1/31/08-2/7/08|Weekly Bird Flu Thread: Bird Flu Sweeps Indonesia, India, Tibet

Link to Last Weeks Thread:

HEALTH - 1/23/08-1/30/08|Weekly Bird Flu Thread: Don't rely on drugs to delay flu

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=274198&highlight=bird

Johns Hopkins on influenza:

http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/33/450/Rashid Chotani.pdf

National Avian Influenza Surveillance Information:

http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/

CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm

WHO

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html

CIDRAP

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/

Official U.S. Government Web site

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/

FAO

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/health/diseases-cards/special_avian.html

Public Health Agency of Canada

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/avian_qa_e.html

European Union

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/influenza/country_en.htm

The World Bank

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXT...68427~piPK:64168435~theSitePK:1793593,00.html

Bird Flu Sweeps Indonesia, India, Tibet​

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jan30/0,4670,AsiaBirdFlu,00.html

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Bird flu killed its third victim in as many days in Indonesia and ravaged poultry stocks in Tibet and India on Wednesday, as the virus picked up steam across Asia.

The death of the 32-year-old man raised Indonesia's human toll to 101 _ accounting for nearly half the worldwide total. The man died in the capital Tuesday, three days after being hospitalized.

It was not immediately clear how he contracted the H5N1 virus, said Health Ministry official Toto Haryanto, though one of his neighbors was known to be a pigeon breeder.

"We are not sure if any of those birds were sickened by the H5N1 virus," he said. "We're still investigating."

In southwestern Tibet, a poultry farm was quarantined after an outbreak of the disease killed 1,000 birds, agriculture officials reported Wednesday. More than 13,000 other poultry were killed to prevent its spread.

In India, the virus spread in three districts of West Bengal state, where culling was under way and more than 129,000 poultry birds have died, said Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahaman.

Health workers have killed nearly 2.5 million at-risk birds and were clearing areas within 3 miles of infection sites, said Rahaman. No human infections have been recorded.

Skittish officials in neighboring Bangladesh ordered the halt of all egg and poultry imports from India.

Bird flu typically flares during the winter months, and a number of Asian nations have recently reported fresh outbreaks in poultry, from India to China to Thailand. Health officials said it was essential that governments step up surveillance to prevent its spread, especially ahead of next week's Lunar New Year, when massive numbers of people and poultry will be on the move.

"The more you see it in poultry, the more chance there is that we will see human cases," said Gregory Hartl, World Health Organization spokesman in Geneva.

The virus that began plaguing Asian poultry stocks in late 2003 remains hard for people to catch, but scientists worry it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.

At least 223 people have died worldwide. Most cases have been linked to contact with infected birds, but scientists believe limited human-to-human transmission has occurred a few times among blood relatives who had close contact.

Bird flu kills three in Indonesia​

http://www.mid-day.com/web/guest/ne...cle?_EXT_5_articleId=953829&_EXT_5_groupId=14

Jakarta: Bird flu killed three victims in as many days in Indonesia and has ravaged poultry stocks in Tibet and India, as the virus picks up steam across Asia.

Indonesia's announcement yesterday of the death of a 32-year-old man raised its human toll to 101, accounting for nearly half the worldwide total.

The man died in the capital, Jakarta, Tuesday, three days after being hospitalized. It was not immediately clear how he contracted the H5N1 virus, Health Ministry official Toto Haryanto said yesterday, though one of his neighbors was known to be a pigeon breeder.

"We are not sure if any of those birds were sickened by the H5N1 virus," he said. "We're still investigating."

In southwestern Tibet, a poultry farm was quarantined after an outbreak of the disease killed 1,000 birds, agriculture officials reported yesterday. More than 13,000 other poultry were killed to prevent its spread.

In India, the virus spread in West Bengal, where culling is under way, said Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahaman. No human infections have been recorded.

Bird flu typically flares during the winter months, and a number of Asian nations have recently reported fresh outbreaks in poultry, from India to China to Thailand.

Health officials said it was essential that governments step up surveillance to prevent its spread, especially ahead of next week's Lunar New Year, when massive numbers of people and poultry will be on the move.

Indonesia launches three-year anti-bird flu plan​

http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/234438/Default.aspx

Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia on January 30 launched a new three-year plan to fight bird flu, just days after the confirmed death toll topped 101 in the country.

The plan will be funded by a 20-million-USD European Union (EU) grant channelled through the World Health Organisation (WHO), Indonesian Health Ministry's Disease Control Director Nyoman Kandun was quoted by news agencies as saying.

WHO Chief Representative in Indonesia Subhash Salunke said the strategy would focus on preventing new infections, better monitoring of the spread of the virus and continued scientific research.

The prevention campaign would include ramped up efforts to improve hygiene in the country's wet markets and public awareness initiatives.

Indonesia accounts for just under half of the 224 human bird flu deaths worldwide, according to WHO figures.-Enditem

Bird flu panic hits Bhiwani district in Haryana​

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bird-flu-panic-hits-bhiwani-district-in-haryana/57819-3.html

New Delhi: Bird flu panic hit Bhiwani district in Haryana after villagers demanded compensation from the district administration for the death of their poultry.

District authorities however say that the birds did not die due to bird flu but septicemia.

Authorities said they have already collected bird samples to check for bird flu. However, there have been no symptoms of the disease in the Bhiwani district so far.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the infections were respiratory in nature and caused due to the drastic fall in temperature in the state.

Meanwhile, in Varanasi the administration has banned chicken trade, particularly the purchase of chicken from West Bengal.

Sources also state that it has been decided to thoroughly check the trains coming from West Bengal to ensure that the ban is adhered to.

About 160,000 poultry birds have been culled in West Bengal so far, while over 1,00,000 birds have succumbed to the disease.

The 5,000 crore organised poultry industry in West Bengal has taken a hit following the outbreak of bird flu.

In 2006, after bird flu was detected in Maharashtra, the Centre had given a 4 per cent subsidy on interest on loans given to the organised sector and backed it up with subsidy on poultry feed.

The WHO has called the outbreak the most serious in India.

Bangladesh dumping dead birds on the border ​

http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=5739



A fresh threat of further spread of Bird Flu has been reported by a BSF team. According to the reports, Bangladesh is dumping dead poultry in the no-mans land between West Bengal and Bangladesh. Bangladesh itself is grapping with the virus with 29 districts in the country reeling under the Bird Flu virus.

The Indian government has urged Bangadesh to evolve a a joint system of disposing dead poultry from Bird Flu affected areas in both the countries on the Indo-Bangla border so that population on either side does not get infected.

Meanwhile, Bird Flu was confirmed in more areas of West Bengal on Thursday (January 31) with samples from more blocks in Birbhum, Murshidabad and Hooghly districts testing positive at the
HSADL, Bhopal. A total mortality of 1,30,170 poultry deaths have been reported from the affected districts. The state estimates that 28 lakh birds would be culled over a period of 2-3 days and around 23.23 lakh birds have already been culled. The culling process has already been completed in six districts.

Bird Flu: 33 villages under surveillance​

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=188070

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Jan 30: The Malda health authorities, under the guidance of experts from national institute of communicable diseases (NICD), New Delhi, are keeping close eye on 33 villagers owing to their illness with fever, cough and cold after handling and eating dead birds in Chanchal sub division area where culling operation is going after detection of Bird Flu virus, the Malda chief medical officer said today.
“A total of 33 persons who ate dead birds are under surveillance owing to their illness. Though they do not have acute breathing problem, we could not neglect them,” said Mr Radha Raman Banik, the Malda CMOH.

The Malda health workers started statutory door to door to visit from yesterday in the Bird Flu affected zone within three and up to 10 km radius from the Bird Flu affected village Mahanandapur in Chanchal I block in northern part of Malda district.

According to the CMOH, more than 600 people have reported that they are suffering from cough and cold with light fever.

“It does not mean that they are suffering from avian influenza. It is common phenomenon due to present cold wave. At least 10 percent of total population of this district is suffering from this disease. Comparatively the number identified 600 people out of 100,000 population is normal”, Mr. Banik said.

Today's rain has hampered surveillance job in the affected zone partly, he said.
“A total of 400 people, who are executing culling operation, will be quarantined for 10 days in Chanchal after the end of culling operation”, the Malda CMOH said.
The team of NICD along with the Malda CMOH today visited Chanchal area and examined the persons engaged in culling operation.

The ARD officials have collected blood samples of ailing birds from Kaliachak III block yesterday and from Kaliachak I block today from several villages according to the direction of doctors from NICD.

“The blood samples would be sent to Bhopal through state officials in Kolkata tonight”, said Mr N K Shit, deputy director Malda animal resources development.
“Though we have culled more than 76,000 birds out of targeted 80,000 ones but we need two days more to complete culling operation. We need to review the present report to mop up the affected zone”, said Mr Shit.

Though price of chicken and its rate of selling have decreased in Malda town following Bird Flu scare but sell of chicken being reared in private farm houses have been increased in rural belts like Kaliachak and block areas.

The people belonging to low-income group are buying chicken paying Rs 30 per kg, which comparatively lower than present price of beef, Rs 50 per kg.
Similarly the selling rate of egg and its price has fallen in Malda town. The Malda whole sale traders are receiving eggs from Andhra Pradesh with low rate and dumping in the clod storage now.

Bird flu spreads in central Vietnam​

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=35544

Ducks continue to die in Hong Thuy Commune in Quang Binh Province, Pham Hong Son, head of the provincial Animal Health Department, confirmed Friday.

About 465 ducks have died since the initial outbreak on January 23 in the central province, of which 15 were injected with the first H5N1 vaccine six days ago.

After the outbreak, the local administration culled 5,300 ducks and made plans to control the epidemic.

The administration of the northern Thai Nguyen Province officially reported on Wednesday that bird flu broke out in the area.

It hit 110 ducks and 4,000 chickens.

The chickens had been inoculated with the H5N1 vaccine on January 21.

Four provinces have suffered from the recurrence of bird flu since late December - Quang Binh, Thai Nguyen, Tra Vinh and Tuyen Quang.

Bird flu has killed 48 people in Vietnam since 2003.

West Bengal isolates 26 people on bird flu fears​

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Story...ple+isolated+on+bird+flu+fears+in+West+Bengal

India put 26 people in isolation after they fell sick while culling poultry in a state affected by bird flu, while medical staff were monitoring hundreds of others, officials said on Friday.

Those quarantined in West Bengal complained of fever and respiratory distress over the past few days, but health staff said it was unlikely they had bird flu.

India has not reported any human infection of the H5N1 bird flu virus in its four outbreaks of avian influenza since 2006.

"The preliminary tests for bird flu are negative, but more tests are being conducted and the list of sick people reviewed every day," RS Shukla, a senior health official, told Reuters.

Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts, spelling trouble for parts of India's poultry business.

Egg exports from the world's second largest producer have dropped about 50 per cent in the past two weeks, leaving the industry with losses of around $20 million, trade officials said.

Consumption of poultry products has fallen to negligible levels in West Bengal, but chicken sales are recovering in the rest of India after an initial wobble when the latest outbreak was announced.

Veterinary staff have culled 2.6 million birds, completing what officials said was a successful operation that had brought the bird flu situation under control.

"We are aware of the consequences of a possible human infection and we are taking all possible measures," Surjya Kanta Mishra, the state's health minister said.

Bird deaths were reported from Haryana, close to New Delhi, but authorities said preliminary tests for bird flu had turned up negative.

"There have been some deaths, but these are due to septicaemia and not avian flu," VP Nehra, a senior animal husbandry official said.

Death toll of bird flu hits 102 in Indonesia​

http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/234611/Default.aspx

Jakarta (VNA) - A 32-year-old woman has died of bird flu at a Jakarta hospital, bringing the country's total death toll of the virus to 102, local media said.

The patient has been treated at the Persahabatan Hospital since January 26 and laboratory tests confirmed later that she was infected with the H5N1 virus, reported Metro TV.

The woman died late on January 31 after multiple organ failure.

Eight people have died from bird flu in Indonesia so far this year, all of them from Jakarta and its surrounding sprawl.-Enditem

Bird flu virus found in Pakistan ​

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=41237&sectionid=351020401

The Sindh provincial government has confirmed the presence of bird flu virus in poultry farms in southern city of Karachi in Pakistan.

Talking to Geo News network, Sindh government's Poultry Research Department director Dr.Ali Akbar announced that the deadly H5N-1 strain of bird flu has been identified in the Gadap area in Karachi and 5,000 chickens have already been culled.

Earlier, the department had sent samples from the poultry farms to the national research lab in Islamabad to confirm the presence of the highly contagious avian influenza.

Three Suspect H5N1 Patients in Isolation in Karachi​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02020801/H5N1_Karachi_Isolation.html

Recombinomics Commentary 05:37
February 2, 2008

three workers of a poultry farm were put under observation at an isolation ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi.

The above comments describe the isolation of three poultry works linked to the confirmed H5N1 outbreak near Karachi. The hospitalization supports earlier media reports on symptoms in farm workers on the farm where thousands of birds had died (see satellite map here and here).

However, like the confusing reports from Pakistan on the earlier outbreak of human infections in northern Pakistan late last year, recent media reports indicated there were no workers found or no infections found. It is not clear when these workers were tested, relative to the announcement or relative to Tamiflu treatment, which has likely already started on these workers.

In the earlier series, notification of positive test results were withheld for approximately six weeks, and independent confirmation of the positives was impacted by the degradation of the samples. It is likely that the H5N1 in Karachi is similar to the H5N1 reported earlier, so more human infections are likely.

More information on the testing of these quarantined patients would be useful.

More Detail on Patients in Isolation in Karachi​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02020802/H5N1_Karachi_Isolation_More.html

Recombinomics Commentary 06:59
February 2, 2008

the persons, named Mohammad Aslam, Ghulam Mustafa and Allah Dino, had been admitted to the isolation ward of the CHK for observation purposes.

“As per initial examinations, none of the three had shown any symptoms of bird flu infection, but they would be watched for four to five days to avert any danger to them,” he said.

One of the workers, Mohammad Aslam, said he had been working at the farm for about three months and had complaints of pain without flu.

The owner of Uni poultry farm told Dawn in the evening that his premises had been sealed by the government officials after completing the culling operation. He said he had to suffer a loss of about 12,000 birds that existed in two flocks due to the bird flu virus.

The above comments provide more detail on the three patients in isolation. However, it is unclear why they were selected for isolation and observation. The size of the farm indicates more than three people would have been exposed to the dead or dying birds, suggesting that the workers have some symptoms that fall short of “any symptoms of bird flu”, but it remains unclear as to what symptoms they do have, other than pain without flu for one of the patients.

Since the culling was done on Friday, there may not have been time for symptoms to appear, especially if the patients were also treated with Tamiflu. Media reports also describe examinations of fifty other farm workers in the region, as well as the preparation of additional isolation rooms. Results of tests on dead birds at a second farm are expected today. Media reports describe additional excessive poultry deaths, and human infections late last year in northern Pakistan increase concerns of human infections linked to the current outbreak (see satellite map here and here).

More detail on why these three workers were selected for isolation and observation would be useful.

Scientists make bird flu breakthrough​

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23149404-1702,00.html

February 02, 2008 07:48pm
Article from: AAP

SCIENTISTS are a step closer to cracking the deadly bird flu code following the development of a safe technique to study the virus by Australian researchers.
The breakthrough was made by Griffith University's Professor Mark von Itzstein and his team at the Institute for Glycomics on the Gold Coast, in collaboration with an international project team at Hong Kong University's Institut Pasteur led by Professor Malik Peiris.

The development, published this week in the world's leading international chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, will enable flu and drug specialists to study key surface proteins of the virus without fear of infection.

Risk is minimised through a method developed to insert the deadly bird flu's H5 protein into a harmless vehicle called a 'virus-like particle'.

Prof von Itzstein said the reduced risk of spreading the infection would allow the virus to be studied in more laboratories around the world, particularly in countries not currently exposed to the disease.

"Importing, transporting and studying a highly-contagious live virus has always held some level of inherent risk for research staff, the wider community and agricultural economy," Prof von Itzstein said.

"There are particularly strict regulations in a country such as Australia, in which the virus is not endemic.

"In the past this has restricted the ability of Australian researchers and those of any country in which a disease is not endemic, to base research programs within their own institutes."

Prof von Itzstein, who helped to develop the influenza drug Relenza, said it was hoped the breakthrough could help to "crack the code" of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.

"To better interrogate a virus protein, researchers need to be able to observe and monitor the way it functions when associated with a virus particle," he said.

"It's similar to the way it would be difficult to work out how a gun functions by only studying a bullet."

The professor said the H5N1 virus had evolved to the stage where it could be transmitted from birds to humans, with evidence mounting that limited human-to-human transmission could also occur.

Reports about admission of bird flu patient in Pakistan clarified​

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/03/content_7561421.htm

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A hospital in northwestern Pakistan clarified on Sunday that it was still too early to confirm that a patient in hospital had been infected with bird flu virus, the official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

The APP quoted a spokesman of Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) in Khyber Agency of the tribal areas as saying that a lady had been brought to the hospital with severe viral infections.

He said that the lady was presently kept in Isolation Ward of the hospital, but it was not confirmed that she was infected with the bird flu virus. He informed that the condition of the lady was similar to that of a bird flu patient, but still she could not be declared as patient of the deadly virus unless her blood test reports arrived from National Institute of Health (NIH).

The spokesman clarified that the condition of the said lady was improving and her fever was reducing, which was a good sign. In case of bird flu viral attack, he continued, fever kept on ascending up to dangerous level.

He said that the reason behind keeping the patient in Isolation or Seclusion Ward was that patients with severe viral infections were kept there. The ward was not reserved only for bird flu patients, he added.

He said the blood samples of the lady had been sent to NIH and report would come within 72 hours after which her disease would be diagnosed.

He requested the media persons not to report the lady as bird flu patient unless result of her blood samples arrived.

Local authorities of the southern port city of Karachi on Friday confirmed the outbreak of bird flu in one of its poultry farms.

New bird flu case detected in chickens in Turkish village​

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/World/STIStory_203119.html

ANKARA (Turkey) - SEVERAL dead chickens have tested positive for the bird flu virus in a small village in northern Turkey, the Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday.

The village near the Black Sea city of Samsun was placed under quarantine and dozens of chickens were culled to contain the disease, the ministry said.

It was not clear if the virus was the deadly H5N1 strain, which is being tracked by world health authorities.

Experts worry that the H5N1 strain, which remains hard for people to catch, could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been traced to direct contact with sick birds.

Sunday's reported outbreak is the second detected in chickens this year in Turkey.

Last month, authorities confirmed an H5N1 outbreak had killed dozens of chickens at a village near the northern Black Sea city of Zonguldak. Authorities placed the village under quarantine and culled 1,000 chickens there and in three surrounding villages.

During an H5N1 outbreak in Turkey in Jan 2006, 12 people were infected and four of them died. -- AP

Bird flu spreads in Bangladesh, port city on alert​

http://africa.reuters.com/commodities/news/usnDHA331879.html

Sun 3 Feb 2008, 10:57 GMT
[-] Text [+]

DHAKA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to three more districts of Bangladesh, the livestock department said on Sunday, taking the number of affected districts to more than half of the country's 64 districts.

The latest outbreaks were reported in southwestern Gopalganj, northeastern Sylhet and northern Mymensingh district, officials said.

The port city of Chittagong was put on high alert after some dead crows tested positive for the H5N1 virus, local officials said.

Officials said the government was taking measures to contain the spread of the disease, but ignorance among millions of farmers across the impoverished country remained a stumbling block.

Despite a government drive to burn or buy the dead birds, many farmers and backyard poultry breeders continue to ignore warnings, officials said.

"More than 200,000 volunteers are visiting rural households and educating people to report dead or sick birds, safe disposal of poultry waste and other safe health practices," said Mushtaque Ahmed, senior scientific officer at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.

Touching or eating sick poultry is the common way to become infected by the bird flu virus that has killed more than 220 people globally since late 2003.

So far no human infection has been reported in Bangladesh, though some 4 million people are involved in poultry farming across the country.

The neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal has put 26 people in isolation with bird flu symptoms after the most serious outbreak of the disease in poultry.

India extends deadline for poultry cull as bird flu spreads​

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080203/wl_sthasia_afp/heathfluindia

KOLKATA (AFP) - Indian authorities have extended the deadline for a massive poultry cull after a fresh outbreak of bird flu was reported in a village in West Bengal state, a minister said Sunday.

The virus has been detected in 13 of the eastern state's 19 districts since the outbreak began in mid-January.

Nearly three million poultry had been due to be slaughtered by late Saturday, but authorities said that after the fresh outbreak the exercise was now expected to be completed by Monday.

"It's not alarming. It will be possible to contain the spread of the disease by Monday," West Bengal animal resources development minister Anisur Rahaman told AFP in the state capital Kolkata.

"Culling teams are working on a war footing to meet the deadline," the minister said.

No cases of human infection have been reported so far.

"Nearly 800 culling team members have already been quarantined in different state-run hospitals," state health minister Surya kanata Mishra said, adding a total of 5,000 workers would be isolated after the slaughter was over.

As a precautionary measure however, the workers were being administered Tamiflu, recommended by the World Health Organisation as a first line of defence against the virus, the minister said.

Humans typically catch bird flu by coming into direct contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the H5N1 strain may mutate into a form easily transmissible between people.

Culling operations also started at the weekend in neigbouring northeastern Assam state as a precautionary step.

An estimated 85,000 poultry were due to be culled in the next 10 days in 40 villages close to the West Bengal border, Assam state officials said.

Bird flu kills 103 out of 126 cases in Indonesia​

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/04/content_7566526.htm

JAKARTA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- A 29-year-old Indonesian woman from Tanggerang, an outskirt city of Jakarta, has died on avian influenza and another 38 year-old woman from West Jakarta has been infected by the virus, putting the total death to 103 out of 126 contracted people, Health Ministry said here Monday.

All of their laboratory tests showed that all the women were positively infected by the lethal disease, said Lili Sriwahyuni Sulistyowati, head of information center of the ministry.

"All their laboratories tests were positive on Sunday afternoon," she said.

All of them had historical contact with fowls, said Sulistayowti.

The 29-year-old woman died on Saturday and began to sick at Jan.22 with the symptoms of cough, fever and respiratory problem, said Sulistyowati.

On Jan. 28 she was admitted to a hospital in the Tanggerang town and one day later she was shifted to a bird-flu designed hospital of Persahabatan in East Jakarta, the official said.

"The families around her house raise chickens, but it is still unknown yet whether the chicken have been infected by H5N1,"she said.

Another woman from West Jakarta, who is being treated at Persahabatan hospital in East Jakarta, first suffered from the disease at Jan. 24 with the symptoms of cough, fever, influenza and throat problem, said Sulistyowati.

On Jan. 26 she was treated at a hospital in of Usada Insani and at Feb. 1 she was shifted to the Pershabatan hospital, the official said.

"She is using ventilator," said Sulistyowati.

"One week ago she came to her parent's house, which is next toa family raising ducks," she said. Expert has said that the improper initial medical treatment and poor hygiene of the traditional poultry market have been blamed for the highest fatality rate of bird flu in the fourth most populous country with over 240 million population.

Patients Hospitalized in Calcutta Raise H5N1 Concerns​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02040803/H5N1_Patients_Calcutta_Concerns.html

Recombinomics Commentary 11:25
February 4, 2008

Two members of a culling team in bird flu-hit South 24-Parganas district in West Bengal have been admitted to a hospital with symptoms of influenza, even as killing of diseased poultry continued in the affected districts of the state on Monday.

Both the patients were members of a team engaged in the culling at Budge Budge in the district.

Tarak Nath Haldar was admitted to M S Bangur hospital while Mohammad Azizul Rahman was admitted to Budge Budge Rural Hospital on Sunday, Chief Medical Officer Health, Sachidananda Sarkar told PTI.

While blood samples of Haldar had been given for testing, a team from Bangur hospital would go to Budge Budge to take blood samples of Rahman, he said.

He said Haldar was suffering from fever, headache and body ache. Doctors were monitoring his condition to ascertain whether he had developed any respiratory problem as the fever could take a turn towards pneumonia, Sarkar said.

He said as of now, there were no reports of human deaths from bird flu in the country.

The above comments provide additional detail on two patients hospitalized in Calcutta after culling birds in Budge Budge (see satellite maps here and here). The wording of the report has been carried in multiple media reports, but the comments raise additional questions.

Earlier reports described three patients admitted, so the status of the third patient is unclear. Earlier reports indicated Tarak Nath had not received a full course of prophylactic Tamiflu, but it remains unclear if the incomplete courses apply to the other patients.

Similarly, the media reports mention influenza, but it is unclear of the patients have already tested positive for influenza A, which usually involves a rapid test on a throat swab. However, it remains unclear if throat swabs are being taken or tested for these patients or other patients with influenza-like symptoms. Similarly, it is unclear if influenza cases are due to H5N1 or oseltamivir resistant H1N1 in patients on Tamiflu.

Testing of humans and wild birds in India remain suspect. There is little doubt that some or most of the dead wild birds found in association with H5N1 confirmed poultry are also H5N1 positive, but such cases have never been reported for resident or migratory wild birds.

Similarly, India has never reported H5N1 in a human case, including highly suspect cases linked to the 2006 outbreaks in western India.

However, the above media report does not deny H5N1 patients in West Bengal. The comments only state that there have been no fatalities. In Pakistan late last year most of the H5N1 confirmed cases were not fatal, so the media comments leave open the possibility of H5N1 confirmation in human cases in West Bengal.

Bird flu spreads in India, Bangladesh amid massive slaughter​

http://www.afxnews.com/about488/index.php?lg=en&c=00.00&story=2299064

DHAKA (Thomson Financial) - Bangladesh has slaughtered 50,000 more poultry to combat a severe outbreak of bird flu that continues to spread while neighbouring India has stepped up similar efforts, officials said Monday.

The birds were killed near the capital Dhaka as the deadly H5N1 strain spread to a new district. The virus is now present in 35 of Bangladesh's 64 districts, the livestock department said.

"On Sunday, the flu was detected in 10 new farms, forcing the livestock department to slaughter all the birds in the area," livestock department scientific officer Biddyut Kumar Das said.

Efforts to slaughter birds in the western Kushtia district would continue on Monday, Das said. "The situation is not good. There is no sign of improvement."

The department said nearly 50,000 birds were slaughtered on Sunday in the single biggest cull since the deadly virus was detected on a farm near Dhaka in February last year.

No human infections have been reported in Bangladesh since the latest outbreak began last month, but a health official said nearly 800 farmers had been given anti-viral drugs as a precaution.

The government has also ordered major hospitals to set up isolation units.

"We've also confined several people in their homes," government spokesman Mahmudur Rahman said on Saturday.

In India, which has been combating its third and worst outbreak of the virus among poultry, three poultry-culling workers were in isolation after developing flu symptoms, officials said in West Bengal state, which borders Bangladesh.

Officials in the eastern Indian state, where 3 million chickens have been slaughtered since the virus was confirmed in dead birds last month, said no human cases had been reported as the virus spread to 13 of 19 districts.

Health workers in West Bengal accompanied by police on Monday began house-to-house searches to find hidden birds within the infected zones.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has said that Bangladesh also needs house-to-house surveillance to fight the spread of bird flu.

Bangladesh is the world's most densely populated country, with nearly 1,000 people per square kilometer (2,600 per square mile).

Experts fear bird flu could mutate into a form easily passed from human to human.

Two more swans test positive for H5N1 avian flu​

http://www.first4farming.com/F4F/ne...=UPENI52AAVFLPWNJH4WCFEQ?article_id=fwi109264

DEFRA has today confirmed that another two dead wild mute swans, collected on 28 January as part of wild bird surveillance in the same area in Dorset, have tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu.

This brings the total number of swans confirmed with H5N1 on the site Abbotsbury Swannery to nine. From today, DEFRA will publish any new cases on the avian flu section on its website.

The government department warned that further cases in the coming weeks would not be unexpected.

As described in the epidemiology report published earlier this week, evidence suggests that the level of infection in the mute swan population is low, and there remains no evidence of spread to other wild birds or domestic poultry.

DEFRA is continuing to keep the disease risk to domestic poultry and control measures under review and will be assessing options for any changes to the current restrictions in place, should evidence continue to point to a low level of infection confined to the mute swan population.

Pakistan tests 13 people for bird flu amid poultry outbreak​

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/t..._13_people_for_bird_flu_amid_poultry_outbreak

Islamabad - Pakistani authorities tested 12 poultry workers Tuesday for bird flu in the southern city of Karachi, and one woman who suddenly fell ill after eating chicken in north-west Pakistan, health officials said.

The workers were placed in an isolation ward at the Civil Hospital following the detection of the H5N1 virus at two poultry farms in Karachi's Gadap district during the past five days.

'A committee comprising Pakistani health officials and representatives of the World Health Organization took fresh blood samples for laboratory tests and the results were expected on Thursday,' said Khushnood Akhtar, secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Health.

Thousand of birds were culled after the presence of H5N1, which can be also deadly to humans, was confirmed at the farms.

Health workers took blood samples from a suspected bird flu patient at the Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar, capital of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

The woman was admitted to hospital last week after she developed pneumonia. Two days later she was moved to an isolation ward established for bird flu victims.

'We have sent her blood samples for an H5N1 virus test at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad and are waiting for the results,' senior medical officer Dr Siddiqur Rahman said.

The NWFP has seen several avian influenza outbreaks among its poultry population since 2006. The country's first human case of bird flu was detected in the province late last year.

Bird flu has killed at least 225 people worldwide from 357 cases since 2003. The vast majority of human cases come from direct contact with sick birds, but scientists fear the virus may mutate into a form more easily transmissible among humans, possibly killing millions.

Govt says bird flu outbreak in West Bengal contained​

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080205/india_nm/india317740_2;_ylt=A0WTcUPxOKhHd14AaBqTvyIi

KOLKATA (Reuters) - India's worst outbreak of bird flu appears to be under control, with a massive cull of poultry to contain the disease almost completed, health officials said on Tuesday.

More than 3.4 million birds have been culled in West Bengal, where 13 of the 19 districts have been affected by the H5N1 bird flu virus since the disease was first reported last month, state officials said.

"Culling is almost over and we are now conducting mopping up operations in the infected areas," Anisur Rahaman, the state's animal resources minister, told Reuters.

Disinfecting villages affected by avian influenza could continue for several weeks, he said.

"But the overall situation is totally under control," Rahaman added.

India said tests of at least 23 people, including several veterinary staff, who were held in isolation wards with symptoms of influenza had turned out negative for H5N1.

"But we are still keeping a close watch," Sanchita Bakshi, the director of health services in West Bengal, said.

India has not reported any human infections of the H5N1 bird flu virus in its four outbreaks of avian influenza since 2006.

Experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic that could kill millions worldwide.

About 60 percent of India's 1 billion plus people live in rural areas close to livestock, just like in many other parts of Asia, raising the risks of the bird flu virus infecting people.

In Kolkata, one of the biggest cities in India, authorities encouraged people to eat chicken to help the poultry industry as many people opted for fish and mutton dishes following the outbreak.

Egg exports from the world's second largest producer have also dropped about 50 percent, leaving the industry with losses of around $20 million, trade officials said.

India said culling would also take place in states bordering West Bengal and a special watch was in place in districts bordering Bangladesh.

Authorities said the virus could have originated from Bangladesh, where officials were struggling to contain a massive outbreak of bird flu.

"We are keeping a watch on our borders with Bangladesh and other states as the idea is to minimise the chances of bird flu spreading," Rahaman said.

Many unwilling villagers resisted the authorities efforts, letting most of their backyard poultry free when culling teams arrived. There were reports that some chickens and ducks were smuggled out at night from infected districts.

H5N1 Sequences in India and Bangladesh​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02050803/H5N1_India_Bangladesh.html

Recombinomics Commentary 07:51
February 5, 2008

Bangladesh has refused to share the genetic details of its H5N1 bird flu virus with India. In a blow to India's efforts to find the origin of the highly pathogenic avian influenza strain that is presently wreaking havoc in West Bengal, Bangladesh has informed the external affairs ministry that they are "yet to genetically sequence the H5N1 virus strain circulating there".

"We know for a fact that Bangladesh completed genetic sequencing of its virus as early as in mid-2007. The OIE Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza in Weybridge, UK, has completed the sequencing. The lab officials can't divulge the details till Bangladesh agrees to share the information."

Although release of recent sequences from India and Bangladesh will be useful, it is likely that both sets of sequences will be similar. Moreover, it is also likely that the H5N1 currently in circulation in both countries will be more complex than earlier isolates.

Sequences from Pakistan have just been released. The sequences were from 2006 and 2007 isolates and were most closely related to 2006 sequences from Afghanistan. All of the above were clade 2.2.3 and it is likely that H5N1 currently in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh are also clade 2.2.3.

These sequences are transported and transmitted by wild birds, and sequences from samples that are geographically close are likely to also be genetically closely related.

In the Pakistan sequences, the 2006 sequences were virtually identical to 2006 sequences from Afghanistan isolates from the same geographic region. As was seen in Egypt, sequences from the following season were similar to earlier isolates, but more complex. Therefore it is likely that the H5N1 sequences from the current season are more complex than sequences from early 2007.

The same relationship was seen in a recently released sequence from France, A/mute swan/France/06299/2006. It was collected in 2006 and closely related to 2006 sequences from southern Germany or Switzerland. In Egypt, the 2006 sequences were closely related to sequences from Djibouti, Israel and Gaza. Similarly, 2006 sequences from northern Germany are closely related to sequences from Denmark, Sweden, and Scotland. In the European examples above, the sequences were from wild birds, and not linked to trade.

The hoarding of sequences is not new. Weybridge still has not released 2005 H5n1 sequences from Europe. They say there are restrictions from the country of origin, while the country of origin claims there are restrictions by Weybridge. Sequences from earlier outbreaks involving free range turkeys from last year also haven’t been released. These sequences are useful for determining the movement of H5n1 polymorphisms by wild birds. The contribution of trade to these movements is minimal because most sequences are from wild birds.

Thus, sequence data from recent outbreaks in India and Bangladesh will be useful, but the sequences from the two countries will be very similar.

Family of bird flu victim files police complaint​

http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/tue/feb5w7.htm

JAKARTA (AFP) - The family of an Indonesian man who died of bird flu last month filed a police complaint Monday against two hospitals where he was treated, accusing them of malpractice, a lawyer said.

The complaint, the first step towards a lawsuit, was made by a brother of the 32-year-old victim, who was treated at a hospital in the Jakarta satellite city of Tangerang and then later at a hospital in the capital, where he died on January 29.

"There are indications of a failure to comply with professional and procedural standards," lawyer Nober Siregar, from the Health Legal Aid Association, told AFP.

Siregar, who accompanied the brother to file the complaint, said that the hospital in Tangerang had misdiagnosed the patient as suffering from dengue fever and then failed to provide blood transfusions, as should have occurred in a serious dengue case.

Also, results of laboratory tests were not given to the family, he said.

After treatment at the Jakarta hospital, Siregar said the body had four incisions in the chest and abdomen, but the family had never been told of any surgery taking place and permission had never been sought from them.

A spokeswoman from the Jakarta hospital declined immediate comment. The victim was the nation's 101st bird flu death. Another woman died last Friday of the H5N1 virus, bringing the current toll to 102.

Experts fear that the virus, which is usually spread directly from a bird to a human, could mutate into a form easily transmissible between people, sparking a deadly global pandemic.

The concern stems from past influenza pandemics. A pandemic in 1918, just after the end of World War I, killed 20 million people worldwide.

Bird flu confirmed in Turkish villages​

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=nw20080206091057177C330979

Ankara - Turkey's agriculture ministry has confirmed it was bird flu that killed chickens in northwest Turkey, where three villages have been quarantined, the ministry said late on Tuesday.

Turkey culled 1 783 birds in the villages in Sakarya province, 125km east of Turkey's biggest city Istanbul.

"Three samples taken from a citizen's chickens were sent to Istanbul and it was detected that the bird flu virus is the cause of their death," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry did not specify the strain of virus. It said the area was being disinfected and all measures were being taken by the authorities.

Turkey lies on the migratory route for wild birds
The chickens' deaths were first reported on February 1.

Turkey also detected bird flu virus in dead chickens in Samsun province, in the north of the country, on Sunday.

Last month, Turkey culled nearly 600 poultry in villages in Zonguldak, another province on the Black Sea coast, after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was identified.

Turkey lies on the migratory route for wild birds flying south from Scandinavia and Siberia to north Africa for winter.

Four people died from bird flu in eastern Turkey in 2006 after they came into contact with sick birds. Although bird flu remains an animal disease, experts fear the virus could mutate into a form easily passed from human to human and kill millions.

An outbreak of bird flu in the winter of 2006 hit Turkey's tourism industry and seriously damaged the poultry sector.

Bird flu spreads to urban Bangladesh, officials say​

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080206/sc_nm/birdflu_bangladesh_dc

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to the Bangladesh capital Dhaka and to the port city Chittagong despite efforts by authorities to contain it, livestock officials said on Wednesday.

Dozens of dead crows found over the past two days in Dhaka have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu. City authorities have ordered a ban on the sale of undressed chicken in Dhaka markets, the officials said.

In Chittagong, officials confirmed the spread of bird flu in several farms and also in crows that tested positive for the strain.

The virus has spread to 38 out of Bangladesh's 64 districts, and forced the culling of nearly 500,000 birds across the country.

Bird flu was first detected in Bangladesh at a poultry farm

near the capital last March, but so far has not infected humans in the densely populated country.

Lack of awareness about the virus is still widespread in the country, officials and media reports said.

On Wednesday, a Dhaka newspaper printed a photograph of a man collecting dead crows at the city's main Ramna Park with no mask and using his bare hands.

Touching or eating sick poultry can lead to infection by the H5N1 virus that has killed more than 220 people globally since late 2003.

Indonesian scientists 'baffled' by bird flu virus​

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s2156211.htm

Indonesian scientists and officials say they are baffled by what they have described as the "mysterious" behaviour of the bird flu virus, which has claimed nine lives this year in the world's worst-hit nation.

Indonesia has reported 126 cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu since 2005, and 103 people have died.

Officials from the ministry of agriculture's bird flu control unit say the risk factors for human infection remain unclear.

The usual mode of transmission of the H5N1 strain of bird flu is directly from an infected bird to a human.

But in some recent cases, experts have found no signs of the virus in the area.

Officials say more, deeper studies need to be carried out, so that "the chain of infection" can be cut.

New swine flu subtype has avian flu genes​

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/feb08/080215k.asp

Researchers have identified a new strain of swine influenza, H2N3, which belongs to the group of H2 influenza viruses that last infected humans during the 1957 pandemic. This new strain has a molecular twist—it is composed of avian and swine influenza genes.

Agricultural Research Service veterinarians, Drs. Juergen Richt, Amy Vincent, Kelly Lager, and Phillip Gauger, conducted this research with Iowa State University visiting scientist Wenjun Ma; ISU veterinary pathologist, Dr. Bruce Janke; and other colleagues at the University of Minnesota and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The ARS veterinarians work at the agency's National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa.

The research team studied an unknown pathogen that infected two groups of pigs at separate production facilities in 2006. Both groups used water obtained from ponds frequented by migrating waterfowl.

Molecular studies indicated the pathogen was an H2N3 influenza virus that is closely related to an H2N3 strain found in mallard ducks. This was the first time it was observed in mammals.

Influenza viruses have eight gene segments, all of which can be swapped between various virus strains. Two of these gene segments code for virus surface proteins that help determine whether an influenza virus is able to infect a specific host and start replicating—the first step in the onset of influenza infection.

In the newly isolated swine H2N3, the avian H2 and N3 gene segments mixed with gene segments from common swine influenza viruses. This exchange and additional mutations gave the H2N3 viruses the ability to infect swine. Laboratory tests confirmed that this strain of H2N3 could also infect mice and ferrets.

The findings provide further evidence that swine have the potential to serve as a "mixing vessel" for influenza viruses carried by birds, pigs, and humans. They also support the need to continue monitoring swine and livestock workers for H2-subtype viruses and other influenza strains that might someday threaten swine and human health.

Results of this study were published Dec. 26, 2007 (Vol. 194, No. 52), in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

WHO: H5N1 strikes two more Indonesians​

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu//cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/feb0508avian.html

Feb 5, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed that a 29-year-old Indonesian woman recently died of H5N1 avian influenza and that another Indonesian, a 38-year-old woman, is hospitalized with the disease.

The 29-year-old woman was from Tangerang, the same western suburb of Jakarta where several of Indonesia's most recent H5N1 case-patients lived. She fell ill on Jan 22, was hospitalized 6 days later, and died on Feb 2, according to a WHO statement. She is listed as the country's 125th case-patient and its 103rd fatality.

The WHO said an investigation into the source of her illness was under way. Lili Sulistyowati, a spokeswoman from Indonesia's health ministry, said the woman's neighbors raised chickens, but it's not known if the birds were infected with the H5N1 virus, according to a report yesterday from Xinhua, China's state news agency.

The WHO also announced that the 38-year-old woman, who is from West Jakarta, is in critical condition. She became ill Jan 24 and was hospitalized 2 days later. She is now confirmed as Indonesia's 126th H5N1 case-patient, according to the WHO.

The source of the woman's illness is also still under investigation, the WHO said. Sulistyowati told Xinhua that a week ago the woman visited her parents, who live next to a family that raises ducks.

Indonesia has been hit hardest of any country by the H5N1 virus. The WHO's global H5N1 count stands at 359 cases and 226 deaths.

H5N1 in Tenth Swan Highlights Surveillance Flaws in England​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02060802/H5N1_Swan_Surveillance.html

Recombinomics Commentary 23:55
February 6, 2008

The confirmation of H5N1 in a tenth mute swan in Dorset raises serious surveillance concerns. Although DEFRA continues to claim that H5N1 in wild birds in England is limited and has not spread, the basis of their statement is negative results from a fatally flawed surveillance program.

H5N1 in dead mute swans in the swannery in Dorset was reported over a month ago in mute swans that were collected as early as December 27, 2007 (see satellite map) . The first two swans were euthanized because they were near death, and all subsequent positives have been from dead mute swans. The most recent positive swan was collected February 4, 2008. Thus, although H5N1 has been in the region for well over a month, the surveillance program has yet to detect H5N1 in a live healthy mute swan, and has failed to detect H5N1 in any other species.

H5N1 levels in mute swans are higher than other species, which may explain the failure to detect H5N1 in other species. Similarly, the failure to detect the Qinghai strain (clade 2.2) in live wild birds is fairly common because the levels are lower. Thus, the surveillance failures are not limited to the DEFRA program.

However, these major limitations are ignored in DEFRA reports, which continue to claim that there has been no evidence of spread. This lack of evidence is due to the insensitive assay, not to the absence of spread.

The recent DEFRA report described the identity levels in the H5N1 from the first four positive swans. The differences between the isolates indicated the introductions into the swan population were independent, and not do to a common source. This genetic diversity supports a varied reservoir in the mute swan population, or repeated infections from a local source. However, neither has been identified in the surveillance program, even though it has been in the ”enhanced” mode since H5N1 was first detected, in early January.

The failure to detect H5N1 in live birds or any wild birds other than the mute swans. signals flawed surveillance. H5N1 is readily transmitted to a wide range of avian species which would have contact with H5N1 infected birds in and around the swannery. However, these H5N1 infected birds continue to circulate undetected.

The failures should be acknowledged by DEFRA, and the misleading statements about “lack of evidence” should cease.

The Race to Stop Bird Flu Dead in its Tracks​

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/14064/the-race-to-stop-bird-flu-dead-in-its-tracks

AUSTRALIA — Researchers at Griffith University Institute for Glycomics, Queensland led by Professor Mark von Itzstein have developed a technique to 'crack-the-code' of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.

The Race to Stop Bird Flu Dead in its Tracks AUSTRALIA — Researchers at Griffith University Institute for Glycomics, Queensland led by Professor Mark von Itzstein have developed a technique to 'crack-the-code' of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.

It will enable influenza virus specialists and drug researchers to interrogate one of the virus’ key surface proteins without risk of infection.
*
"It's similar to the way it would be difficult to work out how a gun functions by only studying a bullet."
Professor Malik Peiris

This approach will enable the rapid identification of avian and other influenza viruses that have attained the capacity to recognize human receptors and therefore acquired the potential for easy human-to-human transmission.

The Griffith team collaborated with an international project partner team at the Hong Kong University-Institut Pasteur led by Professor Malik Peiris who developed a method to insert the deadly bird flu’s H5 protein in a harmless vehicle called a 'virus-like particle'.

"To better interrogate a virus protein, researchers need to be able to observe and monitor the way it functions when associated with a virus particle," Professor von Itzstein said.

"It's similar to the way it would be difficult to work out how a gun functions by only studying a bullet."

The use of these virus-like particles as a vehicle for the virus protein enables researchers to work without the need for high-containment laboratory procedures mandatory for handling live virus.

Bird flu confirmed in villages in northwest​

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=95701

ANKARA – Reuters

The Agriculture Ministry has confirmed it was bird flu that killed chickens in northwestern Turkey, where three villages have been quarantined, the ministry said late Tuesday.

Turkey culled 1,783 birds in the three villages in Sakarya province, 125 kilometers east of Istanbul.

"Three samples taken from a citizen's chickens were sent to Istanbul and it was detected that the bird flu virus is the cause of their death," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry did not specify the strain of virus. It said the area was being disinfected and all measures were being taken by the authorities.

The chickens' deaths were first reported on Feb. 1.

Turkey also detected the bird flu virus in dead chickens Sunday in Samsun province, in the north of the country.

Last month, Turkey culled nearly 600 birds in villages in Zonguldak, another province on the Black Sea coast, after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was identified.

Turkey lies on the migratory route of wild birds flying south from Scandinavia and Siberia to North Africa for winter.

Four people died from bird flu in eastern Turkey in 2006 after they came into contact with sick birds. Although bird flu remains an animal disease, experts fear the virus could mutate into a form easily passed from human to human and kill millions. An outbreak of bird flu in the winter of 2006 hit Turkey's tourism industry and seriously damaged the poultry sector.

Link to next weeks thread:

HEALTH - 2/8/08-2/15/08|Weekly Bird Flu Thread: Man suspected of contracting bird flu Thailand

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=276462