Forum: News Reports for November 22

(If you want any of the links to open in a new window, hold down the shift key and then click on the link)

Lookout Posts – here are the links (if no Lookout Post exists, it will not be highlighted)

Please visit these threads for latest information from these regions or to add news

(Please see the thread Volunteers Needed as Lookouts Worldwide if you want to help)

Separate forum threads for India, Indonesia and Nepal

link to Indonesia wiki page

link to Summary of News for 21 November
link to News Reports For November 21
(From WHO as at 13 Nov - latest update) Total human cases worldwide 258, deaths 153 (2006 – 111 with 76 deaths)
Thanks to all the newshounds!

It was just reported on the local radio news ( New Zealand ) that there have been several birds (in the low hundreds) suddenly dying over the past 2–3 days in the Hawkes Bay. Also some cats and dogs in the same area are ‘missing’. Current signs appear to be some form of poisoning and warnings have been issued for people not to touch the carcasses and, more particularly, to ensure children do not touch the carcasses.

The report did not say what types of birds are dying. Testing is underway. Will keep you posted as soon as I learn more.

Sorry, I cannot provide an on-line link for this as yest but will take a look around …

Okay, I finally found the story online. It is as follows:

Mysterious deaths of birds 22/11/2006 15:20:03

Large numbers of birds are dying near Havelock North and no one knows why.

The Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has issued a warning for the public to stay away from an area near Anderson Park where the dead birds have been found.

Medical Officer of Health Dr Lester Calder says the deaths began two days ago. He says 200 birds have died along with several cats while one dog has had to be put down.

Dr Calder says whatever is killing the birds does not appear to be dangerous to humans, but warning signs have been erected to make sure young children do not inadvertently come into contact with the remains.

Link http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=107906

Huh. Wonder what’s going on in New Zealand? Should be very easy to rule out poisoning, there would have to be a lot of it everywhere for cats & dogs to get into it. Has it rained there in the past 2–3 days?

Theeere we goooo agaaaiiinnn…. News - US Embassy advisories

• Hong Kong Consulate - http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6p68q - that was posted on 21 November 2006 - Better save it before it gets pulled again
  
  
  • Recommendation on SIP preparation for US residents = two weeks.
    
    
  • Recommendation on SIP preparation for US citizens abroad = at least two and up to twelve weeks.
    
    
    • Also, note the italic bolded sentence: - quote - While there are no reports of sustained human-to-human transmission of avian influenza, - unquote
      
      

The same info is, at present:

• on the Vientiane (Laos) US Embassy Website: http://preview.tinyurl.com/ycrbxl - This one is not dated
• on the Seoul (Korea, Rep.) US Embassy Website: http://seoul.usembassy.gov/avian_flu2.html - This one is dated 20 November 2006.

http://www.trend.az/?mod=shownews&news=32257&lang=en

 Mass Death of Home Birds Observed in Garatepe Village of Barda District - News from Azerbaijan 

Source: Trend Author: Sh.Jaliloglu

22.11.2006

Within approximately 5 days, a mass death of home birds has been observed in 50 families of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) residing in the Garatepe village of Barda district of Azerbaijan. The IDPs are concerned that the mass death is caused by the “bird flu” virus, Trend Regional Correspondent reports.

Why do I feel like the ‘q’ time icould be over?……

(Among healthcare workers, there is a superstition that to say the ‘q’ word [ie oppositie of loud] outloud is to cause all darn heck to break out.)

And again, China - US residents, 2 wks; US abroad, 2–12 wks

Beijing: “How to Prepare for Possible Avian Influenza Pandemic (November 21, 2006)”: http://preview.tinyurl.com/ynzf78 and http://preview.tinyurl.com/yhevav

Shenyang: http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6vf4f (menu, right-hand side) and http://preview.tinyurl.com/yayj72 (“How to Prepare for Possible Avian Influenza Pandemic (November 21, 2006)”)

Guangzhou: http://preview.tinyurl.com/y4brgd and http://preview.tinyurl.com/y4xqjm

Comment

FrenchieGirl – at 08:29

“And again, China - US residents, 2 wks; US abroad, 2–12 wks”

This is how it should have been worded from the beginning.

Thanks FrenchieGirl,

If found this interesting:

Water purification techniques such as boiling, filtering and/or adding chlorine to locally available rainwater, swimming pools, lakes, rivers and wells may replace the need to store large quantities of water.

I’m suprised they are telling people they might have to gather rainwater or drink from their swimming pools.

Australia http://tinyurl.com/y6ls88

Last Update: Wednesday, November 22, 2006. 7:39pm (AEDT) Authorities use bird flu plan to tackle influenza outbreak

The ACT Health Department says it is using plans drawn up for the bird flu threat, to control an influenza outbreak at the Jindalee Nursing Home.

An eighth elderly resident died today and authorities believe the toll may rise further.

Sixty-eight people - including staff - have been affected.

The Acting Chief Health Officer, Charles Guest, says authorities are doing everything possible to control the outbreak.

“We got onto this one early and have identified it as influenza and I’m hoping that the measures that we’ve put in place have actually reduced the amount of illness and death that have arisen because of it,” he said.

Singapore releases trial of new bird flu vaccine http://tinyurl.com/ynztan

www.chinaview.cn 2006–11–22 20:02:19

    SINGAPORE Nov. 22 (Xinhua) — Singapore pharmaceutical giant Baxter Healthcare on Wednesday released the preliminary findings for a clinical trial of a new bird flu vaccine. 

    According to a Channel NewsAsia report, the results indicate that the vaccine Baxter developed can be used on different strains of the H5N1 virus, such as the Hong Kong strain, the Vietnam strain and the Indonesian strain. 

    The trial was conducted on healthy adults in Austria and Singapore. Side effects from the vaccine are also minor, such as fatigue, headaches and a slight fever, according to the report. 

    The vaccine is also unique because it can be produced using cell-base system in stead of egg-base system. 

    Traditionally, vaccines are produced by growing a virus in hen’s eggs, a procedure which would be greatly affected by the onset of an avian flu pandemic. 

    The new technology allows the vaccine to be produced in a shorter time with no dependence on eggs. 

    Baxter said they will conduct further tests before they actively market the vaccine to governments. 

    To date, the bird flu virus has never been detected in Singapore.

Editor: Yao Runping

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the Fugjian strain the one we are most concerned about? Isn’t this the “biggie” strain? Why wasn’t it tested on this strain?

Reuters: http://tinyurl.com/y27gqk

Dead birds raise avian flu fears in Somalia Wed 22 Nov 2006 9:19 AM ET By Ibrahim Mohamed

JOWHAR, Somalia, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Dozens of dead birds in a flood ravaged village in Somalia have raised fears of an avian flu outbreak in a country with limited health facilities, officials said on Wednesday.

The carcasses of the dead birds, which were thought to be ducks, were found in Elbaraf, 55 km (34 miles) north of the town of Jowhar, local veterinarian Ali Hamud told Reuters.

“We burnt 51 carcasses,” Hamud said.

Scientists have suggested that migratory birds play an important role in the spread of the deadly H5N1 flu virus, which originated in Asia and has killed more than 150 people worldwide so far.

Hamud said most of the birds found had tags around their feet and necks indicating they had been come via the “Orient Institute” in Zagreb, Croatia.

Somalia is already battling floods that have submerged villages and farmland and washed away bridges and food stocks.

“We don’t have the capacity to test the birds here for bird flu or other diseases. Floods are already ravaging villages here and the last thing we want is an epidemic,” Hamud said.

Resident Nur Jimale said the birds were spotted 10 days ago in flocks of hundreds.

“We fear the unusual birds have brought diseases with them. I just saw their carcasses lying everywhere yesterday. I have never seen such birds in Somalia,” he said.

Already one of the poorest countries in Africa, Somalia has lost tens of thousands of people to conflict and famine since 1991.

Is Hamud indicating that these birds are “off” their regular migatory journey? And what would make these birds,”get lost?” Most interesting.

Turkey Becomes Model for Fighting Bird Flu

Turkey’s methods for fighting bird flu has become a model for Asian and Far East countries, which are facing bird flu for the first time. Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) will shoot a bird flu documentary and broadcast it nationwide in member countries and majority of the images in the documentary will be from Turkey.

Turkey’s fight against the bird flu was previously praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and it will be a road map for Asian and Far East countries.

The latest ABU meeting was held in Malaysia in last June and Turkey became a member of it via Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). The member countries decided to shoot a documentary about bird flu, which is a big threat to these countries. Majority of the images for the documentary being prepared by Hong-Kong state television were sent from Turkey.

http://tinyurl.com/y6yvu3

Mass Cattle Death Observed in Barda http://www.trend.az/?mod=shownews&news=32257&lang=en

Look for the links left side the headlines. I’m not a subscriber, so couldn’t see the cattle story.

I mean, “Look for the headlines on the left side of the page behind this link. I’m not a subscriber, so couldn’t see the cattle story.” sorry my english

Flu exceeds epidemic threshold in three Russian cities

ST. PETERSBURG, November 22 (Itar-Tass) - Influenza among children has exceeded the epidemic threshold in three Russian cities – Arkhangelsk, Vladikavkaz and Irkutsk, sources from the National Center for Influenza of the World Health Organization in St. Petersburg said on Wednesday.

Epidemiologists have specified that epidemic thresholds were exceeded among children under six years of age by 72.3 percent, 51.1 percent and 38.4 percent respectively. Influenza among schoolchildren under 14 years of age in Arkhangelsk and Irkutsk is 36.8 and 27.3 percent above the threshold. Flu cases don’t exceed the epidemic threshold in the other Russian cities and regions, the sources said.

The National Influenza Center makes a year-round monitoring in 46 major cities of the Russian Federation and exchanges information and strains with the WHO headquarters in Geneva

http://tinyurl.com/sejrg

Thinlina, I cna’t see the story you referenced- I’m not a subscriber either. Check this out though- full article to be found on the very same page.

NEWS

Mass Death of Home Birds Observed in Garatepe Village of Barda District

Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)- “Within approximately 5 days, a mass death of home birds has been observed in 50 families of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) residing in the Garatepe village of Barda district of Azerbaijan. The IDPs are concerned that the mass death is caused by the “bird flu” virus, Trend Regional Correspondent reports…”

…”Expressing his concern over the mass death of the birds, the Head of the Garatepe village municipality, Nizami Abbasov, said that he also appealed to the Barda Veterinary Department, but have been given false promises.

In response, the Head of the Barda Veterinary Department, Aydin Mammadov, stressed that they have not received any information regarding the mass death of the birds. Despite that the IDPs continue to living in the territory of Barda, the State has not allocated any finance for their medication. The IDPs should therefore appeal to the Veterinary Department at their own district.”

 http://preview.tinyurl.com/y56ul9

DennisC - at 11:49, I found this,

Seasonal influenza activity in the world, 2006

14 November 2006

This summary provides up-to-date reports of seasonal influenza activity and does not include reports of avian influenza in humans. For reports on avian influenza, see the avian influenza page.

Seasonal influenza activity, weeks 41–44, 2006

During weeks 41–44, overall influenza activity remained low in both hemispheres.

Madagascar. Localized influenza A(H3N2) activity was reported between weeks 41 and 43.

During weeks 41–44, low influenza activity was reported in Argentina (A and B), Australia (A), Brazil (B), Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China (H1, H3 and B), Mexico (H1 and H3), Mongolia, New Caledonia (H3), the Russian Federation (H1, H3 and B), Sweden (H3), the United Kingdom (B) and the United States (H1, H3 and B). Belarus, Czech, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Ukraine reported no influenza activity. .

http://tinyurl.com/ycv7rq I’ll keep hunting around for more..

Single Facts of Bird Death does not Mean that It Caused by “Bird Flu”: Azeri State Veterinary Service

Source: Trend

22.11.2006

“The State Veterinary Service of Azerbaijan refuted the information regarding the mass death of the home birds in the Garatepe village of Barda. At present the mass death of the home birds has not been noted in the regions, including Barda, the Head of the Republic Expedition against Epizootic of the State Veterinary Service, Rafik Muradov, informed Trend.” - excerpt

 http://tinyurl.com/y8no2e

Map of the administrative divisions of Azerbaijan (Barda is #11), for reference…

The country is divided into 51 districts, or rayons…

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivisions_of_Azerbaijan)

Klatu, the Veterinary Dept. sounds like they don’t want to take responsibility for whatever might have happened to the birds of these IDP’s, not their jurisdiction.

huh, that’s funny…

here’s the link for the Subdivision map

OK, it just disappears. Hmmmm………

try here

That should work (I hope)

Bird flu test better, faster and stronger

November 21, 2006

Minnesota Daily

“Identifying flu viruses is now quick and inexpensive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which announced the development of a new test Nov. 14.

The test, called the MChip, provides information based on gene segments that mutate less often than the flu genes used in current tests, according to the National Institute of Health.

When diagnosing H5N1, a strain of avian influenza, the MChip was 95 percent accurate and never produced a false positive, said Kathy Rowlen, the developer of the MChip and scientist at the University of Colorado.

Rowlen said the MChip not only confirms or denies a viral strain, but also diagnoses the type of influenza.

“You can’t do a flu test in a doctor’s office in Cambodia for $500,” Rowlen said. MChip “holds a lot of promise.”

Although the test is still in the research phase, the University of Colorado is currently negotiating the rights.

 - excerpts

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/11/21/69999

FrenchieGirl – at 07:27

Toronto U.S. Consulate Home Page shows a link to Avian Influenza, and one to Shelter-in-place.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y7464z

Then it leads to the U.S.-Canada Cooperation on Avian Influenza

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y5ax6z

On the left column, under Resources, there is a link to Shelter-in-place

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yy7yty

Then I tried the Winnepeg link on the ottawa.usembassy home page and on the Winnepeg page was a link at the bottom “Pandemic Flu” which links to the U.S.-Canada cooperation page, as above

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y8jgtv

P.S. “The materials for MChip cost less than $10, Rowlen said”

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/11/21/69999

cottontop: I may be wrong (I am no expert that’s for sure) but Fujian is just one new strain of many out there. Any one of them could become “the one” Unfortunately much of the work being done is vs old strains as the new one is just that, very new. And next week there could be yet another “new strain.” That’s why news of “rpmising vaccines” in msm is creating a false sense of security out there. Sorry to tell you folks, vaccines won’t help if it goes H2H - at least not for a very long time, or if they get really lcuky and the one that goes H2H is an older strain that has some clinical research behind it.

http://tinyurl.com/yjlmva

Centre to control bird flu situation opens in Yekaterinburg - RUSSIA

22.11.2006, 18.51

YEKATERINBURG, November 22 (Itar-Tass) - The third in Russia laboratory center for bird flu opened on Wednesday in Yekaterinburg on the basis of a scientific and research veterinary institute, the press service of the local ministry for agriculture told Tass.

According to the press service, the setting up of the laboratory center was necessitated by a difficult epizooty situation existing in neighboring regions. Besides, the region needs to have control over the quality of fodder and raw materials of vegetable and animal origin as well as express diagnosis of infectious diseases with effective up-to-date research methods.

Baxter Supplies Austria With Bird Flu Vaccine

The Austrian Ministry of Health has entered into a preparedness contract with Baxter Healthcare that contains an option to purchase 16 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine, enough to vaccinate the entire Austrian population. The three-year agreement provides the Austrian Ministry of Health with future access to the company’s cell-based vaccine production capacity in the event of an avian flu pandemic.

Baxter is also under contract to supply two million doses of H5N1 vaccine to the UK government. In addition, the company is working with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a cell culture-based H5N1 candidate pandemic influenza vaccine.

In Octover, Baxter reported preliminary results of a phase I/II clinical trial in adults with its inactivated wild-type H5N1 pandemic vaccine. The preliminary results suggest that the vaccine is highly immunogenic and elicits functional antibodies to H5N1 even at the lowest dose levels. Baxter also said analysis of serum samples suggests both the neutralization of the pandemic virus contained in the vaccine and cross-neutralization against widely diverse strains of H5N1, an important factor in the fight against a pandemic.

http://tinyurl.com/yxdgjn

Baxter Supplies Austria With Bird Flu Vaccine

This looks too good to be true. Other than the fact that it takes a long time to make millions of doses, does anyone see anything immediately bad about this or why it can’t be an answer.

Audio Interview with Laurie Garrett From Council of Foreign Relations:

http://tinyurl.com/ycn6p5

Click on the MP3 Link to hear audio.

Laurie Garrett, CFR senior fellow for global health, says global commitments to end bird flu mean the world is in a better position to handle a potential avian flu pandemic than it was two years ago. But she warns that we still don’t have “a toolkit that can stop this virus from circulating” if the virus evolves to allow easier human-to-human transmission. “Flu is by far the most contagious probability in our near horizon, and there are no fools left who think you can confine it to one country,” says Garrett….more on the audio

Daddy-

No one knows for sure of the IF and WHEN, but more and more reputable scientists and academics are stepping forward to “sound the alarm”. Why not take this opportunity to make some preparations for your family? :) They won’t go to waste and you will feel better for having done it. Here is an ABC interview with Dr. Robert Webster…”the father of bird flu.” If you have a high speed connection, I would recommend watching it, and I would like to know what you thought of it, if you have the opportunity to watch it. Thanks

http://tinyurl.com/y4s9z4

2 deaths recorded on Cruise ship with virus: From www.floridatoday.com

November 22, 2006

M.E. probes cause of death on cruise ship

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT LAUDERDALE — A medical examiner today is investigating the death of 76-year-old man during a virus outbreak that sickened 679 people on a trans-Atlantic cruise.

Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County’s chief medical examiner, said an autopsy was performed on David Lee Fitzgerald of Tarpon Springs on Monday, but it will take several months to complete lab tests and determine an official cause of death.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control was trying to track down the source of the Nov. 3–19 outbreak aboard the Liberty, a Carnival Cruise Lines ship. Preliminary tests identified the source as the highly contagious norovirus, but the cruise line said the death was not related to the illness, Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said.

“This is definitely a case of public health interest,” Perper said.

Two passengers died during the cruise, but Carnival said privacy laws prohibit them from identifying the men. One of the men was not a U.S. citizen and his body was returned to his home country before the ship docked in Port Everglades on Nov. 19, de la Cruz said.

The second passenger was identified by relatives as Fitzgerald, who was on the cruise with his wife, Martha. He died in the ship’s infirmary on Nov. 10. The family said Fitzgerald was taking medicine for past heart troubles but had been cleared to travel by his doctor.

“We would like to know exactly what happened to him,” Fitzgerald’s daughter, Susan Lyster said. “All we know is that he went to the infirmary three times with vomiting and diarrhea. We know he had a virus and he died. We don’t know the cause of death.”

Carnival said neither death was related to the virus, which had infected several guests before they boarded Nov. 3 in Rome and then spread to 536 guests and 143 crew members.

“It is the opinion of our medical professionals that heart-related issues were the primary factors in both deaths,” de la Cruz said in an e-mail statement.

Perper said it too soon to say what caused the deaths.

“The question is what were the symptoms preceding the heart problems,” Perper said.

Norovirus is a group of viruses that cause stomach flu symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps, according to the CDC. The illness usually lasts one to two days without any long-term health effects. It spreads through contaminated food or liquids, by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then placing that hand in one’s mouth, or through direct contact with someone who is infected and showing symptoms.

The Liberty was set to sail from Port Everglades today on an abbreviated cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. The cruise was shortened so crews could spend two days disinfecting the ship.

The Liberty, which made its maiden voyage in July 2005, is one of the world’s largest cruise ships, with 13 passenger decks and room for 2,974 travelers.

oops…put that in the wrong thread. Great video to watch though. :)

Spirit in the Wind – at 16:49

To follow fair use practices, please put the headline and only a couple relevant paragraphs - not the entire article.

: )

Thank you.

Reports show difficulty of diagnosing H5N1 cases

Nov 22, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Two new reports on human cases of H5N1 avian influenza that occurred in Turkey and Indonesia last year show that the illness proved difficult to diagnose, with many tests yielding false-negative results.

A report on eight cases in Turkey and a similar report on eight Indonesian cases, published in the Nov 23 New England Journal of Medicine, says many of the patients tested negative the first time around, even on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

The Turkish report describes 8 of the 12 confirmed cases the country has had so far, all of which occurred in late December 2005 and January 2006. All eight patients—four of whom survived—were treated at a hospital in Van in eastern Turkey. The patients included sets of three and two siblings, and seven lived in the same community.

The hospital tested a total of 290 patients for avian flu during the outbreak, using a rapid influenza test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and real-time PCR. All the rapid and ELISA test results were negative, the report says.

Four of the eight case-patients initially had negative results on all three tests, using nasopharyngeal specimens. Because the patients were severely ill, the tests were repeated using tracheal aspirate specimens, and the real-time PCR tests then were positive. Tests of nasopharyngeal specimens established the diagnosis in the other four patients.

“Before H5N1 infection was diagnosed in the eight patients, a total of 8 real-time PCR tests, 12 rapid influenza tests, and 12 ELISA tests were negative,” the article states.

The Indonesian report covers three family clusters of H5N1 cases that occurred between June and October of 2005 and included the country’s first cases. The clusters consisted of three cases in Tangerang, Java; two cases in Bintaro, Java; and three in Lampung, Sumatra. Four of the eight patients died.

All rapid tests on the patients were negative, and many reverse-transcriptase PCR tests were negative, particularly with nasal specimens, according to the report. Throat swabs were more likely to test positive on RT-PCR than nasal swabs were.

The Turkish authors write, “Because of the difficulties in detecting H5N1 infection, repeated testing from nasopharyngeal swabs or deep tracheal-aspiration samples in patients who are strongly suspected of having H5N1 infection should be performed even if tests of initial nasophyaryngeal swabs are negative.”

In other findings, the Indonesian report says that the source of infection for the first patient in two of the clusters was never identified. The three patients in the first cluster reported no contact with birds, other animals, or sick people other than family members before they fell ill. In the second cluster, patients reported no contact with birds, other animals, or sick people, but the index patient used fertilizer containing chicken droppings that tested positive for H5N1.

The report says limited person-to-person transmission could not be ruled out in the first two Indonesian clusters, since the patients had no other known exposures to the virus.

Three of the four Indonesian patients who recovered were children (aged 4, 5, and 9) who had mild disease. This resembles the pattern in Hong Kong’s 1997 H5N1 outbreak, in which most children who were infected had relatively mild disease, the article says.

The Indonesian authors write that the clusters in Indonesia and Turkey, as well as others in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Azerbaijan, “raise questions as to whether genetic or other factors may predispose some persons to H5N1 virus infection or to severe disease.”

They add that more investigation is needed to understand “the role of mild cases in the epidemiology of this disease and whether genetic, behavioral, immunologic, and environmental factors may contribute to case clustering.”

http://tinyurl.com/yaepmx

Salmonella enteritidis on the rise in chickens [Excerpt] Lisa Schnirring Contributing Writer

Nov 22, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Sampling by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the last 5 years has shown a fourfold increase in the number of broiler chicken carcasses contaminated with Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis, a strain previously associated mainly with eggs.

The findings, published yesterday in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID), do not necessarily signal an overall increase in the risk of chicken-related Salmonella infection, but they appear to reinforce other evidence about the emergence of S enteritidis in chicken.

http://tinyurl.com/yb94c3

Commonground – at 18:51 Reports show difficulty of diagnosing H5N1 cases

It’s good to see the rigorous science reported in a journal like NEJM backing up the things we have found in our news gathering to be true, “anecdotaly.” I am surprised that they did not also include in their study the gentelman in Thailand that died from H5N1, but who, over approx. 2 months, tested negative on 8 tests for H5N1. He only was proven positive after his death.

Scientists welcome rare H5N1 information

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | 6:23 PM ET / The Canadian Press / http://tinyurl.com/yjaas4

Scientists worldwide are craving information on the H5N1 avian flu virus.

So three years into the outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus, two international teams of researchers scored major scientific credibility points Wednesday when the New England Journal of Medicine published their articles on the diagnosis and treatment of a mere 16 H5N1 patients.

With the official World Health Organization case count hovering near 260 human cases and 153 deaths from 10 countries, it might seem the problems Turkish doctors experienced diagnosing eight patients last January or the course of illness experienced by three clusters of eight Indonesian patients last year wouldn’t rate publication in the world’s most prestigious medical journal.

But, in fact, there is so little clinical information about H5N1 disease in the scientific literature that experts are eagerly welcoming the addition.

“Boy, it would just be nice to have more of this information out there,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, who heads the WHO’s global influenza program, said in an interview from Geneva.

“It’s tough. It’s not easy getting this information.”

<snip>

Outbreaks Show Bird Flu Virus Is Changing

11.22.06, 12:00 AM ET / WEDNESDAY, Nov. 22 / Forbes.com / http://tinyurl.com/ygjwy3

Detailed data on clustered human cases of avian flu have experts agreeing that the H5N1 virus is evolving — but in what direction?

“The virus is always changing, and the mutations that make it more compatible with human transmission may occur at any time,” warn Drs. Robert Webster and Elena Govorkova, both virologists at St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Their commentary accompanies reports from Indonesia and Turkey, both published in the Nov. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

<snip>

No definite case of human-to-human transmission has yet been reported, suggesting that “the current H5N1 virus is apparently not well ‘fitted’ to replication in humans,” the two experts wrote. However, “the intermittent spread to humans will continue, and the virus will continue to evolve,” they added. “Clearly, we must prepare for the possibility of an influenza epidemic.”

<snip>

[The remainder of the article is mostly consists of a rebuttal by Dr. Marc Siegel]

Bird flu hard to detect until too late - studies

22 Nov 2006 22:00:09 GMT / ReutersAlertNet / http://tinyurl.com/ydlser

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Quick tests that can tell if patients have influenza do not detect bird flu, so despite heroic efforts, they can die before anyone knows what killed them, doctors reported on Wednesday.

The H5N1 bird flu virus also causes a range of symptoms in people, making it that much harder to diagnose, experts said in two separate reports from Indonesia and Turkey.

In Turkey, repeated testing failed to diagnose H5N1 avian influenza in eight patients, one team of doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In Turkey and in Indonesia, patients turned up with a wide variety of symptoms, even in family clusters, making it hard to distinguish H5N1 from a range of other common infections, another team said.

<snip>

Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was not involved in the studies, said they gave useful details about the newer strain, called clade 2, of the virus.

“It’s important that as these viruses evolve from one clade to another that we get a good, clear description of the type of disease, the transmission of the disease and ability of diagnostics to pick it up,” Fauci said in a telephone interview.

TURKISH CHILDREN

Oner’s team fought an outbreak of H5N1 in children in Turkey between Dec. 31, 2005, and Jan. 10, 2006.

They said 32 separate tests failed to detect the virus — not only quick tests, but time-consuming polymerase chain reaction or PCR tests and ELISA tests, which look for specific proteins from viruses or bacteria.

Eventually, eight patients were diagnosed using real-time PCR, the researchers said. Four died.

“In our series, fever was a major symptom, and most of our patients had pneumonia on admission,” they wrote. Most had cough and sore throat, but only half reported muscle aches and only one had a runny nose. About a third had diarrhea.

Certain blood enzyme levels were elevated in most of the patients and that may be an important clue, they said.

In a second report, a team of researchers from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health in Jakarta and elsewhere said rapid tests also failed to detect the virus when they fought three family clusters of H5N1 in 2005.

The clusters “included mild, severe, and fatal cases among family members,” they wrote. Despite the use of multiple antibiotics, breathing assistance and other care, half the patients died.

<snip>

Dead birds raise avian flu fears in Somalia

Wed 22 Nov 2006 9:19 AM ET / Reuters AlertNet / http://tinyurl.com/y27gqk / By Ibrahim Mohamed

JOWHAR, Somalia, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Dozens of dead birds in a flood ravaged village in Somalia have raised fears of an avian flu outbreak in a country with limited health facilities, officials said on Wednesday.

The carcasses of the dead birds, which were thought to be ducks, were found in Elbaraf, 55 km (34 miles) north of the town of Jowhar, local veterinarian Ali Hamud told Reuters.

“We burnt 51 carcasses,” Hamud said.

Scientists have suggested that migratory birds play an important role in the spread of the deadly H5N1 flu virus, which originated in Asia and has killed more than 150 people worldwide so far.

Hamud said most of the birds found had tags around their feet and necks indicating they had been come via the “Orient Institute” in Zagreb, Croatia.

Somalia is already battling floods that have submerged villages and farmland and washed away bridges and food stocks.

“W‘e don’t have the capacity to test the birds here for bird flu or other diseases. Floods are already ravaging villages here and the last thing we want is an epidemic,” Hamud said.

Resident Nur Jimale said the birds were spotted 10 days ago in flocks of hundreds.

“We fear the unusual birds have brought diseases with them. I just saw their carcasses lying everywhere yesterday. I have never seen such birds in Somalia,” he said.

Already one of the poorest countries in Africa, Somalia has lost tens of thousands of people to conflict and famine since 1991.

S. Korea reports suspected bird flu case in southeast

The South Korean government said Thursday it has discovered a suspected case of the bird flu virus in the southeastern city of Iksan. The discovery comes as the country has been on a high bird flu alert as migratory birds that can spread the deadly disease flock to the country for the winter, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.

It said samples of the suspected virus are being analyzed at state labs. Following government operating procedures, the area where the virus has been detected will be sealed off and all birds destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease. The discovery of the virus could adversely affect the local poultry industry.

http://tinyurl.com/y7l2re

S.Korea finds suspected bird flu case at poultry farm

23 Nov 2006 01:12:18 GMT / ReutersAlertNet / http://tinyurl.com/ylputu

SEOUL, Nov 23 (Reuters) - South Korea’s agriculture ministry said on Thursday it had discovered a suspected case of bird flu at a poultry farm in the south west of the country, which could be the country’s first outbreak in about three years. <snip>

The official said it would take about two days to confirm whether the poultry had been infected with bird flu.

Chickens at the poultry farm in North Cholla province showed signs of bird flu, the official said. He would not speculate as to whether it was the potentially deadly H5N1 strain or not. <snip>

I am sure I am just not seeing somewhere, but has there been any discussion about influenza A deaths in nursing homes in Australia, yet?

ProMed-“The outbreak is probably due to an influenza A virus, but is unusual, as influenza typically occurs in the middle of the year in this region. For this reason, rigorous diagnostic testing will continue to be required of cases. PCR testing of nose/throat swabs has resulted in 6 positives out of 10 samples. An H1 subtype has been detected. Sequencing results are expected on 20 Nov 2006.”

giraffe – at 21:53

No details on testing.

News in new forum: 8 deaths, more expected. 68 infected.

“Authorities use bird flu plan to tackle influenza outbreak”

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6ls88

giraffe – at 21:53 I posted some info over on the Not Bird Flu but Close thread. they have had 8 deaths and 68 cases the last I looked

http://tinyurl.com/ud3qx

Thanks YYZ- I found it posted a couple of different times on the Ausralia thread. I always hesitate to post anything about any news that is new to me, because I always seem to be “bringin’ up the rear” here. Always a little late. What stood out for me was the term Influenza A, but I am clueless of the significance of the H1 subtype remark.

Thanks DennisC —I looked at the date of my ProMed update and it is dated for today, but it seems to be running a little behind….just as I am. <grin>

a little more about S Korea “South Korea has reported a suspected bird flu outbreak after 6,000 chickens on a poultry farm died in three days — the first suspected cases since the country declared itself free of the disease last December. …

culling of the remaining 6,000 birds on the farm in the city of Iksan, 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Seoul, and enforced a quarantine within a 10-kilometer radius. The ministry sent an emergency supply of Tamiflu for 50 people and influenza vaccines for another 300, it said in a statement…

In September this year, health officials said five South Koreans had been infected by the H5N1 virus two years ago while helping slaughter birds, but had shown no symptoms.

It was only the second known incidence of human infection in South Korea. In February, four people were confirmed to have been infected with H5N1, but they also showed no symptoms.”

http://tinyurl.com/tabmw