I looked for today’s news thread and don’t think it had been created. Hope this isn’t a duplicate. This is interesting as it points out the early arrival of seasonal flu.
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
NEWS RELEASE Influenza Confirmed in Southeast Alabama FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Chris Sellers (334) 206–5971 (334) 320–5319 Eleven cases of early-season influenza A H1N1 have been confirmed in the Ozark area, the Alabama Department of Public Health announces. In addition, there is ‘’‘one laboratoryconfirmed positive influenza B case from Mobile County which is under further investigation.’‘’ Samples are being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s laboratories for further analysis. Individuals may wish to contact their health care provider to determine when and where immunizations will be available. -30- 9/19/06
Denpasar,Bali: Bird Flu found in pigs. dated 9–21–06 http://tinyurl.com/nsr63
Bird flu attacked the Pig Livestock in Balinese Denpasar, on September 21: Tim the researcher from the Medical Faculty the Udayana University Animal, the Association of the Indonesian Veterinary Surgeon (PDHI), and the Balinese Livestock Breeding Service found two cases of the spread of the bird flu virus (avian influenza/AI) to the pig livestock in Bali. “Two cases were found in two regencies from eight regencies and one city in Bali (that was researched),” said Director Program Pengkajian as well as the Socialisation of Bird Flu and the FKH Unud influenza Pandemic, Drh. I Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, in Mengwi, on Thursday. He said, from results of the laboratory research, two positive pig livestock tertular the virus H5N1, but was not found by the new development or the consignment virus from outside the area. “If the AI virus that fell on the pig livestock immediately was not anticipated, it was worried about could infect the pig livestock naturally in Bali,” said Mahardika. The AI virus apart from attacking the animal livestock, the raging virus in accordance with the official data through to eight in September 2006 attacked 63 people in Java and Sumatra, 48 people among them died. “Until at this time the case of bird flu in Bali was not yet found was to humankind contagious,” said Mahardika while expecting all the sides to increase vigilance to avoid the illness that was dangerous enough this. Bali with the inhabitants around 3.2 million souls, had the poultry population that was solid enough namely approximately 12 million tails, one million tails among them the pig
The AI virus to the pig livestock in Bali genetically one klaster with the virus from Sumatra that is the place of attachments with the receptor in a molecular manner had preference of the poultry receptor. That must receive serious attention from all the sides, considering the virus H5N1 spread to the poultry in most Indonesian territories, including Bali that kedapatan attacked the chicken livestock, the duck and entok (the goose kind berleher short). The “virus H5N1 in Bali spread to 37 subdistricts or 67 percent of 55 available subdistricts in Bali.” That was appropriate results of the FKH Unud research into 152 villages that disampling, 53 villages among them positive tertular the virus H5N1, said Mahardika.
comment Pugmom 8:30-positive pigs in Indonesia does this mean it’s the beginning of the end??
Comment: does the following article from China relate to Pugmom’s above? If China is worried…
MOA: fight against animal epidemics pressing
www.chinaview.cn 2006–09–21 20:08:06
BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — The prevention of and fight against animal epidemic diseases will continue to be a pressing task in the fall, China’s Minister of Agriculture (MOA) Du Qinglin has warned.
Du said local governments must maintain a high alert against possible epidemics such as bird flu, pig cholera and rabies.
worrywort @ 08:39
Yes and no. It ain’t good news, but H5N1 has made the jump to other mammalian species before. There’s been a lot of speculation that pigs have been long-time carriers in Indonesia and China.
We’re still not seeing sustained H2H transmission.
In other words, it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady coughs.
Hang tough.
Donors to help Nigeria look for bird flu outbreaks
“Some 200 health workers will fan out across Nigeria over the next six months to look for cases of avian influenza under a new project launched on Thursday by the European Union and the United Nations. …
The H5N1 virus was first detected in chicken in the northern state of Kaduna in January and it quickly spread to 14 of Nigeria’s 36 states and to the Federal Capital Territory despite measures such as culls, quarantines and poultry transport bans. Millions of Nigerians keep chicken in their backyards, and poultry are usually transported and sold live because most people don’t have electricity to run refrigerators….
Instead of this passive system of surveillance, some 200 animal health officers will undertake active surveillance. They will do this by visiting poultry farmers around the country to collect samples from poultry,” the EU’s delegation in Nigeria said in a statement. The project, financed by the European Commission (EC), will cost 522,000 euros ($661,600) and will last until March 2007. The EC will pay for three epidemiologists, 10 veterinarians and 204 field animal health officers to work on the project…”
Alabama - season influenza
The state’s first cases of influenza have been confirmed by the Alabama Department of Public Health. Eleven cases of early season influenza A have been identified in the Ozark area, while one laboratory-confirmed case of influenza B has been reported in Mobile County. The latter remains under investigation by public health officials. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza B viruses can cause morbidity and mortality among humans but are generally associated with less severe epidemics than influenza A viruses. Although influenza type-B viruses can cause human epidemics, they have not caused pandemics. Alabama public health officials are encouraging people to contact their health-care providers to determine when and where immunizations will be available.
oops the link for the Al article: http://tinyurl.com/f52u3
Bird flu: Beijing must designate a focal point to immediately inform the WHO from Asia News (Italy)
New body would be required to communicate any health emergency within 24 hours so as to allow immediate action. Mainland China has so failed to do so and Hong Kong demands to be able to act on its own…
…China has not yet organised itself in order to immediately report public health emergencies like a pandemic flu to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as 12 countries in the western Pacific area have done…China is one of the worse hit countries by the bird flu pandemic and has been repeatedly chastised by the WHO for delays and providing partial information as well as for not allowing WHO experts to intervene immediately. But the head of the Chinese delegation, Vice-Minister of Health Jiang Zuojun, told the meeting the mainland needed guidance on procedures and criteria for notification and response under the new international health regulations…
Campus to Form Task Force on Flu Readiness from The Daily Californian (California)
UC Berkeley established a Pandemic Flu Preparedness Task Force earlier this week to assess campus preparedness for a pandemic flu outbreak. The establishment of the task force, which will be chaired by Dr. Peter Dietrich, the medical director of University Health Services, comes as one of many responses within the UC system to stop the potential spread of Avian flu and other types of influenza…Dietrich said the goal is to have a complete plan of action finalized by April 2007, but added that an outbreak before that time would cause their efforts to accelerate significantly…
Regarding article on AI found in pigs in Indonesia: This may be one of the missing vectors/resevoirs. The bird flu sequences do not match the human flu sequences in Indonesia. It would seem there is a missing link in the transmission factor. It is also worrisome as pigs can be the mixing vessel for reassortment, as may have been the case in the 1918 PanFlu. I also posted the article as people say there can’t be many pigs in Indo, as it is mostly a Muslim country, and as this article shows us, there are over 1 million pigs in Bali alone. Since Bali’s population is 3.2 million people, that is one pig for every 3.2 people. (Of course, they also have over 4 chickens for every person on Bali too.) They didn’t say if the virus kills the pigs, or whether it harbors it undetected. The other interesting thing was that apparently they have sequenced this pig H5N1 and it matches the cluster found in Sumatra, which is a hop, skip and an island jump away. As Dr. Niman keeps reminding us, the human Indo sequences often match sequences that are geographically a far distance away, and not the local birds. He claims all these various clusters/clades are presenting more opportunity for viral evolution as they find one another and recombine/reassort.
Pandemic Flu Preparations: Limited Progress and Less Attention from Scientific American
…It sounds like all that’s changed over the past year is that the fickle attentions of the press and public have shifted to other matters…One thing that was dramatically different, however, was attendance at the press conference. Last year, the same room was packed with reporters…
…Sadly, this year, the 10 very prominent representatives of the partnership present to speak and respond to questions, as well as three state department officials available from Washington on a satellite link, actually outnumbered the press in the room. It was a stark reminder of how short the attention spans of the public, and its proxy the press, can be. In a twist from the usual state of affairs, it seems like the representatives of world governments and other relevant organizations (e.g. UNICEF) are still taking the pandemic threat (not to mention the threat posed by highly pathogenic avian flu to world agriculture and the food supply) very seriously, after getting a bit of a late start. But the public had a brief scare last year, then forgot about it…
…They illustrate that the public perception of possible threats is often much out of line with the research community’s…
Prepare for flu pandemic from MetroWest Daily News (Massachusetts)
…”This is not Y2K. You need to start planning at home, not just for your business,” Bernice said. “You need to think about how you are going to keep your employees working, how you are going to keep your business going.” A flu pandemic could cause disruptions to power, food, shelter, supply chains, transportation and information technology, she said… “Those of you who run hotels, get some beds ready because we’re going to need them,” he said…
Plans in works for a pandemic from Portsmouth Herald (New Hampshire)
…”But, there are also law enforcement issues surrounding quarantine and isolation,” said Dubois. “What if half my force is gone? Can I give police powers?” Deputy Police Chief Len DiSesa asked what authority police have if a person refuses to be quarantined. Stephen said the DHHS will submit new legislation to answer many of those questions. The state can grant police the right to give powers, but Stephen said it’s complex and must be in writing. There is nothing to legally force a person into isolation…
Early, combined measures could blunt pandemic flu from Guelph Mercury (Canada)
…It may be possible to cushion the blow of a flu pandemic through early implementation of measures like closing schools and limiting public gatherings, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s division of global migration and quarantine said yesterday…The idea, which researchers are calling “targeted, layered containment,” could help more people evade infection in the first wave of a pandemic, when vaccine isn’t expected to be available…
Officials want state prepared for flu outbreak from Maine Today
…In the fall of 1918, anti-spitting laws were strictly enforced. Theaters, dance halls and schools were closed. The opening of Colby College was delayed by 10 days. Catholic Mass was held outside…
…More than 1,000 health care providers, government officials and others gathered at the Augusta Civic Center on Wednesday for a summit on avian and pandemic influenza…”We are much more prepared”…”There’s an overwhelming consensus among experts that if there’s a pandemic, the consequences would be extraordinary,” Batt said…
This is a “press release “ type of article by the manufacturer The important point is someone is working on new respirators with UV lights for everyday use.
Personal Protection Respirator to Protect Against Avian Flu
NEXT SAFETY INC. today announced that it is introducing the next generation in Personal Protection Respirators. The Company’s positive- pressure mask, integrated with nano-engineered filtering and ultraviolet lighting technologies, brings highly effective respirators to the global consumer marketplace not only for pandemic protection but also for everyday use by asthmatics. Next Safety’s backpack-sized respirator delivers ultra clean, uncontaminated air to the user and will provide an application for the pulmonary delivery of pharmaceuticals and medicine….Next Safety’s Personal Protection Respirators will be available in March 2007 at a cost of approximately $160.
Japanese encephalitis in India and Nepal “Since July 2005, there has been an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis (JE) occurring in northern India and Nepal which has so far affected over 5000 people, mainly children, with over 1000 deaths reported (1). The outbreak has affected the states of Uttar Pradesh (3551 cases, 764 deaths) and neighbouring Bihar (238 cases, 58 deaths) in India and most regions of Nepal (1540 cases, 259 deaths); western, mid-western, and far-western regions of Nepal have been most affected. “
The important thing is to notice that BF has been mis-identified as JE. see: Avian flu caused encephalitis in Vietnamese boy “Feb 16, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – Researchers studying acute encephalitis cases in Vietnam discovered an unexpected cause of death in a 4-year-old boy, and possibly his 9-year-old sister: avian influenza. ..”
Iraqi Health Minister:no bird flu in Baghdad from Bahrain News Agency
…Iraq is free of the disease due to the extraordinary efforts and scientific programmes of the higher central committee for tracking bird flu, the minister said in a statement transmitted by Al Iraqia TV station today. He said reports carried by some newspapers are not based on accurate information and that they aim at shaking citizens’ confidence in Iraqi health establishments and the services they offer…
Comment: Really, I can’t comment on this…
Five die of unidentified disease in western Nepal “Five people died of unidentified disease at remote Chamchet village of western Gorkha district during last two weeks, local Nepal Samacharpatra daily reported here on Thursday. “Five people including two children died of unidentified disease in the area, some 150 km northwest of capital Kathmandu,” the Nepali language daily reported, quoting Gopal Lama, former village chief, as saying. But, officials at the District Health Office said they were uninformed about the disease in the area.
Although there is a sub-health post at the village, only a female health volunteer has been working there for last two years, according to daily. “
COMMENT:
banshee – at 13:31 “He said reports carried by some newspapers are not based on accurate information and that they aim at shaking citizens’ confidence in Iraqi health establishments.”
Methinks he doth protesteth overmuch.
DennisC – at 13:33
Are we aware of BF anywhere in Nepal?
Elder Berry – at 13:38 No WHO reports of BF in Nepal that I am aware of.
The problem is that Nepal is within the migration routes of bar-headed geese on their movements in and out of Q lake. If you remember from the early reports last year or two, the geese have been thought to be the “origin” of the spread out and away from Q Lake. Over the last 6 months or so there have been reports of strange deaths in Nepal but iittle or no testing has taken place that I know of. They just don’t have the health workers. (note Q=Qinhai lake near where some think H1N1- “Spanish flu” started in 1917)
I’ve been posting a lot of articles lately which urge individuals to prepare for a pandemic. However, they come almost exclusively from North America and mostly from the USA. Can we attribute this to the Katrina effect or is there something else? I just find it curious that the American govt’t is encouraging individual preparedness yet you hardly hear anything in this regard from other countries (with the exception of New Zealand and Canada). Is US just particularly paranoid lately? Are other countries particularly naive? Have any non-North American fluwikians seen any prepping advocates in their countries? Or, are we just seeing fundamentally different approaches to life at work? Okay, finished with the questions.
DennisC, early this year there were also cases of undiagnosed pig deaths in Morang, Nepal. No testing or investigation was done at the time, even though the local populace suspected BF and requested assistance from the goverment to send vets to the area to investigate.
this is a link to a list of Nepalese media sources
http://www.nepalhomepage.com/dir/news/news.php
Hi MaMa Thanks. Thanks for your excellent work per usual.
Seems to be more and more news about pigs and none of it is good…unfortunately for us!!
West Java http://tinyurl.com/qodz6
Around 3.000 poultries in two villages in the Bojong Gambir Subdistrict, the Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java, was destroyed by the Local Livestock Breeding Service.
Depopulation was carried out after several samples of blood that was taken from the poultry in this area were stated positive bird flu.
The citizen in two villages in a crowd handed over their property poultry beginning with the chicken kind, the duck, birds et cetera.
The citizen at once handed over him to the official from the Tasikmalaya Service of Regency Livestock Breeding.
A poultry that was handed over was appreciated by Rp 10.000.
The citizen in no way objected because that most important according to mereja, his environment could be freest from bird flu.
The extermination of this poultry was carried out following the sudden death 500 poultries in this area.
After several of the him was taken the sample of his blood, evidently was proven to be positive bird flu.
To prevent the spreading of this deadly virus, the extermination was carried out by means of being burnt.
Officially local Livestock Breeding made a serious effort to interrupt the chain penyeberan bird flu in two villages.
Sorry I was unable to create the News Summary to start this thread - had a family funeral. Will be back in full swing again tonight (local time).
follow up on Nepal article and the question by Elder Berry – at 13:38
I did some more checking and this is the same general area as the strange deaths occured and they closed the airport. It was about a month ago. But notice it is an “unidentified disease” that killes dogs, chickens and people with bleeding through the nose. What does that?
“Aug 19, 2006 An unprecedented epidemic of an unidentified disease is responsible for the death of at least 14 people, including seven children, in central Nepal in the past two weeks. Major symptoms of the disease are high fever together with bleeding from nose and mouth at the time of death, according to reports.
The disease was first detected in dogs and chicken in the last week of June and had started spreading to humans in Netini VDC, a far eastern village. Thousand of chickens have died in Nuwakot, a district, which is some 50 km northwest of Kathmandu Valley.
The mass death of poultry came out of of nowhere. The chickens reportedly started to die around Friday night, according to published reports. The mass death of the poultry is the first incident of its kind in the district, according to locals.”
I am trying to follow the time line of these Nepal events. Please join in if you find anything. = this is a “slow news day” so I am back tracking a bit.
after the Aug 19 event of 14 deaths with bleeding from the nose and mouth, there was another event on Aug 28. Notice that is about a 10 day gap- about what the timing of the BF H2H events in Indo. Notice the news today that 5 more have died in the last 2 weeks in Nepal. Looks like something is happening about at 2 weeks intervals or so. I don;t know what that means. But it sure has may attention right now.
“Mysterious disease tolls reached nine after two more people died on Saturday of the disease that broke out in a eastern district in Nepal, a local government officer confirmed here Sunday. “The two of them died within hours after being infected by the disease on Saturday night in Beltar area of Udayapur district, some 300 km east of Kathmandu,” Jeevan Prasad Oli, chief district officer, told reporters.
The outbreak of the unknown disease already claimed the lives of seven patients in Beltar, Sudarpur and Siddipur villages of the district in the past few weeks. The symptoms included high fever, headache as well as bleeding from the nose and vomiting blood, Oli noted, adding, “Patients infected with the disease have been taken to a hospital in Dharan city for treatment.”
Banshee: “Are other countries particularly naive?” YES, and no.. we expekt the governments to take care.. And they did. Our contigency plans etc was made years ago, but after that,… nothing… Only tamiflu and vacine shopping. The idea of innvolving the public seems far away… I envy the hughe progress seen in the US the lasts months.. Luckily many europeans know how to make their food from scratch, that will save us all ;-)
banshee at 13:56
A couple of weeks ago I also ‘commented’ on the sudden surge in information in the USA and was told that this is because September is National Preparedness Month there. If the same level of publicity remains in October (or later) then something else is likely driving it. Generally, the media coverage worldwide is at an ebb - as mentioned by WHO.
Testing of Montana birds reveals flu - not the dangerous kind
“A type of bird flu that poses no threat to human health has been found in some ducks in Montana, federal and state officials said Thursday….
Sixteen of those samples were sent to the USDA’s veterinary laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for more tests and one of the 16 tested positive for the H5 and N1 subtypes of avian flu. More testing is under way and results are likely within three weeks, federal officials said.”
DennisC- With regard to the 14 sick in Nepal in August, (symptoms reported as bleeding through the nose and mouth) I remember reading that it was investigated, the number was highly inflated, and all sickness was attributed to other things, and in fact the “reported” symptoms, did not in fact exist. It has been awhile since I read it though, so finding the link may be problematic. After reading the follow-up of the initial article, I totally dismissed it as being a possible “bird flu” cluster. Don’t know if you ever read the follow up articles or not.
DennisC - I’m thinking about Nepal. http://tinyurl.com/gnmec]]
Excerpt: ProMed
Mystery Disease Killing Lions in India
Nearly 2 dozen crossbred lions are slowly dying in northern India from a mysterious disease afflicting the hybrid offspring of Asiatic and African cats paired in a discontinued experimental program.
Zookeepers are mournfully watching the results of the program, which
began in the late 1980s at the Chhatbir Zoo and was ended in 2002,
after many of the nearly 80 crossbred lions were struck by a
mysterious disease linked to inbreeding and a weakened gene pool,
said Kuldip Kumar, Punjab state’s conservator of forests and wildlife
-snip-
[Is the progeny suffering from a lethal genetic disease or from a
genetic susceptibility to a prevailing infectious disease?
More information on the outcome of this, clearly unsuccessful breeding project, is anticipated. - Mod.AS]
re above article-from the comment ‘slowly dying’ to me, doens’t look like H5N1.
Poor animals none the less.
Phillipines
Reserve funds v. bird flu ready: health chief
HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque said Thursday the department has standby funds that could accommodate 66,000 patients in case flu pandemic happens in the country.
The health and agriculture departments and all other line agencies have been alerted against the spread of bird flu since last year for any eventuality.
Duque, who was in Baguio last Wednesday to inspect hospitals in the city, said that in case human-to-human transmission of the disease happens in the country, a standby fund amounting to P16 million has been allotted for the purpose. He said there are also continuing efforts to deter the entry of the virus here, through fowls.
WHO
WHO ranks bird flu as top health threat
BIRD FLU remains the number one danger facing global public health, the World Health Organisation warned as a five-day conference on issues facing the western Pacific region wrapped up today.
[snip]
WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley said many countries did not have the money or resources to implement full emergency plans.
He said a potential pandemic could spread quickly to remote nations due to the speed of modern transport.
“It will travel at the speed of a 747 jet,’‘ Mr Cordingley said.
Angola
Angola: Uije - Military Health Experts Attend Training On Bird Flu
About 20 health experts of the first military region are attending since Wednesday a two-day upgrading course on matters of possible cases of bird flu, ANGOP has learnt.
Sub-lieutenant Adriano Pacheco Messel addresses the meeting that is analysing matters relating to main respiratory diseases of birds, bird flu, avian cholera and avian influenza. Samples will be delivered to South Africa’s laboratories.
The commander of the first Military region, General Manuel dos Santos Hilario considered the gathering as important because bird flu is an issue of economic and social concern.
Maryland, USA
Roundtable to offer information on how to react to pandemic
St. Agnes Hospital will host business, community, church and school leaders at a roundtable next month on emergency response planning for a pandemic influenza outbreak.
Several hundred people have been invited to the event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 6 in the hospital’s Alagia Auditorium. The hospital is located at 900 Caton Ave.
Hospitals statewide were encouraged to hold events on pandemic flu in the month of October, said Nancy Creighton, director of external affairs at St. Agnes Hospital.
[snip]
The roundtable’s panel includes Dr. Christa-Marie Singleton, chief medical program director with Baltimore City’s Office of Public Health Preparedness; John Schaefer, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University, associate director for health, safety and environment; Jennifer Noppenberger, a registered nurse and director of infection control and emergency preparedness at St. Agnes Hospital; Dr. Adrian Long of St. Agnes Hospital; and Jennifer Thomas, clinical pharmacist, St. Agnes Hospital.
St. Agnes will host a separate event in November on what individuals can do to protect themselves from a pandemic outbreak, Creighton said.
No date for that has been set.
E-mail Mary T. Robbins at Mary T. Robbins@patuxent.com
AnnieB… our sympathy for the family funeral. Thanks for all your work.
EU and FAO launch surveillance study project for bird flu in Nigeria
The six-month project, which will cost 522,000 euros (667,00 dollars) financed by the European Commission, is a coordinated efffort by the government and the international donor community to fight the disease, it said.
Medical News Today - Statement On Avian Influenza From Randall L. Tobias, Director Of U.S. Foreign Assistance And USAID Administrator
Great overview piece - good for getting the attention of nay-sayers…check it out and forward this to others.
I am also remembering the Nepal “cluster” and later reading that it ended up being “one of this and two of that” — they were the sort of illnesses/complications that simply do occur in remote, poor areas (such as pneumonia). It was investigated and found to be specific causes, but bird flu was not suspected as other causes existed and were documented.
H1N1 in Alabama
this is a pdf file so I did not copy it. 11 confirmed H1N1 cases in the Ozark area. and one type B in Mobile
oops I didn’t scroll up enough, this is the same one Snowbound1 had early this morning.
I am creating the News Summary then I will start a new thread - give me about 20 minutes. Cheers and thanks