This thread is for news and information from Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia consists of the following countries:
Brunei, Myanamar(formerly Burma), Cambodia, East Timor(Timor Leste), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia(North Borneo), Singapore, Thailand(formerly Siam), Vietnam.
For reports specific to Indonesia please post on the Indonesia Outbreak thread.
Thailand
Avian Influenza surveillance in human
As at November 1, 2006.
Bureau of Epidemiology, Department of Diseases Control, Ministry of Public Health
excerpt:’Since January 1, 2006 to November 1, 2006, the Bureau of Epidemiology has received reports of influenza or pneumonia cases in Avian Influenza Surveillance Network from the Provincial Health Offices and Disease Prevention and Control Regional Offices. The investigation and analysis were summarized as follows:
Cumulative number of patients under surveillance are 5,382 cases 72 provinces. Today reports are 10 cases; Seven cases from Suphanburi, and 1 each from Samutsakhon, Chiangmai and Uttradit.
Confirmed human case of avian influenza 2006 = 3 cases, with 3 death cases.
There are 16 cases under investigate reported, of which waiting for laboratory result.
Conclusion:
---
1. Suspect: An individual
2. Probable case: a suspect
3. Confirmed case: a suspect
4. Case under investigate: a patient
5. Excluded case: a patient
also from the same site/report, regarding poultry…
III. Domestic Avian Influenza in poultry situation
The poultry situation reported from Avian Influenza control center, Department of Livestock Development since January 1, till November 1, 2006, revealed 136 tambons in 37 provinces, are the areas where sick and dead poultry had been reported and waiting laboratory confirmation. Detail could be found from www.dld.go.th website.
definition of ‘tambon’… ‘a local government unit in Thailand. Below district (amphoe, Thai: อำเภอ) and province (changwat, Thai: จังหวัด), they form the third administrative subdivision level. As of the 2000 census there are 7254 tambon, not including the 154 kwaeng (แขวง) of Bangkok, which are set at the same administrative level, thus every district contains 8–10 tambon. Tambon is usually translated as “commune” or “subdistrict” in English, although the latter may be used as a translation for king amphoe. Tambon are further subdivided into 69,307 villages (muban, หมู่บ้าน), about 10 per tambon. Tambon within cities or town have no subdivision into villages, but into communities (chumchon)… from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambon
Thailand
The Nation- Govt to build plant for bird-flu vaccine, Oct.28 2006′’‘
‘’‘Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla yesterday gave the go-ahead to plan for a vaccine plant to produce both influenza and bird-flu vaccines for humans in case of a global pandemic…”
…”The cost of a plant with the capacity to produce two million doses of vaccine per year could be at least Bt600 million, he said. The ministry had already signed an agreement with China to build a vaccine plant, presumably in Saraburi, but the plan was suspended after the September coup.
To set up its own vaccine plant, Thailand has to start from scratch given the “zero” expertise it possesses, Mongkol said.
Another priority for the ministry is to make bird flu a national agenda item in order to improve the handling of outbreaks of the disease, which has become endemic in the country, and push for completion of the preparedness plan for the feared influenza pandemic…”
…”“We need to know exactly if using bird-flu vaccine on poultry like in Vietnam will help curb the infection,” he said.
Reports of bird-flu cases either in humans or poultry pose a big “question mark”, while records of many deceased patients list the cause of death as simply “severe pneumonia with reasons unknown”, he said.
“Could it be bird flu? We don’t know exactly. The virus has evolved and this is what we fear the most,” Mongkol added…”
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/10/28/national/national_30017361.php
posted by DennisC on today’s news thread…
New bird flu strain spreads to Thailand
“Scientists have discovered a new strain of bird flu that appears to sidestep current vaccines. It’s infecting people as well as poultry in Asia’‘’, and some researchers fear its evolution may have been steered by the vaccination programs designed to protect poultry from earlier types of the H5N1 flu.
The discovery by Yi Guan of the University of Hong Kong and colleagues is reported in Tuesday’s issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The new variant has become the primary version of the bird flu in several provinces of China and has spread to Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia and Thailand, the researchers report. It is being called “H5N1 Fujian-like,” to distinguish it from earlier Hong Kong and Vietnam variants.
“We don’t know what is driving this,” report co-author Dr. Robert G. Webster of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., said in a telephone interview, the AP reported.”
Thailand
Livestock Department orders disinfectant spraying at poultry farms across the country
ThaisNews- “The Director-General of the Livestock Development Department orders disinfectant sprayed at poultry farms across the country on Monday, November 13, to prevent bird flu from spreading during winter. Residents in the flooded areas are warned not to bring their poultry inside their house as they might be infected.
Yukol Limlaemthong (ยุคล ลิ้มแหลมทอง), Director-General of the Livestock Development Department, said that on Monday, November 13, livestock provincial officials nationwide are going to spray disinfectants at poultry farms to kill bird flu disease left in the nature.
As for the inundated areas, the officials will go there immediately after the water has declined. At the same time, the department is closely monitoring removals of poultry to make sure that all precautions are observed to prevent bird flu spread. It is also distributing animal feed to flood stricken farmers…”
…”Mr Yukol added that farmers and residents should not neglect the possible return of bird flu although there has been no report on the outbreak for more than 90 days. The disease might be hiding in the nature. He also warned those who have been affected by flood for months not to bring poultry inside their residence. If it is unavoidable, the animals should be confined in a cage to avoid direct contact.”
http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=194643
Any and all volunteer news searchers are very welcome
Some sites that are useful for news from Thailand
Phillipines
RP to give away old bird-flu medicine
The Manila Times- “The Department of Health will donate aging medicines for avian-flu patients to Indonesia or Cambodia but hopes the supply will be replenished in case the flu breaks out here.
“We’re donating Tamiflu medicines to either Indonesia or Cambodia because the medicines donated by Unilab two years ago are expiring in November 2007 and we want to maximize the use of these medicines,” Health Undersecretary Ethelyn Nieto told a press conference on Friday on Avian Influenza Pandemic Preparedness sponsored by the department and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Nieto was quick to explain that if the Philippines needed Tamiflu in the future, the supply will be replenished.
“Thank God, the Philippines is still free from avian flu,” she said…”
…”Dr. Luningning Villa of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control said the government remains vigilant, because the virus continues to pose a threat not only to humans but to economic security as well.
The Preparedness and Response Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza, especially geared toward Philippine corporations, public and private institutions, was presented by Dr. Villa. The plan discussed the rationale of the plan and the probable Philippine scenario, especially highlighting the key elements of preparedness and the lines of defense in the event of the pandemic…”
more.. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/nov/13/yehey/top_stories/20061113top6.html
Vietnam
When avian flu control meets cultural resistance Oct 31, 2006
excerpt- “The willingness of Tich and thousands of small farmers like him to follow the government’s orders does much to explain Vietnam’s dramatic change of fortune on avian flu, from one of the countries hardest hit by the virus to one of the most successful in controlling it.
The Vietnamese government is openly proud of those results, and international animal and human health experts have applauded its apparent success. Yet some of those experts caution, and interviews with farmers and consumers confirm, that Vietnam’s continued success is not guaranteed—because it may depend on new and stricter government prescriptions that the populace may find hard to accept.
“What is being talked about is trying to change really basic behavior that people have been engaged in all their lives,” said Dr. Richard Brown, a World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist based in Hanoi. “It is going to be a slow process.”
As the H5N1 outbreak expands, planners worldwide are acknowledging that scientific and political efforts to control the virus will fail unless they are accompanied by willing cultural change. Vietnam’s attempts to create that change are being closely watched…”
much more… http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=21641
This is quite a long article, having a great deal of information regarding Vietnam’s efforts to control H5N1
Some sites that are useful for finding news regarding Vietnam
Laos/Vietnam
Laos joins Vietnam in trial bird vaccination project
The Nation(Nov.11/06)- “Laos is taking part in a Vietnamese trial to vaccinate poultry against bird flu despite concerns the vaccine may lead to a mutation in the deadly virus, a senior Lao official said yesterday.
The land-locked country is in the first stage of the study, having injected 3,000 ducks and 5,000 chickens in two poultry farms in Vientiane with a trial vaccine.
“We are now closely monitoring the effectiveness of the vaccine to see if it can produce immunity in the birds,” said Somphanh Chanphengxay, deputy director of Laos’ National Avian and Human Influenza Coordination Office.
“The big concern is that the vaccine might cause a mutation in the virus,” said Somphanh.
Vietnam persuaded Laos to join the trail months ago after the neighbouring country was hit by H5N1 bird-flu outbreaks in 2004 and this year.
Somphanh said the second stage of the experimental would involve injecting the poultry with a stimulant. The final results will be available in a few months…”
more… http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/11/11/regional/regional_30018657.php
NEWS
Six Southeast Asian countries confer on animal contagion
MassCommunicationOfThailand- “ Thailand and five neighbouring Southeast Asian countries met in Bangkok Monday to find ways to contain the spread of contagious animal diseases and producing more effective animal vaccines after being hit by a series of deadly diseases including avian influenza (bird flu) in recent years.
Senior officials from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam attended the three-day meeting jointly presided over by Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development director general Yukol Limlamthong and Mikiharu Sato, representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Thailand.
Major issues which were discussed at the meeting include the success of joint cooperation between the six Southeast Asian countries in battling against animal diseases in the region during the first phase of the program in the past five years and their intention to carry on with the second phase for the coming three years.
Other significant issues are monitoring animal diseases, establishing improved control over moving animals in the region and the manufacture of animal vaccines…”
more… http://tinyurl.com/yauycq
Check out BBC News | Health | Pig flu sparks epidemic fears http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/489385.stm
Forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong place or if it has already been posted. The essence of the bbc article is that an exotic flu strain identified in Hong Kong appears to have crossed from pigs to humans. Since foreign residents have already been warned to prep for three months this article caught my eye. Thanks
Dengue outbreak in Lahad Datu
KOTA KINABALU: There is a dengue outbreak in Lahad Datu in the east coast and one of the two people known to have been infected, has died.
In announcing the outbreak, State Health Department director Datuk Dr Rahimah Mohd Said said that the two cases were reported over the last two weeks in the Taman Warisan area in the Lahad Datu district.
“The death was due to the patient seeking treatment at a late stage,” she said in a statement issued late Wednesday.
However, she said the situation was under control. Her department had set up an operations room and was carrying out fogging exercises and destroying aedes mosquito breeding spots. It was also carrying out public health education activities.
More here: http://tinyurl.com/yc27pp
info on Lahad Datu, from wikipedia… ‘Lahad Datu is a town located in Tawau Division, in the east of Sabah, eastern Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 118,000 in 1991 and 166,000 in the 2000 census….’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahad_Datu
Northern Region News
November 17, 2006 16:58 PM
Govt Sounds Alert As Number Of Dengue Cases Rises
PENANG, Nov 17 (Bernama) — The government has placed itself on alert after the number of dengue cases reported throughout the country last week breached the 800 mark, Parliamentary Secretary to the Health Ministry Datuk Lee Kah Choon said Friday.
He said the ministry has placed the North East District in Penang on alert after the most number of cases in a district were reported there. He did not disclose the number of cases.
The number of cases reported for the whole country the week before that was almost 800, when the safe level would be less than 600, he told reporters.
No deaths from dengue were reported last week in the whole country, he said after presenting prizes to pupils who excelled in the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination in his parliamentary constituency of Jelutong, here.
Lee said the ministry was awaiting results of laboratory tests to determine the actual number of dengue cases among the cases reported, adding that he hoped it would be small.
Meanwhile, he said, the people should take steps to ensure that their houses and other premises were kept clean and free of empty cans and unused tyres that could collect water and enable the Aedes mosquito, carrier of the dengue virus, to breed.
— BERNAMA
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