The outbreaks in Russia have come up in the News thread. I’m coming to a new thread for discussion.
I’ve been watching the Russian Far East for awhile. The Siberian outbreaks are similar to the Asian outbreaks in that the towns are geographically grouped and outbreaks are revisited in the same communities or proximally. I’m spending a bit of time attempting to track respiratory illnesses, but it’s time-intensive.
Altaj, Tomsk, Omsk and Novosibirsk are all at the Siberian/Mongolian border and in the same region. Outbreaks in May/June 2006 and in 2005. Same region and/or same village.
Isolate information, sequences and phylogentic trees are attached to the OIE official outbreak notification. http://tinyurl.com/lnygx
Distance from Alaska to Russia - 2.5 miles from Big Diomede Island, 50 miles to mainland Alaska. Anchorage to Novosibirsk is approximately 3,000 miles.
Alaska is the same distance from Japan and Europe and the east coast of the US. From east to west, it’s roughly the distance from Denver to Mexico City. The Iditarod trail is a bit longer than Seattle to Denver.
Alaska has more total coastline than the rest of the U.S. combined. With islands, 33,000 miles.
Alaska has more total coastline than the rest of the U.S. combined. With islands, 33,000 miles
And that includes the coastlines of all 17 of the Hawaiian Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico…
You’re going to like this. Telemetry data of actual birds’ migratory paths. In video…sweet! http://tinyurl.com
Look at loons and long-tailed ducks
http://tinyurl.com/rnsgv SURVIVAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS OF EMPEROR GEESE IN RELATION TO AVIAN INFLUENZA SUBTYPE PREVELANCE AND RECENT MIGRATION HISTORY
Hypothesis #4
H4: Subtype prevalence of AIV in emperor geese is related to whether they were predicted to have molted the previous year in Russia
@00:53, trying again. http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/wandering_wildlife/
Mods, I tried attaching and linking a jpg, but it didn’t work out for me. Is there a method to just “paste” it into the body here?
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=10680532&PageNum=0
August 4,(Itar-Tass)Quarantine around Lake Ubsu-Nur in Tuva in bird-flu-hit area prolonged - The quarantine around Lake Ubsu-Nur in Tuva is prolonged as new bird death cases are reported from there. Laboratory tests confirmed in July it was bird flu infection. A total of 3,706 dead water birds were found on the Ubsu-Nur over the past six weeks. Whereas only deaths among one species — “peganka” (the size of a duck) — were reported earlier, at present deaths among gulls are reported. 650,000 roubles allocated for “veterinary service”. [This is $24,000 US.]
June 29, 2006. Bird Flu Outbreak Intensifies in Tuva - The emergencies ministry first reported June 16 that 169 dead wild birds had been collected from the Ubsu-Nur Lake in the Ovyur district (Tuva), and the presence of H5N1 in their blood samples had been confirmed by the Kemerovo veterinary laboratory. A total 3,399 birds have died since the first were found on the lake June 13.
6/27/2006, Bird flu in Tuvan reserve: 3,339 dead birds and 56 fishes found - As already reported, the strain of bird flu was detected in the salty water of Ubsu-Nur Lake on June, 22. 169 dead birds, mostly ducks, had been found at the lake banks a week before. The birds were sent to expert examination to Novosibirsk and Kemerovo.
http://news.rin.ru/eng/news///8755//4/. One pesthole of bird flu remains in Russia - By July 31 on the territory of Russia remains one unhappy on birds flu populated area, which is located in Tomskaya province. As it is said in the press-release of the Ministry of Agriculture with the reference to the Federal Service for veterinary and phytosanitary supervision, the new pestholes of disease are not registered since July 5. In 2006 falling ill with bird flu was registered in 93 unhappy populated areas on the territory of 15 Russian subjects.
10 May, Ducks with antibodies to bird flu revealed in Altai region - Antibodies to bird flu virus were revealed among 5 wild ducks in Altai region. Monitoring of wild birds was conducted in Kluchevsk, Uglovsk and Habrovsk districts at the end of April. 1 duck shot on Shuba lake of Uglovsk district and 4 ducks from Gusinoe lake of Habarovsk district were diagnosed antibodies to bird flu virus. “The presence of antibodies in blood means that birds have contacted with sick individuals”, noted the representative of administration. At present moment all domestic poultry is vaccinated in Habarovsk and Uglovsk districts.
6 May, Bird flu antibodies found in wild goose in Arkhangelsk region - H5 bird flu antibodies have been found in the blood of a wild goose shot for testing outside Arkhangelsk. The find indicates that either the goose had contact with a sick bird or was sick itself, Yuferev said. “It would be premature to make conclusions from this single fact,” he said. “…laboratory equipment in Arkhangelsk is inadequate for more specific tests, Yuferev said. The heads of local governments in Severodvinsk and the Nyandoma district have been notified about the bird flu antibodies in the goose. The hunting season in the Arkhangelsk region opens on May 7.
6 April, Bird flu found in two shot ducks in Rostov region - virus of the bird flu is found in wild ducks, shot in Konstantinov district of Rostov region.
10 Dec, Bird flu virus revealed in 19 Crimean settlements - Mass death of poultry is registered in 17 villages, a total amount of annihilated hens and ducks reached 40 thousands. By data of Ukrainian Ministry of Health Protection, no cases of bird flu illness among Ukrainian citizens are registered. Experts say that only mutating type of bird flu virus is dangerous for human. Representatives of Ukrainian Ministry of Emergency have declared that situation in region is under control. There is no danger of illness spread to other regions.
19 Nov, Five Russian regions still suffer from bird flu - “There are two locations on the Altai territory, and one in the Kurgan, Chelyabinsk and Tambov regions,” a representative of the Federal Veterinarian and Phytosanitary Control Service said. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry, the first outbreaks of bird flu in Russia happened in July-August in the Volga-Urals and Siberian federal districts. In mid-August there were bird flu cases in 35 villages in six regions, and another 69 villages had suspected bird flu cases.A total of 4,500 birds died of bird flu and another 180,000 were slaughtered on bird flu suspicions by early November, the source said. There have not been any human cases of bird flu yet.
http://news.rin.ru/eng/news///2027/ November 8, MOSCOW - Bird flu confirmed in 12 Russian settlements, suspected in nine. Russian veterinary services confirmed bird flu in 12 settlements, and cut the number of the villages - suspected of being hit by the infection - from 20 to 9, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phitosanitary Inspection /Rosselkhoznadzor/ said on Monday. PRIME-TASS said there were three bird flu-hit settlements in the Altai territory as of Monday, November 7, and that all poultry were killed in one village in the Omsk region. Veterinary authorities may lift quarantine from it in the nearest future. Three settlements affected by the bird flu virus were detected in the Kurgan region, and one settlement is suspected of having contacted the infection. Two nidi of bird flu were registered in the Chelyabinsk region, and eight suspected settlements were reported in the Novosibirsk region. Restrictions from the suspected Novosibirsk villages may be lifted next week. Disinfection procedures were implemented in a bird flu-hit village in the Tula region. Quarantine may be lifted from it later this week. In the Tambov region, two settlements with an adverse bird flu situation were reported.
November 3, VORONEZH, Bird flu localized in central Russia - A bird flu outbreak has been localized in the central Russian region of Tambov, a local official said Thursday. The official said domestic fowl had started dying from suspected bird flu on October 21. A research institute in the Vladimir region confirmed that it had identified the virus in the blood of a dead chicken. The local authorities have disinfected the villages in an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading, the spokesman said, adding that domestic fowl that had been in contact with the infected chicken had been culled. The district center, Tambov, is about 250 miles southeast of Moscow.
26 Oct, Dangerous for human bird flu revealed in Croatia - Tests done in Great Britain supported that samples of bird flu virus from Croatia relate to X5H1 type which is dangerous for humans. In the view of this fact experts warn that spread of this virus will have serious consequences. Last Friday Croatian Ministry of agriculture announced about discovery of bird flu virus among wild swans that were found dead in the eastern part of country.
July 21, 2006 - Community profile: Nome
POPULATION: 3,508 (2005)
LOCATION: Along the Bering Sea, on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula facing Norton Sound, 539 air miles northwest of Anchorage (a 75-minute flight), 102 miles south of the Arctic Circle and 161 miles east of Russia.
DESCRIPTION: The supply, service and transportation center of the Bering Strait region, a city with two state-owned airports, berthing facilities for vessels with up to 18 feet of draft, and a storied tradition. The population is a mix of Inupiat Eskimos and non-Natives. Although job opportunities exist, subsistence activities remain prevalent. Government services provide the majority of employment. Retail services, transportation, mining, medical and other businesses provide year-round income. Several small gold mines continue to provide some jobs, while 60 residents hold commercial fishing permits. There are four schools, attended by about 740 students. Nome is the finish line for the 1,100-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage, held each March.
HISTORY: Malemiut, Kauweramiut and Unalikmiut Eskimos have occupied the Seward Peninsula historically, with a well-developed culture adapted to the environment. Gold discoveries in the Nome area had been reported as far back as 1865 by Western Union surveyors seeking a route across Alaska and the Bering Sea. But it was a $1,500-to-the-pan gold strike on tiny Anvil Creek in 1898 by three Scandinavians — Jafet Lindeberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson — that brought thousands of miners to the “Eldorado.” Almost overnight, an isolated stretch of tundra fronting the beach was transformed into a tent-and-log-cabin city of 20,000 prospectors, gamblers, claim jumpers, saloon keepers and prostitutes. The gold-bearing creeks had been almost completely staked when some entrepreneur discovered the “golden sands of Nome.” With nothing more than shovels, buckets, rockers and wheel barrows, thousands of idle miners descended on the beaches. Two months later, the golden sands had yielded $1 million worth of gold (at $16 an ounce). A narrow-gauge railroad and telephone line from Nome to Anvil Creek were built in 1900. The City of Nome was formed in 1901. By 1902, the more-easily-reached claims were exhausted and large mining companies with better equipment took over the mining operations. Since the first strike on tiny Anvil Creek, Nome’s gold fields have yielded $136 million. The gradual depletion of gold, a major influenza epidemic in 1918, the Great Depression and World War II each influenced Nome’s population. A disastrous fire in 1934 destroyed most of the city.
From GlobalSecurity.org - A good read.
Homeland Security - Recent Pandemic Flu Scares
The Russian Flu scare began in May 1977, when influenza A/H1N1 viruses isolated in northern China spread rapidly, and caused epidemic disease in children and young adults (< 23 years) worldwide. This was a “benign” pandemic, primarily involving persons born after the 1950s. The 1977 virus was similar to other A/H1N1 viruses that had circulated prior to 1957. In 1957, the A/H1N1 virus was replaced by the new A/H2N2 viruses. Because of the timing of the appearance of these viruses, persons born before 1957 were likely to have been exposed to A/H1N1 viruses and to have developed immunity against A/H1N1 viruses. Therefore, when the A/H1N1 reappeared in 1977, many people over the age of 23 had some protection against the virus and it was primarily younger people who became ill from A/H1N1 infections. By January 1978, the virus had spread around the world, including the United States. Because illness occurred primarily in children, this event was not considered a true pandemic. Vaccine containing this virus was not produced in time for the 1977–78 season, but the virus was included in the 1978–79 vaccine.
The most recent pandemic “scares” was the Avian Flu Scare in 1997 and 1999. In 1997, at least a few hundred people became infected with the avian A/H5N1 flu virus in Hong Kong and 18 people were hospitalized. Six of the hospitalized persons died. This virus was different because it moved directly from chickens to people, rather than having been altered by infecting pigs as an intermediate host. In addition, many of the most severe illnesses occurred in young adults similar to illnesses caused by the 1918 Spanish flu virus. To prevent the spread of this virus, all chickens (approximately 1.5 million) in Hong Kong were slaughtered. The avian flu did not easily spread from one person to another, and after the poultry slaughter, no new human infections were found.
In 1999, another novel avian flu virus - A/H9N2 - was found that caused illnesses in two children in Hong Kong. Although both of these viruses have not gone on to start pandemics, their continued presence in birds, their ability to infect humans, and the ability of influenza viruses to change and become more transmissible among people is an ongoing concern.
Several novel virus alerts have been issued since 1977, none of which progressed to a pandemic. These include isolated cases and limited clusters of swine H1N1 influenza virus infections, avian H5N1 infections in 2003 (two persons hospitalized), avian H7N7 in 2003 (83 human illnesses, including one death), and avianH5N1 in 2004 (34 human illnesses, including 23 deaths as of May 2004). Control measures have included culling of poultry and protection of those who may have been exposed to the avian influenza virus, particularly those with high-level exposure (e.g., those doing the culling).
Very limited person-to-person transmission occurred during the 1976 Swine influenza outbreak in the US, the 1997 H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Hong Kong, and also during the 2003 H7N7 avian influenza outbreak in the Netherlands. None of these outbreaks progressed to the next pandemic level possibly because none of these viruses were animal/human reassortants and, in case of the avian influenza outbreaks, aggressive efforts to eliminate the domestic animal reservoir were carried out.
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