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March 29, 2007
Bird flu outbreak spreads in Bangladesh
DHAKA (AFP) - Three new farms reported bird flu outbreaks inBangladesh Sunday after thousands of poultry were destroyed last week
due to confirmed cases of the deadly virus, the government said.
On Friday, authorities slaughtered more than 40,000 birds at six
farms, a day after official confirmation of a bird flu outbreak on the
Posted by dymaxion at 10:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Egypt reports 3 new cases of bird flu in humans
CAIRO, Egypt: An Egyptian woman and two children were reportedinfected with a virulent strain of bird flu Tuesday, bringing to 30
the total number of Egyptians to be diagnosed with the disease since
last year.
Nearly half of those infected, 13 people, have died.
The World Health Organization reported two of the three new cases,
Posted by dymaxion at 10:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Biological Hazard - Afghanistan - 3-29-2007
A new case of bird flu has been identified in Afghanistan's capitalKabul, a local newspaper reported Thursday. The new case was detected
in a dead bird found from the garden of Turkish embassy in Kabul city,
according to daily Outlook. "A dead bird found in the garden of the
Turkish embassy in Kabul on March 20 was infected with the H5N1 deadly
Posted by dymaxion at 10:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Epidemic Hazard - Egypt - 3-29-2007
Report by CIDRAP: In Egypt, the health ministry reported that the 46-year-old woman who tested positive for H5N1 is from the northern Nile
delta city of Damanhour, about 80 miles north of Cairo. Few details
were available about her illness, though health officials said the
woman and other recent H5N1 patients contracted the virus from
Posted by dymaxion at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Kuwait to cull 1.1 million chickens over bird flu
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - Kuwait has ordered the culling of about 1.1million chickens in a bid to fight an outbreak of bird flu, an
official was quoted as saying on Thursday.
The head of the agriculture authority, Jassem al-Bader, told Al-
Siyyassah newspaper the culling will take place "in the coming few
Posted by dymaxion at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Egypt seeks to bar live bird trade over H5N1 fears - Africast
 Playfuls.com | Egypt seeks to bar live bird trade over H5N1 fears Africast, CT - Since the outbreak of bird flu in Egyptian poultry in February 2006, 29 Egyptians have contracted the H5N1 virus. Most of those who fell ill were reported ... Egypt has 2 more H5N1 cases; Indonesia suspects 3 New Human Case Of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infection In Egypt |
Posted by dymaxion at 10:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Boy, 16, dies from bird flu - China Daily
 E Canada Now | Boy, 16, dies from bird flu China Daily, China - Tests by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday confirmed that he had been infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus. ... 16-Year-Old Boy Dies From Bird Flu Virus, 15th Human Death In China One more dies of bird flu in China Bird Flu continues to spread, deaths in Anhui and Jakarta |
Posted by dymaxion at 10:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia Resumes Sharing Of Bird Flu Samples
Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu News Article Date: 28 Mar 2007 - 8:00 PDT Indonesia announced yesterday that it would immediately resume sharing samples of H5N1 bird flu virus taken from infected ...Posted by dymaxion at 10:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Three Indonesians die of bird flu
"3 people in Indonesia have died from bird flu, taking the country's death toll to 69, health officials say. ... Since the H5N1 virus emerged in South East Asia in late 2003, it has claimed nearly 170 lives around the world."Posted by dymaxion at 10:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 21, 2007
Solving the vaccine affordability problem
We've discussed the problem of an affordable vaccine for the developing world several times (here, here, here). We advocate ten to a dozen regional international vaccine institutes to make influenza vaccine at cost, license and patent free. Another suggestion has come from Dr. Carl Nathan from Cornell Medical College in a Commentary published in Nature Medicine and summarized at the Cornell news site:
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...Posted by dymaxion at 10:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thai bird flu strain found to be resistant to drug
Via Reuters: Thai bird flu strain found to be resistant to drug. Excerpt:
Yong Poovorawan, a medical professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said an H5N1 strain in the central part of Thailand had become resistant to amantadine, casting more doubt over its use to fight the disease .
"It would be very dangerous if we don't know the sensitivity or resistance of the strain to amantadine and we use amantadine (to treat people infected with this strain of H5N1)," Yong said.
He urged more rigorous surveillance and study.
"If you follow any new strain you will know the genetic changes, you analyse its molecular structure, make experiments to see which drug it is sensitive to and find out which is the best antiviral for any given strain," he said.
"It's like a jigsaw, we have to find the pieces and see the big picture."
Yong and his researchers came to the latest conclusion after studying the molecular structure of the strain, which has been circulating in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam since 2004.
"We need to conduct in vitro experiments," he said, referring to experiments in a laboratory or other controlled settings. However, he could not say how effective a dual Tamiflu-amantadine therapy may be as Thailand has not tried administering such a treatment.
Their findings were published in the March issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Here's the article in Emerging Infectious Diseases, which also has several other articles of interest in this month's issue.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Laos' mortality from infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus - SpiritIndia
 Scientific American | Laos' mortality from infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus SpiritIndia, India - On March 16, the Ministry of Health in Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, reported its second human death from infection with the H5N1 ... Egypt - new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza infection Egypt, Laos Report More Human Cases of Avian Influenza Govt backsJakarta in bird flu row |
Posted by dymaxion at 10:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WHO to discuss H5N1 vaccine access with Asian officials - CIDRAP
| WHO to discuss H5N1 vaccine access with Asian officials CIDRAP, MN - Mar 21, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – World Health Organization (WHO) officials will propose new ideas about producing H5N1 avian influenza vaccines to Asian health ... WHO meeting explores H5N1 treatment issues |
Posted by dymaxion at 10:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Two-year-old boy becomes Egypt's 26th bird flu case
CAIRO (AFP) - A two-year-old Egyptian boy is being treated for birdflu, the 26th case of the deadly virus in the country, the health
ministry announced on Monday.
Yusef Mohammed Mahmud from the southern city of Aswan was admitted to
hospital on Friday with a high temperature, ministry spokesman Abdel
Posted by dymaxion at 10:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia loses 66th person to bird flu
Jakarta - Bird flu has killed a 21-year-old man in Indonesia, anofficial announced on Monday, taking the death toll in the nation
worst hit by the disease to 66.
"The victim died just a while ago at a hospital in Surabaya," said I
Nyoman Kandun from the health ministry here, referring to the
country's second-largest city in East Java province.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Biological Hazard - Nigeria - 3-21-2007
Situation Update No. 1The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading among poultry farms around
northern Nigeria`s largest city, a senior veterinary official said Sun
[18 Mar 2007]. "The avian influenza virus is still spreading among
poultry farms and it has so far affected 33 farms in 7 districts,"
Shehu Bawa, head of Kano State`s Committee on Avian Flu. More than 80
Posted by dymaxion at 10:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Kuwait announces new bird flu case (AFP)
... [ Kuwaiti health workers spray disinfectant after a 2005 outbreak of bird flu at a poultry market in Kuwait City. Kuwait has announced a new case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in a chicken, raising the number to 54 since the outbreak began on February 25.(AFP/File/Yasser Al-Zayyat)]AFP - Kuwait announced on Saturday a new case of the deadly H5N1 ...JD’s Health Page
Posted by dymaxion at 10:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bird flu found in endangered Japanese eagle (AFP)
... [ Ice drifts in Shari town, Hokkaido prefecture. The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in the body of an endangered eagle in southern Japan, the environment ministry said Sunday, according to reports. The bird, called the mountain hawk eagle, is on the Japanese government's list of endangered species and there are believed to be some ...JD’s Health Page
Posted by dymaxion at 10:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Associated Press: UN calls for stricter controls in Myanmar after new bird flu outbreak
... Yangon: The U.N. reported a new outbreak of bird flu in Myanmar on Wednesday and called for more stringent measures to control the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus. About 1,600 chickens contracted the virus and died during the weekend at a farm in Nyaunghnapin, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, [...] ...Burmanet
Posted by dymaxion at 09:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia Warns Vaccine Inequity Could Threaten World Peace
... JAKARTA—The inability of poor countries to get vaccines in the event of an influenza pandemic could threaten world peace, Indonesia's health minister said on Wednesday. Siti Fadilah Supari said the virus-sharing scheme under the World Health Organisation system did not guarantee poor countries access to vaccines and urged developed countries ...Kerry B. Collison
Posted by dymaxion at 09:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 13, 2007
H5N1 and cats once again
The H5N1 in cats issue returns once again. We know felines, including big cats in zoos and domestic cats on city streets and backyards, can be infected with the virus. The assumption is they acquire it by eating infected birds, although we don't know the mode of transmission for sure. Now we have a story by the Bloomberg agency that a major study of feral cats is about to start in Indonesia:
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...Posted by dymaxion at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
South Koreas says has 7th bird flu outbreak
Posted by dymaxion at 10:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WHO | Avian influenza – situation in Lao People's Democratic Republic – update
Posted by dymaxion at 10:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
People's Daily Online -- UN experts further confirm bird flu outbreak in Myanmar
Posted by dymaxion at 10:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bird flu spreads in Vietnam
This is a bad-news morning. Via Thanh Nien Daily: Bird flu erupts in Vietnam south; total 5 provinces infected.
The local animal health department in southern Vietnam’s Can Tho City Thursday reported 100 ducks from a flock of 500 died of bird flu’s H5N1 strain.
The flock in Co Do district has been culled and the site disinfected.
The same day, Hanoi authorities suspended Hoang Gia Tuc from his post as head of the animal department in Dong Anh district after the disease broke out there.
Currently, the disease has touched five localities: Vinh Long province, Can Tho City in the south and Hai Duong, Ha Tay provinces, and Hanoi in the north.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Her name was Namfon
Via The Nation, a Thai newspaper: Laotian girl, 15, dies of bird flu. Excerpt:
A 15-year-old Laotian girl died from bird-flu at a hospital in Nong Khai on Wednesday, becoming the second Laotian to die from the H5N1 virus.
Nong Khai public health chief Dr Itthipol Sungkhaeng said the girl identified only as "Namfon" had succumbed to avian flu at 7pm on Wednesday. Itthipol said he had contacted Laotian authorities and Namfon's family, and had arranged a cremation ceremony for the girl yesterday afternoon.
Namfon's mother told reporters at the funeral that the teen had been her only child. The family lived in Dong Sa-ard village in Sisatthanat and the girl had been attending high school in Vientiane.
She developed flu-like symptoms on February 10 and the family sent her to Chetthatirat Hospital on February 15. She was transferred to Nong Khai Hospital on Feb 17.
Vientiane deputy chief for public health Dr Khamtan Buapaiwan said there had been many poultry deaths in the girl's village. Laotian authorities had designated Sisatthanat and Chai Chettha, which covered 20 villages, a red-alert zone for bird flu.
Officials were dispatched to spray disinfectant, cull poultry, educate villagers and look for those with symptoms. No more cases have been detected so far.
Khamtan said the death of Namfon followed another case last week in Phone Hong.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
H5N1 spreading in Afghanistan
Via IRIN: Afghanistan: New bird flu cases confirmed. Excerpt:
Thirteen new cases of bird flu have been detected in Afghanistan over the past week, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 17 for this year, health officials said.
“Nine dead birds were diagnosed with the virulent H5N1 strain [of avian influenza] in five districts of [eastern] Nangarhar and Kunar provinces,” said Assadullah Azhari, a spokesman for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Kabul.
According to FAO – which has set up a bird flu diagnostic laboratory in Kabul – four other cases were identified in backyard poultry in the capital.
Prior to this, four cases of the H5N1 strain of the virus were reported on 24 February in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, which border Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s first bird flu case was reported in March 2006.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
CIDRAP on the current H5N1 situation
Via CIDRAP: Egypt, Indonesia report human H5N1 cases. Here's the part most worth considering:
In Indonesia, officials reported today that a 20-year-old woman from East Java was in critical condition in a hospital, according to a Reuters report. Joko Suyono, a data analyst at the national avian flu center in Jakarta, said the woman had cleaned an area where a neighbor had dumped dead chickens, the story said.
By the WHO's count, Indonesia has had 81 human cases of H5N1 illness, with 63 deaths. The WHO has not yet recognized the young woman's case or four previous cases reported by Indonesian officials since Jan 29, when the agency confirmed a fatal H5N1 infection in a 6-year-old girl from Central Java province.
Those four cases involved a 15-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man, reported Feb 6, plus a 22-year-old woman and a 9-year-old boy, reported Feb 12. Both of the latter patients died of the illness.
For some reason, WHO seems very slow this year to confirm new cases. I don't know if it's because of a backlog of tests, or political difficulties on the ground, or simple housekeeping problems like technicians on holiday.
But WHO Indonesia hasn't posted an update on avian influenza since January 30. WHO Egypt has a March 12 update about the four-year-old boy, but it adds nothing to what we knew when his case was reported last week.
WHO comes in for a lot of unfair criticism. It's the only agency we can all rely on, and it faces enormous political and logistical problems. I always give them the benefit of the doubt, but they really need to improve their communication with the global public.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia refuses to share bird flu samples with WHO without ... - International Herald Tribune
 Dog Flu Diet and Diseases | Indonesia refuses to share bird flu samples with WHO without ... International Herald Tribune, France - Several countries are developing vaccines to protect against H5N1, the bird flu virus strain blamed for 168 human deaths worldwide — more than a third of ... Indonesia refuses to share bird flu viruses without legally ... |
Posted by dymaxion at 09:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Vietnam isolates Hanoi bird flu site
Vietnamese health workers Friday moved to contain a bird flu outbreak in the capital Hanoi as the H5N1 virus spread to a fifth location within three weeks, in the country's southern Mekong Delta.Posted by dymaxion at 09:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Food passed through bird flu site
Poultry entering the food-chain was from the UK, Hungary and BrazilHundreds of tons of poultry passed through the Bernard Matthews plant
and entered the food chain during the bird flu outbreak, the
government has said.
Public health minister Caroline Flint said 850 tons of turkey, some
from Hungary, passed through the infected plant in Holton in Suffolk.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dangerous avian flu strain confirmed in Adygeya
Tests for bird flu taken in Ulyap and Jambechyi villages in Adygeya,Russia, were sent to Krasnodar and Moscow and turned positive for H5N1
bird flu strain, dangerous for human.
Interviewed by REGNUM, senior expert of the Veterinary Service of the
Republic of Adygeya Nikolai Belokopytov said: "Actions are taken in
Posted by dymaxion at 09:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Second bird flu death in Laos - 11th country to fall victim to H5N1
The death of a 15-year-old girl from Laos from the deadly H5N1 strainof bird flu, is the country's first officially confirmed victim of the
disease.
A death of 42-year-old woman a few days ago, who is also suspected to
have died from the virus, is yet to be confirmed as a bird flu
fatality.
Both victims lived near the capital Vientiane but according to Laos
Posted by dymaxion at 09:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack