Hi, Where are you Michiganders getting your infomation in regards to MI being one of the first places to get hit by Bird Flu? I’m interested in accessing any sites available. Thanks
Your governor stated this in a newspaper article. Check the Detroit Free Press web site. Sorry, don’t have the link at the moment. She pointed to a bird sanctuary in Canada that is very close to Detroit where migratory birds will reach the US first.
MSU is also stateing this in their lectures on bird flu for small flock and 4-h growers.
You might try H5N1 avian flu forum. there is a small Michigan contingent there.
Thanks! I found several articles at the flu forum site.
Hi all, Just thought I would share this with you. I wrote to our state senators and any one else I could think of regarding the CDC sequences that need to be shared in the GenBank database. This is a response I received today. I wrote to them about two months ago. Not one word mentioned about CDC in response:( No surprise!
Dear Mrs. Wagner:
Thank you for contacting me about the Avian Flu. I appreciate hearing your views on this matter.
The Avian Flu is a naturally occurring, contagious virus among birds. The virus can affect domesticated birds, such as chickens, ducks and turkeys, and can be fatal. While the avian flu does not usually infect humans, there have been a limited number of cases of human infection since 1997.
The current virus strain (H5N1) infecting birds in Asia has caused human illness and has been fatal in a small number of cases. This virus has not yet been known to spread from person to person, and has only been contracted by humans from contact with an infected bird. The H5N1 strain in Asia is resistant to two antivirals commonly used against influenza. While there is currently no vaccine to protect humans against the strain of Avian Flu found in Asia, vaccine development is under way.
As you may know, the Department of Defense Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and Pandemic Influenza Act of 2006 (P.L.109–148) appropriated $130 million to combat the avian flu. Theses funds will be used for purchasing avian influenza vaccines, to increase and upgrade surveillance of the virus world wide, and to purchase laboratory and information management equipment. Also, $10 million of the $130 million is intended to assist other countries in procuring laboratory diagnostic equipment, portable field examination equipment, and surveillance and communication equipment in an effort to prevent the spread of this virus.
Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely, Carl Levin
Lutosh
My last name is Wagner too
hey…
you’re not really my wife coming here incognito?
That’s funny! But no I am not your wife.
Lutosh…Thanks for your efforts….
MARQUETTE, Mich. Upper Peninsula health officials are taking steps to prepare for a possible flu pandemic. They’ll be working with families, churches and businesses on their individual action plans — just in case a flu pandemic hits. Officials are concerned that a virulent strain of bird flu spreading through Asia, Europe and Africa could mutate and start spreading among people. Last month, a forum for state and local leaders on a possible flu pandemic was held in Detroit. (Andy Fay, WLUC) http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4878451&nav=0RbQ
Bird flu: Plan, don’t panic Officials say it’s important to be prepared Monday, May 08, 2006 BY JO COLLINS MATHIS News Staff Reporter Brian Bauer couldn’t help but think about the Asian bird flu when he spotted a dead goose on his neighbor’s Saline Township farm. “I’d been hearing news stories about migratory birds and their potential for spreading the avian flu, said Bauer. “And I thought it could be a bird that died from the flu. I get a lot of migratory birds on my property, and the health and safety of my children was a concern. Local health officials say one dead bird is no cause for alarm, but Bauer is right to be concerned about avian flu. They’re gearing up for the possibility that the rare but deadly Asian bird flu could arrive in North America later this summer. Michigan’s extensive Great Lakes coastline makes it prime fly-over country for birds, said Laura Bauman, an epidemiologist with the Washtenaw County Public Health Department. “We’re just right under all these different flyways, so we certainly are quite vulnerable,’‘ she said. For months, local health professionals have been on the alert for patients with flu symptoms who have recently been to Asia. Avian influenza, or bird flu, is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. Just 204 people in nine countries in Asia, Europe and Africa have been infected with an extremely virulent form of bird flu known as H5N1, and 113 of them died. Victims had reported having close contact with infected birds. No cases of H5N1 avian influenza have occurred in the <ST1:COUNTRY-REGIoN w:st=“on”>United States</ST1:COUNTRY-REGIoN>. But last week, Alex M. Azar II, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told local and state officials attending a summit on bird flu that every American needs to prepare for a flu pandemic, a global outbreak of a new flu virus that spreads from person to person and for which there is little or no immunity. Azar said the avian flu virus could cause a pandemic if it develops the ability to spread easily from person to person. So far, that hasn’t happened. Preparing for a pandemic Stan Reedy, medical director of the Washtenaw County Public Health Department, said local, state and national agencies have coordinated their efforts to monitor and plan for the possibility of avian flu as well as other widespread infectious illnesses. Since early 2000, the county health department has met monthly with both the county’s and city of Ann Arbor’s emergency management divisions. Those meetings have included representatives from a broad range of agencies, including hospitals, schools, the HAZMAT team, police, fire, Red Cross, HVA, FBI, and Visiting Nurses. “We are in very close communication, we’re acquainted with one another’s resources, and we’re very much ready to respond in what we now call an all-hazard way to a wide variety of both natural disasters, which would include the spread of pandemic flu, and anything that would be deliberately caused, said Reedy. “We need to begin focusing on this now, even before an alarm is sounded about the onset of a pandemic. He said if pandemic flu occurs, the entire country will likely be affected, “so we will have to depend largely on our own local resources.’‘ The protection of a vaccine would not be available for months. When it did become available, it would be administered according to priority groups as quickly as possible, he said. There is major funding for and very intensive work on both a specific vaccine for the H5N1 strain of flu, and also on alternative techniques for producing vaccine more quickly than the four to six months it now takes, said Reedy. There is a candidate vaccine ready for testing, which will still take a lot of time. Dealing with a pandemic If a pandemic does occur, Reedy said local health-care facilities and public health agencies will focus on two things: treatment and prevention. If there is an unusual surge in numbers of sick people, special locations for screening and treatment will be opened to protect the ongoing operations of hospitals, he said The chief treatment tool that will be available is anti-viral medication, although it’s unclear right now how effective anti-virals may be, or how much will be available. The anti-viral medication Tamiflu has shown some effectiveness against the H5N1 strain, but an avian flu strain that in the future acquires the ability to transmit easily from person to person may turn out to be totally resistant to Tamiflu, Reedy said. Still, there has been a national strategic decision to stockpile, over time, enough Tamiflu to cover roughly one fourth of the <ST1:COUNTRY-REGIoN w:st=“on”>U.S.</ST1:COUNTRY-REGIoN> population, he said. This would not be complete until 2008. State and local agencies, including hospitals and health departments, are debating the extent to which they also should attempt to purchase and store this medication. Washtenaw County Public Health may use emergency preparedness funding to purchase a limited anti-viral medication supply, since health care workers are high on the priority list in the event of an outbreak, but a final decision has not yet been made, Reedy said. Production and supplies of Tamiflu are still very limited. There is not enough Tamiflu, and the cost would be prohibitive, to try to supply people with prophylactic or preventive doses of this anti-viral medication, Reedy said. Prevention among those still uninfected will be crucial in case of a pandemic, Reedy said, and will require the active cooperation of all residents in basic hygiene, including covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands, and staying away from others who are ill. In the absence of easy and effective treatment, these behaviors are critically important, Reedy said. Connie Doyle, attending physician at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and deputy director of the Region 2 South Medical Biodefense Network, agreed. She said such basic hygiene practices are important whether or not avian flu comes to Michigan. She said coughs and sneezes should be covered not with the hand, but with a sleeve or an arm or a tissue. Personal preparedness Reedy encourages all families to have an emergency plan in case of natural disasters and power outages as well as pandemic flu. People who think a pandemic couldn’t happen need only consider the flu outbreak of 1918, in which up to 100 million people were affected by and died from the flu, Reedy said. “The odds may be relatively low, said Reedy, “but we all need to be prepared. The most basic thing people can do to be prepared is to stockpile about two weeks worth of food and water and other essentials, experts say. The last pandemic of flu was in 1968, but seasonal widespread flu has occurred several times since then, Reedy said. He said a big concern is that a widespread and severe flu would result in personnel shortages in all sectors for between six and eight weeks, or the length of a typical outbreak of flu. The possible toll on the workforce is a concern at the University of Michigan, there area’s largest employer, said Dr. Bob Winfield, director of U-M’s University Health Services. Winfield is heading an Infectious Hazards Committee, composed of public health and infectious disease specialists. The goal is to build communication between departments and develop plans in case of any wide-spread contagious disease, Winfield said. He noted a widespread flu outbreak could be particularly challenging to the university. “If we do have a pandemic -whether it’s based on the bird flu or some other flu, any place where people are living very close together will be more susceptible,’‘ he said, citing military bases, residence halls, residential school settings, and nursing homes as examples. It’s the same with meningitis, he said. And during the 1918 flu epidemic, the flu was particularly aggressive on military bases. But Winfield said there’s no cause for alarm. “People are concerned that we will have a major pandemic, but we’re not in the midst of it, he said. “We at the University of Michigan are well prepared because we’ve been working quite hard on this since August, both across the campus and at the Medical Center. Jo Mathis can be reached at jmathis@annarbornews.com or 734–994–6849. http://tinyurl.com/p8m3x
Lutosh; I live about 65 miles north of Saline and my kids and their families live about half that distance away. I take it that the dead goose mentioned was not tested. I was just wondering what was the cause of death?
We are on the look out for bird deaths. I don’t really have a handle of what we should do in Michigan if we find a dead goose, swan or other breed of bird. My understanding is not to call anyone unless there is 3 or more. Anyone in MI have any other input on this?
the people at MSU Bio lab, said at an avian flu lecture in dundee a couple of weeks ago that you only need to be concerned if you find three or more dead birds. The link to the MSU Animal BIO lab is here, http://www.vin.com/WebLink.plx?URL=http://www.ahdl.msu.edu/
to report six or more dead birds to the DNR click on the link below.
http://www.michigandnr.com/diseasedwildlifereporting/disease_obsreport.asp
Bon-16:41; Let’s hope the cause of death was something else. I have been on the look out for bird deaths in my area and others. Here’s another site to report dead birds, they do have an online form to fill out with your info.When you submit the form you get a response back telling you if they want to test the bird/birds you’ve found. Also info on how to collect for a specimen and how to dispose of dead birds.
Please Note: Only sick or dead waterfowl, gulls or shorebirds will be laboratory tested for avian influenza; and only if they are from a die-off (a die-off is defined as 6 or more birds found sick or dead in a short time period). If you see a die-off of waterfowl, gulls or shorebirds, please call the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Disease Lab at (517) 336–5030 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After hours: 1–800–292–7800
http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,1607,7-186-38757-141320--,00.html
Thanks for the info. I am saving this now.
Please keep prepping Michigan…..
A couple of days ago, I saw on the news Vassar was having a bf drill. I think they called it big bird fever drill. Midland had another community meeting yesterday, and included the speaker from the health dept. I was going to go, but I had other things going on. Hopefully the word is getting out.