive."

"Today, we are chasing chickens around the farm. We don't know how many but we will burn them tonight," Jaya said.

Indonesia has the second highest bird flu human death toll of any country. But the government has resisted mass culling of birds, citing the expense and impracticality in a country where keeping a few chickens or ducks in the backyards is common.

Culling at selective farms and their immediate surroundings has been the preferred method.

In Indonesia, the H5N1 virus has been reported in birds in most of the country's 33 provinces, and there have been previous cullings in Bali. No human cases have been reported on the island.

The World Health Organisation has confirmed 24 human deaths in Indonesia from the virus from a total 32 confirmed cases, the majority in and around the capital Jakarta.

A sweeping door-to-door campaign to try to control the disease in the capital, home to 12 million people, only got underway at the end of February.

INTERVIEW-Don't give in to bird flu fatigue, says WHO expert​

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25263165.htm

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, April 26 (Reuters) - The world must prepare for a long-term fight against bird flu and not give in to fatigue that seems to have set in, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official warned.

Keiji Fukuda, acting director of WHO's global influenza programme, said it was the H5N1 virus's tenacity rather than geographical spread that has raised the risk it could evolve into a form that moves more easily among humans.

The deadly virus, first seen in this outbreak in Asia in 2003, has infected birds in a score more countries in recent months, moving into the Middle East, Europe and, worryingly for the WHO, into Africa where resources to fight it are scarce.

It has triggered new human outbreaks and deaths in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and Azerbaijan this year, while claiming more lives in China, Cambodia and Indonesia.

"Organisations and countries are pretty exhausted by this. Yet it is clear we are in the middle of a long-term fight," Fukuda told Reuters in an interview in his Geneva office.

Efforts to boost detection and control of the disease in birds and humans must continue across all regions, the American scientist said.

"All of those things that we had to do when there was so much energy being put in a year or two ago, that has to be sustained. I think those are hard things to do when there is a collective weariness in dealing with this agent," Fukuda said.

He said the virus, endemic in parts of Asia, retains its capacity to undergo changes and perhaps evolve into a pandemic virus which could spread rapidly and kill millions of people.

"In terms of the potential of the virus to evolve and become a pandemic virus, it's not really so much the spread of the virus out there, but the ability of this virus to persist and to infect a large number of birds and different species," he said.

"It basically means that this virus has a good ability to stay around. That is what increases the risk that this virus can continue to evolve and gain transmissibility properties it would need to develop into a pandemic virus."

Bird flu remains essentially an animal disease, but is known to have infected 204 people worldwide since 2003, killing 113 of them, according to the WHO, a United Nations agency.

The WHO rates the level of pandemic threat at phase three on a scale of six, meaning there is so far no or very limited human-to-human transmission. Fukuda said that there was no evidence pointing to escalation to the next level.

IN THE SAME BOAT

Awareness that bird flu is not just a regional but a global problem had grown in recent months, he said. "So in a way, Europe is in the same boat as is Africa, as is Asia."

This had spurred authorities to build resources to confront bird flu -- including better surveillance and laboratory testing, and efforts to control the virus in poultry.

It was "a long-distance run, not a sprint", but flexibility was important to adjust to country situations, which vary.

"When the virus moved into Africa it became very clear to us that the potential for the virus to move quickly, ahead of our efforts to establish surveillance, is very real," he said.

The WHO was now focusing on quick and inexpensive efforts such as public education messages on measures to prevent infection, he said.

Public messages should include telling children that they shouldn't touch dead birds.

"If you happen to pick up a dead bird, you should wash your hands. Dead birds -- if there are other food alternatives -- are not what you should be using and handling for food.

"If you can get those messages out there, that is an important way of protecting people, even though you may not have antiviral drugs or vaccines and so on," he said. H5N1 is now documented in five countries in Africa -- Egypt, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.

No human cases have been confirmed on the huge continent where surveillance and health care systems are often poor.

"If at some point we see human cases identified in Africa, it is not going to be a surprise. But I think that a lot of those steps that have to be put in motion are being put in motion," he added.

H5N1 virus confirmed in all 12 bird flu cases in Czech Republic​

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=185043

Prague- Tests have proved the lethal H5N1 virus in all 12 cases of bird flu that have been registered in the Czech Republic as yet, Josef Duben, spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration, said.

The Czech Republic has tested about 2300 dead birds and pieces of poultry to rule out the disease.

All 12 swans that died of bird flu were found in southern Bohemia.

The tests are carried out by the National Reference Laboratory in Prague as well as by the¨state veterinary institutes in Jihlava, south Moravia, and Olomouc, north Moravia.

The positive tests are still sent to the EU Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, Britain, for confirmation.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/new...05Z_01_PEK40838_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-ASIA.xml


Experts say warm weather won't put lid on H5N1 virus
Tue Apr 25, 2006 6:42 AM BST165


By Tan Ee Lyn

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The return of warmer weather to the northern hemisphere is unlikely to bring a let-up in the deadly H5N1 virus because it is already endemic in poultry flocks in several parts of Asia, experts say.

Scientists previously found the bird flu virus to be most active from October to March when temperatures are cooler or below 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), but now they are warning against any complacency with the return of summer.

"I don't think it will go away in the summer months, it will continue to be in poultry," said Hong Kong microbiologist Malik Peiris, who has studied the virus since 1997, when it made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong, killing six people.

"The virus has been persisting in quite diverse climates, such as Indonesia, where it is hot ... to a large extent it has been maintained in poultry flocks."

The virus resurfaced in late 2003 and has been seen in birds in over 40 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It spread quickly in the past two months, infecting 20 new countries.

Although the number of human infections is low at 204 cases, 113 have died and some experts say just a few mutations are needed for the virus to transmit among people, triggering a pandemic.

Outside Asia, human casualties have been most common in Turkey and Egypt, where there have been 24 documented infections and 8 deaths combined -- or mortality rates of about 30 percent, which are lower than rates of 50 percent or more in Asia.

LESSONS TO LEARN

But the lower rates do not mean the virus has attenuated.

"In most places in Asia, it is only those with are severely ill that get picked up for investigation. Those with mild flu-like disease are not. You don't see the milder cases of H5N1, that skews your rate of severity and mortality," Peiris said.

"In Turkey ... they may have picked up the milder cases."

With the notable exception of China, human cases everywhere have invariably occurred in areas with poultry outbreaks, meaning the greatest direct threat is still chicken, and not wild birds, which are blamed for spreading the virus over vast distances.

Experts recommend speedy mass culling in areas with outbreaks in birds and vaccination for poultry in surrounding areas. But they worry about Egypt, Indonesia, India, China and Africa.

"For countries with human cases, they are those who can't mount a completely effective response to bird flu, most notably Egypt, Indonesia. There are few reports on Nigeria," said Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease expert in Hong Kong.

"The cases in Egypt arose from contact with chickens, same in Indonesia, where the government has given up on extensive culling. The vaccination program is not as effective."

Peiris said: "The reason why it is more manageable in Europe is because you don't have such large numbers of backyard poultry and the poultry industry ... is protected from wild birds."

"The lesson for Asia is: when you have early detection and determined action, you can stamp it out. It will be interesting to see if you are able to stamp it out in places like India."

The appearance of human cases in China in places with no reported bird outbreaks have stumped experts. Some say bad vaccines may have "masked" the disease, resulting in healthy looking chickens but which carry the virus and pass it around.

Lo urged cutting poultry populations in problematic places like China, which produces 14 billion chickens a year.

"For countries with huge human and poultry populations, the answer is to reduce drastically the density of poultry ... with so many birds with no immunity at all or with partial immunity, you are bound to get in trouble," Lo said.

Suspected bird flu in Kazakhstan: 10 poultry die​

http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/26-04-2006/79559-Kazakhstan-0

Ten domestic hens have died from suspected bird flu in a village in central Kazakhstan, an emergency official said Wednesday.

Tests revealed avian influenza antibodies in the dead hens and one live hen and one duck, who belonged to a resident of the village of Krasnaya Niva in the Karaganda region, said Andrei Ermakov, spokesman for the regional emergencies department.

The samples were sent for confirmation to the national laboratory in the commercial capital Almaty, he said.

Most strains of bird flu are harmless to humans, and officials have not yet been able to determine if the birds had the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which can kill humans who come in close contact with infected birds.

Health experts fear the H5N1 virus will mutate into a form that can be easily transmitted between people, potentially sparking a human pandemic.

Ermakov said the dead birds, whose deaths were reported Tuesday morning, had been destroyed and veterinary experts were currently checking all poultry in the village, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital Astana.

Last month, Kazakhstan recorded its first case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a dead swan that was found on the Caspian Sea coast. Authorities ordered the vaccination of other birds in the coastal area.

The Central Asian nation bordering China has equipped labs and trained experts to conduct preliminary tests of any reported poultry illnesses. The nation had its first detected outbreak of bird flu last July, but it was not the H5N1 strain, which is dangerous to humans.

Worldwide, at least 113 people have died of the disease, largely after contact with sick or infected birds. Health experts fear the virus will mutate into a form easily transmitted between people, potentially sparking a pandemic, reports the AP.

Avian cholera outbreak ?? Yea, right !! Wonder if they will even test these ducks for H5N1.....if they don't test for it, then the U.S. doesn't have it.....right? Very simple !!


http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=85342


Rash of duck deaths have bird biologists concerned

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - A passerby at a marina on Upper Klamath Lake this weekend spotted 20 ducks floating dead in the water.

"I was shocked, I'll tell you, I was shocked," said Gary Mick of Klamath Falls.

Authorities said they're trying to determine whether the deaths are a result of an avian cholera outbreak, which happens periodically in the region.

"It doesn't happen every year, but it does pop up every few years," said biologist Tom Collom of the state Fish and Wildlife Department.

Another batch of dead ducks, 10 of them, was reported Monday at a boat launch along the lake.

To determine if the deaths are part of an outbreak, officials must test a bird exhibiting signs of the disease. Birds with cholera often act lethargic, sometimes swim in circles or fly erratically, the department said. The bacterial disease is highly contagious and can cause death in a day.

Collom said the spring migration brings nearly a million birds to the Klamath Basin, and there are numerous other ways birds die.


See no evil.....speak no evil....hear no evil......

http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2006/04/25/headline_news/news01.txt


Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Headline News
Planning for the pandemic

CAROL A. CLARK & JANE LONGMIRE, Monitor Reporters

This is part one of a three-part series highlighting federal, state and local responses to the bird flu pandemic presented during the New Mexico Press Women's Association annual conference Saturday in Los Alamos.

Homeland Security Council member Ron Dolin did not mince words when he told members of the New Mexico Press Women's Association, "We only get one chance to get this right," that "our health, economy, society and government are all at risk" and "this looming catastrophe does not come with a reset button."

Dolin was part of a pandemic panel discussion during the NMPW annual conference at the Best Western Hilltop House Hotel held Friday and Saturday.

Dolin said the bird flu or H5N1 has been slowly but steadily moving across country borders via migratory waterfowl.

The waterfowl infect other birds including chickens. The disease has actually transmitted to humans in several hundred cases and has killed about half of them, he said.

Dolin said it is not certain that the flu will make the jump from human to human but is quite likely.

Right now, there is no vaccine to prevent the disease.

"Our hope is that the first human to human infection won't happen in the United States," Dolin said. "If it happens elsewhere it will buy us time to develop the correct vaccine."

He explained that during the pandemic, the role of the federal government would be to provide continuity of government.

For this to happen, Dolin said 1.8 million federal workers must stay healthy and productive throughout the course of the pandemic.

"How would continuity of government proceed without them?" Dolin said.

When it hits American shores, Dolin said the government would not address the pandemic at the local level but rather concentrate its efforts on maintaining the country's infrastructure.

"The number one critical infrastructure on line is the Internet," Dolin said. "Our nation is tied globally to Internet, as is communication and commerce."

Retired federal employees might be summoned back to work, he said adding that the National Guard would have to be used to squelch "insurrection."

How will agencies be coordinated? The Department of Homeland Security has the overall authority, however, Dolin said the president is the person in charge.

In addressing why there would be an insurrection, he explained that individuals would choose to take care of themselves and their families and would not want to risk exposure to the flu in order to keep law and order.

Dolin explained how the flu would impact business.

First, containment of the flu will merely postpone the inevitable; 40 percent of the U.S. workforce can be expected to be out during a pandemic, he said. Members of the workforce will be sick or dead, others depressed, caring for loved ones or staying at home to prevent spread of the virus.

Then the logistics come into play, he said of where business will get its inventory, customers and delivery service.

The incubation for bird flu is one-four days with n average of two days. Viral shedding and the risk of transmission will be greatest during the first two days of illness, he said.

Outbreaks will last some six-eight weeks in each community. Multiple waves may occur with each wave of illness lasting two-three months.

Questions and answers as to how to intervene and delay the disease, what vaccination options are there, who is at risk, who causes infections, who infects who and mitigation strategies are being looked at and dealt with on a federal, state and local level, Dolin said.

When asked if it was too soon to stockpile food and supplies, Dolin said, "If I go to the store to buy a can of corn, I buy two cans." He said that now is the time to prepare and that it is important to stockpile medications, equipment, food and water. He suggested checking out how to stockpile by going to www.hhs.gov or talking to any friend who practices preparedness by stockpiling food.

Dolin said pandemics are global epidemics that typically occur at 40-60 year intervals.

"Two weeks ago mumps was in Iowa," said Dolin, "Now it has spread across several states." He sees no reason for H5N1 to act any differently.

Just like during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the government won't help individual citizens. Dolin said people must realize that they themselves are the Calvary.

Industry officials come together to discuss bird flu​

http://www.americanfarm.com/TopStory4.25.06a.html

4.25.2006

By STEPHANIE JORDAN

GEORGETOWN, Del. — Various members of the poultry industry met with Congressman Mike Castle, R-Del., last Tuesday to talk about avian influenza and what the Delmarva Peninsula is doing to prepare for an outbreak.

Officials from the Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Departments of Agriculture, as well as from the University of Delaware and the Delmarva Poultry Industry sat down with the congressman to address what they thought were issues that need to be addressed to ensure the peninsula’s readiness.

Of great concern was the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan of what to do in case of an avian influenza outbreak.

Burial was recommended as the preferred method of disposal of depopulated flocks, but industry officials said there are better methods that are less hazardous to both humans and the environment, such as using fire fighting foam. The University of Delaware is working to get the foam approved as a valid depopulation tool.

Guy Hohenhaus, state veterinarian for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said he was worried about having a flawed federal plan imposed on the industry in the case of an outbreak.

He also mentioned that many states don’t have the experience to deal with an outbreak, and if their only guide to deal with the strain is a flawed federal plan, Delmarva’s industry could be threatened.

Other industry officials cited concerns about the workers who will be needed to depopulate flocks and to prepare houses for decontamination. Many states don’t have enough workers to meet the possible demand.

“The federal government hasn’t adequately addressed the need for personnel,” said Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse. “Where are these workers going to come from?”

Bill Satterfield, executive director of the Delmarva Poultry Industry, Robin Morgan, dean of the college of agriculture and natural resources at the University of Delaware, and DPI President Roger Marino all spoke up about the media’s role in reporting on an outbreak.

“If you don’t get it right, you can destroy (the industry),” Marino said. “You can do the world a service by educating yourself about the industry.”

They also spoke about the drop in U.S. chicken consumption since the outbreaks began, and roundtable participants assured everyone that chicken is safe to eat.
Surveillance, particularly of backyard flocks, was an area of industry concern.
“The backyard surveillance is very important,” said Chris McNeill, veterinarian with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences. “The battleground area is going to be the backyard birds. The bigger strength we have is that we are looking for it.”

John Brooks, Maryland’s deputy secretary of agriculture, brought up the fact that many immigrants work in the industry, and not all of them are well versed in English. He said it is crucial that good biosecurity manuals are put together in as many languages as possible to breach that gap.

Although the peninsula still has work to do to make sure it is fully prepared, it already has come a long way, especially with the indemnification agreement that has been worked out between the states and the major poultry companies.
“Competitive companies come together in areas of mutual concern,” Hohenhaus said.

The agreement states that the company involved in the outbreak will absorb the first $100,000 in expenses. Those expenses include everything from depopulation to disposal to disinfecting the houses.

Once the company spends $100,000, it draws from the indemnity fund. The fund is worth $2.5 million, and all four of the major poultry companies have contributed to it. The amount of money each company puts in the fund is based on its percentage of poultry production on the Delmarva.

If the costs exceed $2.5 million, the states step in. If the outbreak occurs in Maryland, then Maryland will contribute up to $5 million; if it strikes Delaware, Delaware will cover up to $5 million.

The roundtable discussion served as a way for industry officials to communicate at the federal level about what needs to be done to fully address an outbreak.
“I want to make sure the federal role is well carried out,” Congressman Castle said. “You’ve renewed my faith in what we do on the Delmarva Peninsula. I thank you for an education.”

EMTs given lesson in handling avian flu outbreak ​

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

By MARINA ISGRO
Special to The Times

PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Reacting to the potential threat of avian flu, doctors and nurses from The University Medical Center at Princeton held a workshop Monday night to instruct local EMTs on how to recognize and respond to the lethal virus, should there be an outbreak of the disease.

The doctors and nurses spoke on topics such as symptoms of the disease and the health-care system's ability to deal with a potential pandemic. About 30 EMTs attended.

Dr. Stephen Harrison, a doctor certified in emergency medicine, discussed the effect avian flu might have on the community.

"If we ever do see bird flu, we'll never know until it develops whether 5 percent or 20 percent of the population will get sick. We'll also not know until it happens how virulent the disease will be," he said. There are significant variations among several strains of the disease that would result in great uncertainty in the health-care system.

"Are there going to be enough hospital beds, health-care providers?" he asked. "Are you going to go out and pick up people, knowing that they're contagious? And if they get to the hospital, what can we do for them? Will we have enough resources? We're going to have to think about rationing."

He said President Bush has earmarked funds for vaccine for avian flu, but there would be a significant delay between the outbreak of the disease and the development of an appropriate vaccine. "Don't depend on the government, because you know how they handle emergencies," he joked.

Dr. Anthony Scardella, director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the hospital, discussed the general evaluation of patients with respiratory diseases.

Scardella named common respiratory symptoms like shortness of breath, wheezing and skin discoloration, and their relationship to medical syndromes from asthma to bronchitis. He also discussed the proper procedures for performing a respiratory system examination.

Other presenters outlined common-sense preventive methods for avian flu, such as hygiene and disinfection, and described previous outbreaks of the disease in places such as Hong Kong.

Peyton Thompson, a Princeton University sophomore and one of the EMTs in attendance, said she heard about the workshop through the university's EMT program, in which she has participated since last fall.

"I did a paper on avian flu for my medical Spanish class last semester and I was interested in learning more about it," she said. The workshop also filled four of the continuing education units required for her EMT program.

Barbara Vaning, a program assistant in community education, said that the Monday night workshop was the third set up by the hospital this year. The others addressed winter emergencies and skills assessment for EMTs.

The hospital decided to do a program on avian flu "because the potential is there" for an outbreak, she said.

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1146059833276330.xml&coll=5

Macedonian man being "tested for bird flu"​

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26652242.htm

SKOPJE, April 26 (Reuters) - A Macedonian admitted to hospital with fever is being tested for possible bird flu because he keeps pigeons, a source in the main state hospital in the capital Skopje said on Wednesday.

The man from the town of Strumica in southeastern Macedonia was in intensive care in the infectious diseases ward suffering from a high temperature and signs of pneumonia.

"We are doing a bird flu test on him," the source said. "The suspicion of bird flu only arises because the man keeps pigeons."

Results of the tests were expected on Thursday.

Macedonia has not had a confirmed case of bird flu in either wild fowl or poultry, but all its Balkan neighbours have announced the highly dangerous H5N1 strain of the avian virus is present in their territories.

9:36 am: Ivory Coast reports first cases of H5N1 bird flu​

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/42817.html

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 26, 2006

PARIS (AP) - Ivory Coast has reported its first cases of H5N1 bird flu, in both domestic poultry and in wild birds, the World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday.

The Paris-based agency said Ivory Coast informed it on Tuesday. The bird flu cases were reported in the commercial capital Abidjan, in backyard free-range chickens, ducks and a sparrowhawk, according to a statement from the agency, known by the initials OIE.

The statement identified the flu strain as H5N1, which some experts fear could mutate into a form that could spread easily between humans, sparking a deadly global pandemic.

The agency said the cases were confirmed by the Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Pasteur Institute in Ivory Coast. Confirmation is also expected from an OIE lab in Italy.

Ivory Coast is imposing quarantines and controls on movements, disinfecting the infected zones and taking other measures, the statement added.

NEW WAVE OF BIRD FLU EXPECTED IN AZERBAIJAN​

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/04/26/1612938.htm

[April 26, 2006]

(Interfax News Agency Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Bird flu may start spreading in Azerbaijan again this spring, Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Gusein Bagirov told a Friday press conference.

"We expect migrating birds to return to Azerbaijan from Egypt and other African countries this week. According to our information, there are bird flu cases in those countries and it is possible the birds might bring the virus to Azerbaijan once again," Bagirov said.


Monitoring currently indicates the number of wild birds dying of bird flu has declined. "We conduct monitoring daily, and, on certain days, we do not see any cases at all," he said.

Over 15,000 dead birds have been found in Azerbaijan so far.

According to the Agriculture Ministry's state veterinary service, a quarantine on bird flu remains in only one populated area of Azerbaijan.

Computer Model Shows U.S. Couldn't Stop Flu Pandemic​

http://www.news10.net/storyfull3.aspx?storyid=17245

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new computer model suggests the government can't do much to stop the spread of flu if a pandemic reaches the U.S.

The computer-simulated conclusions, published in the journal Nature, suggest a widespread flu outbreak could hit one in three Americans if nothing is done. If the government acted fast and had enough antiviral doses to go around, which it doesn't, the cases could fall to about one in four.

The lead author at London's Imperial College says both cases are "very pessimistic." Neil Ferguson says closing schools and using Tamiflu prescriptions could reduce the toll, but efforts to stop flu at the U.S. borders will only delay its arrival by a matter of weeks.

The World Health Organization says H5N1 bird flu has infected 204 people and killed more than half of them.

MSM Speaks...

U.S. Won't Be Able to Slow Pandemic Flu Much if it Hits, Computer Model Shows​

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

WASHINGTON — If pandemic influenza hits in the next year or so, the few weapons the United States has to keep it from spreading will do little, a new computer model shows.

A pandemic flu is likely to strike one in three people if nothing is done, according to the results of computer simulation published in Thursday's journal Nature. If the government acts fast enough and has enough antiviral medicine to use as preventive dosings — which the United States does not — that could drop to about 28 percent of the population getting sick, the study found.

"Both cases we came up with were very pessimistic," said lead author Neil Ferguson of the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College in London. "There is no single magic bullet for stopping pandemic flu."

So far this year, H5N1 bird flu — which is not yet pandemic flu because it doesn't move easily between people — has infected 204 people and killed 113, according to the World Health Organization. Most of the human cases and deaths have been in Asia, but birds with the disease have been found in Europe.

Ferguson's computer simulation is the second released this month and is more pessimistic than one led by Timothy Germann of Los Alamos National Laboratory, who said the flu could be less infectious and that efforts could slow it a bit.

Measures such as closing schools to halt breeding grounds and the use of the antiviral Tamiflu could reduce the disease's toll, Ferguson said. But efforts to stop flu from entering American borders — usually on planes with sick passengers — won't work, he said. At most, they can buy a couple of weeks of delay before the disease sets in, he said.

If the United States were like Britain and had enough antiviral medicine for one quarter of the population to be used before people get sick, computer models show that the number of people getting sick would drop from about 102 million to about 84 million in America, Ferguson said.

Bill Hall, spokesman for Department of Health and Human Services, said his agency has 28 million courses of the antiviral (9.3 percent of the U.S. population), but acknowledged that on hand, there's only enough medicine for 5 million people (1.7 percent). The other 23 million courses are on order and should arrive by the end of the year. The plan is to have 81 million courses (27.1 percent) by 2008, he said.

One course of treatment for people involves ten doses.

"Twenty-five percent doesn't go very far and we don't have anywhere near that," said study co-author Donald Burke, professor of international health and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University's School of Public Health. "If it does occur before we have enough drug and enough vaccine, then the epidemic will have a substantial impact."

If a country gets enough Tamiflu for half its population, it could then act aggressively in dosing families of flu-struck patients and that could cut the flu attack rate by 75 percent, Ferguson said. So instead of 102 million infected people in the U.S., it would be 33 million.

But even Germann, who conducted the more optimistic study, said no one knows which computer model is closer to reality.

"It would have to be a very weak pandemic strain for us to be able to stop it right now," Germann said this week. "Most likely we wouldn't be completely prepared."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193239,00.html

UK

UK confirms bird flu in dead chickens ​

32 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Dead chickens on a farm in eastern England have tested positive for bird flu, the British government said on Wednesday

First tests suggest they had the H7 strain of the disease, and not the H5N1 strain, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. H5N1 has killed more than 100 people since late 2003, most of them in Asia.

"Further tests are being carried out to determine the strain of the virus and more will be known tomorrow (Thursday)," it said.

Other birds at the farm are to be killed as a precaution and restrictions are in place.

Earlier this month, Britain confirmed its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a wild bird when a dead swan was found in eastern Scotland.

An outbreak of the H7N7 bird flu strain in the Netherlands in 2003 led to the culling of 30 million birds, over a third of all Dutch poultry at a cost of hundreds of millions of euros.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060426...g1m.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

China`s bird flu toll may be higher​

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/health/article_1158746.php/China`s_bird_flu_toll_may_be_higher

BEIJING, China (UPI) -- China`s bird flu death toll may be higher than the 12 people reported dead by the central government, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

A person familiar with the situation told the newspaper some local officials may have concealed suspected cases of avian flu.

'The central government was quite upset from receiving information late from local officials,' said the person, who had spoken with Chinese ministry officials. 'They weren`t happy.'

A Ministry of Health spokesman told the newspaper some hospitals have simply not reported severe pneumonia cases in which the cause is not known.

However, the ministry`s Web site Tuesday repeated a March warning that coverup or delay in reporting pneumonia cases could spread the disease.

Avian flu, first reported in Asia, has spread to Europe and Africa.

While the number of cases remains relatively small, the potential of the virus mutating and allowing human-to-human transmission has prompted worldwide pandemic fears.

Link to tomorrows (4/27) Bird Flu thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=195175