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January 30, 2006
Unique gene makes bird flu virus deadly
Via MSNBC.com: Genes make bird flu virus deadly, study finds.
Scientists may have found out what makes the H5N1 influenza virus so deadly — bird flu viruses have a gene that may make them especially destructive to cells, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
All the bird flu viruses studied by the team at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis had the gene and none of the human influenza viruses did, they said.
People infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus in Vietnam and Thailand had the"avian" version of the flu virus, as did the victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed tens of millions of people globally, the researchers said.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US importing more Chinese poultry?
An understandably dumbfounded reader sent me the link to a story in American Chronicle: Harkin Urges USDA to Reconsider Proposal that Would Allow Processed Poultry Imports from China.
ded too. As the American philosopher Butch Cassidy once asked the Sundance Kid, "Who are these guys?"In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) urged the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reconsider a proposal that would allow imports of processed poultry from China in light of the country's outbreaks of avian flu.
To date, ten people and more than 154,000 birds have died from avian flu in China, and over 22.5 million birds have been culled to control the disease.
Harkin expressed doubts about USDA's ability to enforce food safety standards in China to protect against avian flu, and questioned why USDA is changing its policy towards Chinese processed poultry imports at a time when the H5N1 avian influenza strain is devastating Asia's poultry sector.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Singapore conference to identify gaps in H5N1 planning
Via Medical News Today: Identifying Gaps In Influenza Pandemic Preparations, Lancet 2006 Forum.
ntions that journalists, once accredited, can attend free of charge. I'd like to see Helen Branswell and Declan Butler there. And I hope that by early May we won't need reports on planning gaps that were learned the hard way.The Lancet 2006 forum on preparing for the next pandemic influenza will provide clinicians and policy makers with the latest information for dealing with an outbreak and identify gaps in preparation plans.
The forum - Preparing for pandemic influenza: The avian dimension and other emerging threats - will take place between 3 - 4 May 2006 in Singapore.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ministro Salud iraquí confirma muerte niña iraquí por gripe aviareluniversal.com: Internacional
Bagdad.- El ministro de Salud iraquí, Abdelmutalib Mahmud, confirmó hoy, lunes, que una niña kurda ha muerto este mes por el virus más peligroso de la gripe aviar, el H5N1. Mahmud hizo esta declaración a los periodistas en la (...)Posted by dymaxion at 09:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Individuals and Communities must Prepare to Cope on their OwnAvian Flu Watch
Crfullmoon posted a new topic:
Check the plans in your own location.
Example from the Massachusetts State Influenza Pandemic Plan, pg 56: ..."Persons may be confined to their homes by choice, out of fear of being exposed and becoming ill or
by direction of State or local health officials in order to reduce transmission in the community.
The provision of food, medical and other essential support
for persons confined to their homes
will be the responsibility of local communities."
IS YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY PREPARED TO DO SO?
Don't expect help from other levels of government, because if pandemic occurs, (and airplane travel means the virus may be in many nations and cities and villages by the time pandemic is noticed)
all other regions will be having the same problems at the same time.
Do the math for where you live in the world, if say, 25% of your population fell very ill in the same week.
If the H5N1 virus remains much as it is now, hospitals will collaspe.
It does not have to change much now to go pandemic, or, another virus may, some other year, but our infrastructure can't handle such surges.
The difficult things about global natural disasters, like an influenza pandemic, are
that they give no start date,
people would like to just hope nothing will happen or,
hope that they can do something effective to save themselves and their families *after* it is in progress, (by then it is too late)
and, that in human history, we have never done this before;
had warning of and been able to stop an influenza pandemic. Influenza is much more contagious and can kill much faster than HIV, yet people and governments did not take personal responsibility to stop the spread of the AIDS virus, and it is known how this could be prevented. Can they prevent a pandemic?
Already the vaunted "modern medical and communication systems we have now" have been daunted by closed governments, rural poverty, lack of good public health infrastructure even in developed nations, and, human nature and politics and economic concerns.
It does not seem that local officials want to give all available information and proper advice to all the public, out of fear of "panic" which seems to mean "any economic change at all".
We get panic behaviors when people do not know what is safe and what is not, they panic when authorities won't answer their questions, or come and help contain an outbreak when people don't have the protective equipment or staff to do so. They panic when they do the wrong things out of ignorance, trying to keep themselves safe.
The H5N1 virus is in many countries, infecting many species, and people are still falling ill.
Human-to-human transmission does seem to have occurred, in limited fashion. (The rules for officially proving this to WHO standards are strict and easily unmet.)
The World Health Organization has admitted it cannot update its pandemic alert level, which has been left at 3 and not updated since Nov. because of political pressure from countries not wanting other nations to implement their action plans that may include travel bans, trade cessation, ect, if the level is raised to 4.
Because of the pressure from nations trying to postpone economic and political consequences, the alert level has become useless and should be uncoupled from all pandemic plans as an action signal.
The WHO now does the response and containment measures as needed, and, if they think they have a chance to work.
IS YOU LOCAL COMMUNITY PREPARED FOR A PANDEMIC LIKE THAT OF 1918?
Is your household prepared? Having a stocked- up household of items that keep without electricity, and, basic medical supplies also is useful if people have weather-related power-outtages, have to evacuate for local disasters, or, even if there is a sudden job loss or medical proceedure to recover from.
Stocking up is like having insurance policies, except you can see and touch what you have.
Look at what you spent money on last week or last month.
Anything frivolous you could do without for a couple of weeks, and instead start to buy things you might need if so many people got sick that the supply chain collaspes, or, if quarantine shuts things down?
Your local government, taxes or no, cannot care for everyone.
Make sure you take care of yourselves.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Of interest: Branson says pandemic flu would ground 70% of aircraft
... I enjoy listening to Sir Richard and find him to be refreshing and insightful. Which is why I was interested to read his thought today Branson's quote today at the World Economic Forum in Davos on the potential global impact of the Avian influenza A (H5N1), should it become ...Satisfy Me
Posted by dymaxion at 08:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Gripe das Aves: confirmada presen?a no norte de Chipre
A Comiss?o Europeia confirmou hoje a presen?a do v?rus mais perigoso da gripe das aves, o H5N1, numa ave morta no norte Chipre, a regi?o controlada pela minoria cipriota turca da ilha. O resultado positivo foi confirmado pelo laborat?rio europeu de refer?ncia de Weybridge (Reino Unido) ap?s a an?lise de "uma amostra" colhida de uma ave morta, segundo um comunicado da Comiss?o que n?o precisou se o animal era selvagem ou de capoeira. O comunicado da Comiss?o Europeia recorda que ? proibidaPosted by dymaxion at 08:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Health Care Officials Confirm Cyprus Bird Flu
Health care officials have confirmed the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in the northern part of Cyprus. The European Commission said that the presence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in the northern part of Cyprus has been confirmed. Health care officials and the commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU), and the Turkish authorities have been informed by a bird flu laboratory of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain in a sample taken from the area not under the effectivePosted by dymaxion at 08:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Turkish bird flu outbreak raises questions
hospitals, questions are swirling over whether the world has overestimated the virulence of the H5N1... of known cases. Hospital staff who cared for H5N1 patients. "And they essentially found zero... of H5N1 infection date back to the first H5N1 outbreak, in Hong Kong in 1997, where the virus... a better idea of whether the known H5N1 cases are the tip of an iceberg, or the iceberg itself. With that end in mind, the organization is developing an H5N1 clinical trials network that will undertakePosted by dymaxion at 08:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iraqi Health Minister Confirms Kurdish Girl Died of Bird Flu
Iraq's health minister says a girl who died earlier this month in northern Iraq was a victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu - the first known case of the disease in the country.Posted by dymaxion at 08:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Aviaria, Ue: volatile con H5n1 a Cipro Nord
BRUXELLES - Il ceppo H5N1 dell'influenza aviara, letale per l'uomo, ? stato individuato nel settore nord dell'isola di Cipro, quello turco. La conferma ? arrivata dal laboratorio di riferimento europeo di Weybridge (Gran Bretagna) e l'annuncio ? stato dato dalla Commissione europea. Proprio in Turchia di recente sono morte quattro persone che avevano contratto il virus mutato. VIETATO L'EXPORT - La Commissione europea, di conseguenza, ha vietato di importare animali vivi o prodotti animaliPosted by dymaxion at 08:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Aviaria: vaccino efficace al 100% sugli animali
influenzale H5N1 (l emoagglutinina ? la proteina contrassegnata con H). Questa proteina ? quella che... lavoro in tutto. EFFICACIA - Il vaccino, iniettato nei topi, li ha protetti da H5N1 nel 100 per cento... anti H5N1 con tecniche di ingegneria genetica?. ?E anche se il virus mutasse? continua Rezza, ?Un vaccino efficace contro H5N1 sarebbe comunque utile, perch? a quel punto produren un altro simile perPosted by dymaxion at 08:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Scientists Develop Bird Flu Vaccine that is 100% Effective
University of Pittsburgh scientists say they ve genetically engineered an avian flu vaccine that has proven 100 percent effective in mice and chickens. The vaccine was produced from the critical components of the deadly H5N1 virus that has devastated bird populations in Southeast Asia and Europe and has killed more than 80 people.Posted by dymaxion at 08:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 26, 2006
Indonesian vendor dies of bird flu - hospital - Reuters AlertNet
What's highly alarming here is that reports of this latest case only surfaced yesterday! This only underlies the weakness in any kind of a centralized response in Indonesia. Rapid information is essential if a cluster of human to human (H2H) transmissions breaks out somewhere in the world. This level of reaction in one of the world's most populous countries bodes poorly for the future.
dymaxion... RTE.ieIndonesian vendor dies of bird flu - hospital Reuters AlertNet - 22 minutes ago JAKARTA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - An Indonesian chicken seller whom local tests showed had been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus has died, a hospital official said on Thursday. If confirmed by outside laboratories ...
Posted by dymaxion at 12:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
GlaxoSmithKline to start vaccine trials in April
Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC hopes to start clinical trials in early April for its vaccine against the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, a company executive said Thursday.
The London-based company would test the vaccine with two different boosters and the first results should come about three months later, said David Stout, president of the company's pharmaceutical operations.
Production is slated to start by year's end, he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.
Posted by dymaxion at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A seventh death in China
CBC radio this morning reported the seventh death in China from avian flu. The story is also on China Daily.com. Here's an excerpt:
s of the report is frustrating: how recently is "recently"? Why give the surname only? And why, if this woman was ill almost two weeks ago, are the authorities still trying to find out if local poultry have suffered from H5N1?The health ministry, quoted by the Xinhua news agency, said the woman died recently but did not give a date.
The woman, surnamed Cao and a market worker in Jinhua town in Chengdu city,
had been hospitalised in Chengdu in the southwestern province of Sichuan.On January 12 she showed fever and pneumonia symptoms and her samples tested positive for the deadly H5N1 of the virus, the agency said Wednesday.
The health ministry on Monday said Cao was in critical condition and confirmed she was the country's 10th human bird flu case.
Xinhua said the ministry was investigating the source of her infection and
was trying to find out whether there have been bird flu outbreaks among poultry
in her town.
Posted by dymaxion at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wild birds: vectors or victims of avian flu?
“Scientists are increasingly convinced that at least some migratory waterfowl are now carrying the H5N1 virus in its highly pathogenic form, sometimes over long distances, and introducing the virus to poultry flocks in areas that lie ...Posted by dymaxion at 12:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Algerian may have had bird flu
There are a lot of rumors in the scientific community that the Algerian government, which has said that all tests are negative for H5N1 (in sick/dead humans and birds), are covering up an outbreak in Algeria, which would be the first ...Posted by dymaxion at 12:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Will the next human influenza pandemic be caused by the virus of the avian flu A/H5N1? Arguments pro and counter.
Posted by dymaxion at 11:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tick. Tick. Tick.Hugh Hewitt
The WSJ.com Avian Flu News Tracker reports on new human cases in China and Indonesia, and also this report from a North Korean human rights activist:
A woman infected with bird flu was hospitalized in North Korea in December, and leader Kim Jong Il has ordered the government to eradicate the disease among chickens and other birds, said Lee Young Hwa, leader of the human rights group Rescue the North Korean People in Japan. He said he learned of the outbreak from RENK members in North Korea. He said there was a high possibility that the woman, who was treated at Pyongyang's Red Cross Hospital, was the first human case of bird flu in the country, but he was not sure.
If H5N1 breaks out in North Korea it seems unlikely that WHO or other organizations will be given the opportunity to intervene and cabin the disease, or even receive reliable information on its virulence and mortality rate.
Posted by dymaxion at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Study Questions Effectiveness of Tamiflu in Preventing the Spread of Bird Flu VirusBest Syndication News Feed
Roche Holding AG reassured the public that their influenza drug Tamiflu is effective against the H5N1 avian influenza virus if administered early. This is following ...Posted by dymaxion at 11:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wild bird flu blame 'too hasty'Forest Conservation Newsfeed
BBC: Governments across Europe are being too hasty in blaming the spread of avian flu on wild birds, says the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Many scientists say there is evidence wild birds are spreading the highly dangerous H5N1 strain of the virus. But the RSPB says the trade in birds and the movement of poultry products is a more likely cause. The charity said there are no migration routes that would take birds from China to Turkey at this time of year. ...Posted by dymaxion at 11:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WHO says Asian states too slow in reporting bird fluArmenian Medical Network
The regional director for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Western Pacific has complained that Asian countries take too long to report some human cases of bird flu and this could hamper any efforts to contain a possible pandemic.
Shigeru Omi, one of WHO’s top officials says these countries need to improve their capacity to quickly detect and report cases of the H5N1 virus.
Omi says the window of opportunity for containment is very narrow, and means rapid containment measures must be carried out at least two to three weeks after detection of a potential pandemic event.
Posted by dymaxion at 11:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Scientists solve puzzle of flu virus replication
... Scientists solve puzzle of flu virus replication January 26th, 2006 LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have solved the genetic puzzle of how influenza A viruses — including the H5N1 bird ... such as the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed as many as 50 million people worldwide. Scientists fear H5N1 could ...
Posted by dymaxion at 11:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Another China sharing post (sigh)
... I guess I should make a standard template post that WHO is again complaining China is not sharing viral samples from their poultry outbreaks with ... samples of H5N1 bird flu. International experts complain that China has not cooperated fully ... tissue samples from animals that died of the H5N1 virus in the country in recent months. (chosun.com ...
Posted by dymaxion at 11:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
24. januar 2006 - Fugleinfluenza – seneste nyt fra Indonesien
... Sundhedsministeriet i Indonesien har bekræftet yderligere to tilfælde af infektion med fugleinfluenzavirus A H5N1 hos mennesker ... to er ved at blive undersøgt for fugleinfluenza A H5N1. Undersøgelser har vist, at der er et større ... . Fra Indonesien er der til dato bekræftet 19 tilfælde af fugleinfluenzavirus A H5N1 infektion hos ...
Nyheder og fakta om fugleinfluenza (Bird flu)
Posted by dymaxion at 11:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 24, 2006
CIDRAP Announces: Business Planning for Pandemic Influenza: A National Summit
We received the following announcement from Aaron Desmond at the University of Minnesota and thought it worthwhile to pass on to those of you brave enough to visit Minneapolis in February:
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Register online at www.cidrap.umn.edu/summit
Posted by dymaxion at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 23, 2006
Turkey hopeful the crisis is fading
"We have no (bird flu) patients in serious condition at this time," the chief physician at Van University Hospital, Huseyin Avni Sahin, told AFP Sunday.
Eight patients treated for the virus have recovered enough to leave hospital, including two brothers, aged five and two, who were discharged from an Ankara hospital on the weekend.
Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker told the Anatolia news agency Sunday that "the spread of the disease is losing steam."
He added that 1.16 million birds have been culled so far as the government seeks to contain the virus.
Government officials said the apparent improvement in the situation was due to heightened public awareness of the disease, its risks and its vectors of contamination. Most of those who had been infected contracted H5N1 by coming into contact with sick chickens raised in yards by poorer families.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Poultry vaccination in Vietnam: promising results - Pravda
 CNN | Poultry vaccination in Vietnam: promising results Pravda, Russia - ... of poultry vaccinated against bird flu in Vietnam shows more than 80 percent of the sampled birds developed at least some immunity to the H5N1 virus, but more ... Bird flu hasn't slowed tourists |
Posted by dymaxion at 09:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
North Cyprus: Possible B2B H5N1
Via Planet Ark: North Cyprus Tests Dead Birds for Avian Flu.
Two suspected cases of avian flu were found on a farm in northern Cyprus, but it was early to say if it was the deadly H5N1 strain, Turkish Cypriot authorities said on Monday.
Samples from a dead turkey and a chicken were taken from close to Incircli, a village on the eastern part of the island which is also known by the Greek name Makrasykas.
"There were two birds, one a turkey and one a chicken, and two suspicious deaths. Preliminary tests proved positive (for a form of bird flu)," said Turkish Cypriot health minister Esref Vaiz.
"We have announced it to the public and we are hiding nothing," he told Reuters, adding that it would take about two days for conclusive results to come from Turkey.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Afghanistan the next target?
The Peninsula, a news source in Qatar, reports Afghanistan at "huge risk" of bird flu.
War-shattered Afghanistan faces a huge risk from bird flu, including a strain that can kill people, and must take urgent action to protect itself, UN experts said yesterday.
The Central Asian country is on the path of migrating birds that may be carrying the disease and about 85 per cent of its people live in close contact with poultry, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said. Afghanistan's veterinary services were also in disarray, having been ignored in the rebuilding of the country after decades of war.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
North Cyprus tests dead birds for avian flu
four people have died from the H5N1 bird flu virus this month. The H5N1 virus has killed at least 80 people in six countries since late 2003. The island was partitioned in aPosted by dymaxion at 09:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Oms: altre 2 vittime dell'aviaria in Indonesia
GIACARTA - L'Organizzazione mondiale per la sanit? ha confermato che due persone morte in Indonesia sono state uccise dal virus H5N1. Sale cos? a 14 il numero dei decessi per influenza aviaria nel Paese del sud-est asiatico. Le ultime vittime accertate sono una tredicenne di Giava e il suo fratellino di quattro anni che test locali avevano gi? dato come infettati dal virus dell'aviaria. Questa mattina in Indonesia ? stato anche annunciato il ricovero per sospetta influenza aviaria di unaPosted by dymaxion at 09:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
china announces 10th human case of bird flu - boston.com
from the west of the country was diagnosed with the H5N1 virus. (REUTERS/Stringer) BEIJING (Reuters... on Monday after a 29-year-old woman from the southwest of the country was diagnosed with the H5N1 virus... to tests for the H5N1 virus given by the provincial disease control center, and the national center..., and prevention and control work is facing new tests," Hui said. Experts believe the H5N1 virus..., there was no officially confirmed outbreak of H5N1 among poultry in the area beforehand. China, along with Vietnam, hasPosted by dymaxion at 09:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update
... 23 January 2006 The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed an additional 2 cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus ... with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Investigations conducted by the Ministry of Health and WHO found evidence ...
Posted by dymaxion at 09:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Turkeys Top Ten List of Donts to Avoid the Bird Flu
... In an effort to inform the public about how to avoid coming down with the bird flu, the Turkish Ministry of Health has released a list of things not to do if you want to avoid the bird flu. Technorati Tags : bird+flu, avian+flu, H5N1, killer+flu, flu+pandemic, influenza, avian ...
Posted by dymaxion at 09:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WHO update on avian influenza in Indonesia
... The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed an additional 2 cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus ... with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. ...
Medical and health information and tools from Armenian Medical Network
Posted by dymaxion at 09:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Respiratory may not be the only route of spread of avian influenza, H5N1
... In birds it is known that the influenza virus can be systemic. Meaning that the virus can be found throughout the body. Now in studies of cats, H5N1 as well as being detected in the respiratory tract has been detected in other organs of the body. One of the most effective mechanisms of transmission in species ...
Posted by dymaxion at 09:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 19, 2006
Turkish virus better adapted to humans
Scientists studying virus samples from the human outbreak of avian flu in Turkey have identified three mutations in the virus's sequence. They say that at least two of these look likely to make the virus better adapted to humans.
[...] The first mutation found, announced last week, involves a substitution in one sample of an amino acid at position 223 of the haemoagglutinin receptor protein. This protein allows the flu virus to bind to the receptors on the surface of its host's cells.
[...] It increases the virus's ability to bind to human receptors, and decreases its affinity for poultry receptors, making strains with this mutation better adapted to infecting humans.
The same sample also contained a mutation at position 153 of the haemoagglutinin protein, Nature has learned. Cheng says this information was not included in WHO statements, because "it is not clear what role this particular change plays".
Finally, both samples from the Turkish teenagers show a substitution of glutamic acid with lycine, at position 627 of the polymerase protein, which the virus uses to replicate its genetic material. This mutation has been seen in other flu sequences from Eurasian poultry over the past year. It was also present in the one person who died during an outbreak of H7N7 in the Netherlands in 2003, and in a few people in Vietnam and Thailand.
The polymerase mutation is one of the ten genetic changes that gave rise to the 1918 pandemic flu virus. Like the 223-haemoagglutinin mutation, it signals adaptation to humans, says Alan Hay, director of a WHO influenza laboratory at the NIMR. "There is this glutamic acid–lysine flip," he explains. "Glutamic acid is associated with flu-virus replication in birds, and lycine is in primates."
Read the entire article at Nature.com.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
$1.9 billion pledged for fighting bird flu
Alarmed by the spread of bird flu beyond East Asia, nations pledged nearly $2 billion Wednesday to fight the disease, far exceeding expectations at the fundraising conference in Beijing.
[...] The United States pledged $334 million, the second highest amount after the World Bank's $500 million. The United States also said it will invest billions of dollars over the next three years to develop a human vaccine.
Japan donated $159 million, while China — which has reported eight human infections, five of which have been fatal — said it would donate $10 million.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao also promised that China would work with the international community and be open and forthcoming with information and samples of the virus.
"Money is not the only answer, but without it nothing can be done," said Dr. Lee Jong-wook, director-general of the World Health Organization.
On Tuesday, EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said the EU had increased its commitment to $121 million, about $20 million more than it announced last week.
Read the full article here.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bird flu outbreak may have spread to Iraq
Posted by dymaxion at 09:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Background science for the Turkish mutations, recap and III.
Since H5N1 is primarily a bird (avian) influenza virus, and in birds usually infects the bird's intestines, the question of what allows a virus to infect particular animals and tissues is obviously an important question. ...Posted by dymaxion at 09:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More on Turkey mutations
Just a pointer to a long article I’ve published in Nature today on the three mutations found in human cases of H5N1 in Turkey — “Alarms ring over bird flu mutations.” It’sa follow up to last week’s article “Bird flu mutation sparks ...Posted by dymaxion at 09:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cats and bird flu
Dutch researchers have shown systemic spread of H5N1 in domestic cats (Rimmelzwaan et al., "Influenza A virus (H5N1) infection in cats causes systemic disease with ... To assess the spread of H5N1 influenza virus in mammalian hosts, ...Posted by dymaxion at 09:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Practical Use of Complearn: OpenBirdFlu.
Rudi Cilibrasi, a contributor to the Avian Flu Help blog and a Machine Learning researcher in the Netherlands wrote CompLearn which is an open-source data mining toolkit and is using it for H5N1 analysis. He has generated a different ...Posted by dymaxion at 09:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Second mutation in Turkey H5N1 virus suggests adaptation to humans - CIDRAP
| Second mutation in Turkey H5N1 virus suggests adaptation to humans CIDRAP, MN - Jan 19, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A new report in Nature cites more evidence that mutations detected in H5N1 avian influenza viruses recovered from patients in ... |
Posted by dymaxion at 09:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
HK finds H5N1-positive wild bird carcass, but no bird flu reported - People's Daily Online
| HK finds H5N1-positive wild bird carcass, but no bird flu reported People's Daily Online, China - A dead wild bird in Hong Kong has been confirmed of positive to the virus of H5N1, announced the local authorities on Thursday, but they dismissed the fear ... |
Posted by dymaxion at 09:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
An expanding family cluster in Indonesia?
Via News.com.au, an Australian news source: Bird flu victims' father shows signs.
An Indonesian man whose two children died of suspected bird flu was in hospital suffering symptoms of the virus, a health ministry official said today.
The 43-year-old man was rushed to the Hasan Sadikin hospital in the western Java town of Bandung yesterday with a high fever and breathing difficulties, health ministry official Hariyadi Wibisono said.
"We will most likely try to move him for further treatment at the Sulianti Saroso hospital in Jakarta," Mr Wibisono said, referring to Indonesia's main treatment centre for patients infected with the potentially fatal virus.
The man's 13-year-old daughter died over the weekend and local tests have showed she was carrying the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which has killed about 80 people since 2003, mostly in Asia.
His three-year-old son died yesterday and he also had bird flu symptoms. Health officials were still awaiting ministry test results to see if he was infected.
If both cases are confirmed by a World Health Organisation-affiliated laboratory in Hong Kong, the children would be the 13th and 14th bird flu fatalities in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation.
The pair's sister, a 15-year-old girl, was earlier admitted to the same hospital as her father and is also being treated as a suspected case.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Two steps forward, one step back
Via Hürriyet, a Turkish news source: Sanliurfa child beats bird flu. One child has recovered from H5N1, one is on the way to recovery, and one has died—after no known direct contact with poultry.
Yesterday in Sanliurfa, 4 year old Selami Bas, who had been in the hostpital for 12 days fighting the effects of bird flu, was released. Waving at reporters as he left the hospital, the child appeared completely healthy, following his more than week long stay. Speaking to reporters, Sanliurfa Governor Yusuf Yavascan said "The treatment of Selami Bas was successful. He is being released in the full belief that he will return to full health."
Meanwhile, 10 year old Sevgi Acar, who fell ill in Mus, and was transferred to Erzurum, died on the way to the hospital. It was suspected that Acar had bird flu, though it was revealed that Acar had no respiratory complaints. It was also revealed that Acar had had no direct contact with any poultry prior to her death.
In Van meanwhile, the brother of Fatma Ozcan, who died 3 days ago from bird flu, is healing rapidly. Muhammed Ozcan, who is 5, is getting better with time, said doctors at the Van Yuzuncu Yil hospital.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WHO rules out bird flu in Iraqi teen's death
An Iraqi teenager whose death from a fever raised fears bird flu had spread to the country, did not have the lethal virus, says a spokesman for the World Health Organisation (WHO). "It has been investigated and discounted - it is not an H5N1 (bird flu) case," spokesman Dick Thompson said. Iraqi health officials said the teenager, who died on Tuesday after a two-week illness, lived close... confirmed this month as having the H5N1 virus. This service may include material from Agence FrancePosted by dymaxion at 08:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 17, 2006
Background science for the Turkish mutations
Read the excellent post on Effect Measure.
Posted by dymaxion at 07:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Is bird flu overhyped?
Andrew Weil answers "yes" in the Time, where he tries to downplay the threat of bird flu. His arguments on the possibility of containment are quite weak, but he does express a view I have heard in a number of recent articles.
One implication of this type of argument is that we are spending too much energy and resources preparing for a pandemic that may never come. Commenting on the latest developments from Turkey, Effect Measure's Revere offers a good response:
We know some things, but mostly we are in the dark about what changes will turn this virus into a full-fledged pandemic strain. We may be one tiny change away or (in the best case) this is a change headed down an evolutionary cul de sac (not likely, but possible).
[...] It is not time to panic, because it is never time to panic. But making appropriate preparations in your area might be prudent.
It is important to remember that the best prevention measures we can take are probably not avian flu specific. The top priority should be to strengthen local health care systems, read more here. This preparedness should prove very useful in any disease outbreak, natural disaster or terrorist attack. The bird flu "hype" will hopefully lead to better institutions and planning, certainly positive developments, even if we get lucky with H5N1 and it turns out to be nothing more than a scare.
Posted by dymaxion at 07:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Rich countries at a donors conference on bird flu in BeijingBird Bath
Rich countries at a donors conference on bird flu in Beijing
Pravda Ru - 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
15:42 2006-01-17 Disease experts urged rich countries at a donors conference Tuesday to come up with the US$1.5 billion (euro1.2 billion) that the World Bank says is needed to tackle bird flu and prepare for a potential pandemic in humans.Save to My Web
13th bird flu fatality suspected in Indonesia
International Herald Tribune - Jan 16 6:15 AM
Initial tests carried out by the Indonesian authorities indicate that a 13-year-old girl who died over the weekend was infected with bird flu, an Indonesian Health Ministry official said Monday.Save to My Web
Turkey counts fourth bird flu death
WKRN News 2 - Jan 17 1:45 AM
Turkey now has four bird flu deaths. Turkish health officials say preliminary tests show a 12-year-old girl who died Sunday had the H5N1 strain of the avian flu. Her five-year-old brother has also testedSave to My Web
Bird Flu, Killer of 4 People in Turkey, Spreads in Provinces
Bloomberg.com - Jan 16 3:45 PM
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu is spreading in provinces of Turkey, where it has killed four people this year and infected at least 16 others, the World Health Organization said.Save to My Web