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April 19, 2007
Bangladesh, Cambodia battle new H5N1 outbreaks - CIDRAP
| Bangladesh, Cambodia battle new H5N1 outbreaks CIDRAP, MN - Apr 16, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – Bangladesh's livestock ministry said today that H5N1 avian influenza has spread to two more farms, and Cambodian officials have ... |
Posted by dymaxion at 09:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
China to send WHO H5N1 virus samples - China Daily
 Javno.hr | China to send WHO H5N1 virus samples China Daily, China - The announcement came days after the WHO complained China was not sharing samples of the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus since May 2006 even after several ... China hoarding H5N1 samples for over a year: WHO China hoarding H5N1 samples for over a year: WHO |
Posted by dymaxion at 09:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
FDA approves bird flu vaccine
But it's not exactly a ringing endorsement. Via the Globe and Mail, an AP story: FDA approves bird flu vaccine. Excerpt:
bird flu vaccine won federal approval for the first time Tuesday as a stopgap measure against a potential pandemic until more effective vaccines can be developed.
The vaccine is the first to win Food and Drug Administration approval for use in protecting humans against the H5N1 influenza virus. It would be used if the strain mutated into a form that spread easily from person to person, sparking a pandemic.
The Sanofi Aventis SA vaccine already is being stockpiled for use in an outbreak of bird flu. It will not be commercially available. Approval came on the recommendation of FDA advisers, who in February said the vaccine would be better than nothing.
Posted by dymaxion at 09:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Family suspected of having bird flu
BANDUNG, West Java: A five-member family were admitted to SlametHospital in Garut, West Java, on Saturday evening due to concerns they
had contracted the bird flu virus.
Yogi Prayogi, spokesman for the hospital, said the family, ranging in
age from 50 to six years old, were rushed to hospital suffering from
Posted by dymaxion at 09:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Anger at payout for bird flu cull
A £600,000 compensation deal for Bernard Matthews, whose Suffolk farmsuffered an outbreak of bird flu in February, prompted an angry
reaction on Thursday from MPs from all parties.
Jack Straw, leader of the Commons, admitted he was "uncomfortable"
with the payment made to the company after it was forced to slaughter
Posted by dymaxion at 09:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Meeting of doctors who've treated bird flu cases leads to new WHO treatment advice
... (CP) - Doctors caring for H5N1 patients should not treat them with corticosteroids, the World Health Organization said Thursday, noting the drugs don't help and sometimes harm patients trying to battle the often severe infection.Corticosteroids should only be used on patients with persistent septic shock, a condition in which blood pressure drops ...Symptomatic: Tracking Health, Drug, and Wellness Issues
Posted by dymaxion at 09:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 11, 2007
Branswell: Flu vaccine grown in caterpillar virus
One of my many personal failings is that flu-vaccine stories bore me to tears. But when Helen Branswell reports Flu vaccine grown in caterpillar virus, I sit up and pay attention. Excerpt from C-Health:
Harnessing the impressive protein production power of a virus that normally infects caterpillars may be a way of the future for the manufacture of flu vaccine.
American researchers reported Tuesday that flu vaccine grown in caterpillar cells infected with modified baculoviruses was safe and protective against influenza.
The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is part of a dossier the manufacturer, Protein Sciences Corp., is amassing in the hopes of convincing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve an eventual licence application.
The study's lead author, vaccine expert Dr. John Treanor, suggested Tuesday that while flu vaccine grown in insect cells is unlikely to become the industry norm, it is probable that this product will find a place in the growing market of flu vaccines.
"I don't think there is such a thing as 'the' way of the future for flu vaccine. (But) I believe this approach is a viable alternative for making a flu vaccine," Treanor, director of the vaccine treatment and evaluation unit at the University of Rochester, N.Y., said in an interview.
"I think that in the future we'll probably see many different kinds of flu vaccines, perhaps targeted to different populations. And this will be one of them."
Posted by dymaxion at 11:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bird flu kills Cambodian girl
A 13-year-old Cambodian girl has died of bird flu, bringing thecountry's death toll from the H5N1 virus to seven since 2003.
"Samples from the girl tested positive for the influenza H5N1 virus at
the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia in Phnom Penh," the World Health
Organisation said.
The girl, from the eastern province of Kampong Cham bordering Vietnam,
Posted by dymaxion at 10:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pakistan reports new cases of bird flu in 2 provinces
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan reported new bird flu cases on Monday incommercial poultry farms in the southern province of Sindh and in
North West Frontier Province, a government official said.
"Two to three days back we found traces of H5N1 virus in small poultry
farms in Sindh and NWFP," Mohammad Afzal, Commissioner for Livestock
Posted by dymaxion at 10:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Biological Hazard - China - 4-10-2007
Bird flu is spreading among Hong Kong's wild birds, while Chinaremains silent regarding new cases of infection. In Japan, a new
strain of the virus, resistant to antiviral drugs, has been found,
while Indonesia declares its 72nd death from the disease. Fao reports
that both Indonesia and Egypt are run the risk of a human epidemic.
Posted by dymaxion at 10:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Situation Update - Bangladesh - Biological Hazard -4/11/2007
Report by Reuters: Bird flu has spread to the southern region ofBangladesh, despite persistent efforts by veterinary and health
personnel to contain it, a senior official of the fisheries and
livestock ministry said. "The avian virus has been detected at a farm
in Noakhali district 200 km (125 miles) south of the capital Dhaka,"
Posted by dymaxion at 10:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Egypt Reports 14th Human Victim A 15 year old gir…
... Egypt Reports 14th Human Victim A 15 year old girl has died from the H5N1 virus in Cairo. She was hospitalised and treated with Tamiflu and put on a respirator :. Amr Kandeel, who is the director of communicable diseases at the Ministry … Detail story By Darryl Mason and posted with Elliott Back ...Bird Flu Protection, Avian Flu News - Bird Flu Protection, Avian Flu, Bird Flu Online News
Posted by dymaxion at 10:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 05, 2007
Tests exclude H5N1 cases in Kuwait, confirm 1 in Indonesia - CIDRAP
... Tests exclude H5N1 cases in Kuwait, confirm 1 in Indonesia - CIDRAP April 5th, 2007 Tests exclude H5N1 cases in Kuwait, confirm 1 in IndonesiaCIDRAP, MN - 58 minutes agoMeanwhile, Indonesia announced that a second round of H5N1 testing confirmed that a 15-year-old girl from Jakarta had H5N1 avian flu, Xinhua and other news …Indonesia considers ...News about Indonesia
Posted by dymaxion at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesian man dies of suspected bird flu
JAKARTA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- An Indonesian man who has developedbird flu symptoms died Thursday at a hospital in the Central Java town
of Solo and could be the 73rd bird flu casualty in the country if his
blood sample is tested positive.
The patient, identified only as Suramto, 29, died at the Moewardi
Posted by dymaxion at 09:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia records 93 bird flu patients
JAKARTA (Antara): Indonesia Thursday recorded 93 bird flu cases acrossthe country with the latest patient is now being hospitalized in a
hospital in Jakarta, an official says.
The latest patient was identified only as R, who was tranferred from
Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta to Sulianti Saroso bird flu
Posted by dymaxion at 09:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New Data Reinforces Efficacy Of Tamiflu Against H5N1 Influenza Viruses
Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu News Article Date: 03 Apr 2007 - 7:00 PDT New data published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy show that the oral antiviral drug Tamiflu is effective against two ...Posted by dymaxion at 09:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesian teen suspected H5N1 case
Thanks to Fla_Medic at Avian Flu Diary for tipping me off to this story - I'd thought it was just another report on last night's latest flu fatality: Indonesian girl suspected of bird flu .Posted by dymaxion at 09:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A new paper on Tamiflu/Relenza resistance in JAMA
Just as we are preparing to wind up our marathon series of posts on a mathematical model of antiviral resistance, a new paper has appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) with data on antiviral resistance from Japan, the country that uses more Tamiflu and Relenza (the two available neuraminiase inhibitor antiviral drugs) than any other. It turns out the accompanying Editorial in JAMA specifically mentions the modeling paper and its results as a key to understanding the significance of this work. So all our labor has not been in vain. Here's more.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...Posted by dymaxion at 09:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Kuwait, Bangladesh and the Rock of Gibralter
Bird flu is spreading in poultry in Bangladesh. And Kuwait has had bird flu in its poultry but is hoping its cull of 1.7 million birds has stopped it. But not until four Bangladeshis working on the cull were hospitalized with possible bird flu infection. Isolation was undertaken because of blood tests. The Kuwaiti cullers are said to have received prophylactic Tamiflu and these workers were not reporting symptoms, but "preliminary tests" were positive (via crof's blog). More definitive tests are to come:
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...Posted by dymaxion at 09:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
China Reports Two Human Bird Flu Deaths
Posted by dymaxion at 09:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bird flu strikes again in Myanamar
Posted by dymaxion at 09:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
WHO | Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 13
Posted by dymaxion at 09:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack