From Flu Wiki 2

Forum: News Reports for November 28

28 November 2006

MaMaat 01:28

link to News Summary for November 27 and News Reports for November 28 here

link to previous day’s News Reports

uk bird – at 04:56

http://tinyurl.com/ya4b3b

Indonesian woman dies of bird flu Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:36 AM GMT

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A 35-year-old Indonesian woman has died of bird flu, taking the country’s human death toll from the virus to 57, a health ministry official said on Tuesday.

The woman from West Java had been undergoing treatment in a Jakarta hospital since early in the month.

“The woman had contact with chicken eggs and there had been reports about dead poultry,” the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

The vast majority of human bird flu cases involving the H5N1 virus have been linked to direct or indirect contact with infected fowl.

Anon – at 09:02

H5N1 Confirmed On Second South Korean Farm

November 28 2006

Bird flu killed about 200 chickens at a South Korean farm, the second outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza strain in three days, fueling concerns that the virus may be spreading in the country again after three years.

The farm, in the southwestern city of Iksan, housed about 12,000 fowl about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from a farm where an H5N1 outbreak was confirmed Nov. 25, Kim Yang Il, a spokesman at South Korea’s agriculture ministry, said over the phone today.

The infections are the first in South Korea, Asia’s second- biggest corn importer, since an initial H5N1 outbreak in December 2003.

“The above comments confirm a second outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in South Korea.  The case is outside the 500 meter cull zone, so a new perimeter is being established for the second farm.  However, the location of these farms in a migratory bird flyway raises additional concerns that the infections are linked to wild birds.  Larger numbers of chicken deaths have been reported in three or four locations other than the two confirmed farms, although media reports indicate those infections are not H5N1.  The media in Korea has adopted a new definition of avian influenza, which excludes all serotypes other than H5N1, so media reports that birds are avian influenza negative may be false.

The H5N1 positive farms mimic the outbreak in December of 2003 that was followed by H5N1 infections in early 2004 in Japan as well as countries throughout eastern Asia, including human fatalities in Vietnam and Thailand.

Although it is three years later, the H5N1 surveillance worldwide has moved beyond scandalous.  The current outbreak in South Korea came without warning.  South Korea has never reported H5N1 in wild birds, even though the Qinghai strain has significant regions of identity with H5N1 from South Korea/Japan 2003/2004 isolates.  Similarly, Japan detected H5N1 in local wild birds in association with the 2004 outbreak on farms, but has not reported H5N1 in any migratory birds or detection of any Qinghai isolates.

Similarly, the number of public Qinghai isolates from eastern Asia remains at one.  The Shantou isolate was among the 404 HA sequences collected in southeastern China in 2005 and 2006.

In Europe, 700 samples positive for the Qinghai strain have been identified, but almost all samples are from dead wild birds and farm infections.  Detection of H5N1 in live birds has been close to zero.  The country that has detected H5N1 in live birds has been Russia, but these positives came after widespread infections were identified on farms.

In North America, testing of dead or dying wild birds has been minimal.  In the United States, fewer than 1000 birds have been tested, even though 35,000 live or hunter killed birds have been tested.  Although low path H5N1 has been detected and isolated in the live birds, no H5N1 has been identified in the small number of tested dead or dying birds.  The failure to detect low path H5N1 in these birds defines a fatally flawed surveillance system, which actively ignores the large wild bird die-offs, frequently in areas where H5N1 has been detected in live birds.

Similarly, no H5N1 has been reported in wild birds in Indonesia.  Moreover, human H5N1 has not matched H5N1 from poultry, yet testing of humans in Indonesia is largely limited to patients who have a link to dead or dying poultry.

Recent reports on the outbreak in Turkey have highlighted he large number of false negatives, which is increased by testing samples from patients after they have been given Tamiflu.

The surveillance failures are worldwide and leave gaping holes in H5N1 monitoring.  These holes create major gaps in the H5N1 sequence database.  The holes are increased by the hoarding of sequences by the major WHO consultants who have thousands of H5N1 sequences on their hard drives and/or the WHO password protected database.”

http://tinyurl.com/afp73

Klatu – at 09:09

China looks to phase out live poultry markets

BEIJING (AFP) - “China has begun looking to phase out live poultry markets as part of plans to fight bird flu more effectively, according to a government document. The document, released by the State Council, the nation’s cabinet, calls for a ban on any new live poultry markets and urges current ones to be moved out of high density population areas.

In China, as elsewhere throughout Asia, live chicken markets are popular as locals prefer to buy the freshest meat, however they are regarded as dangerous incubators of bird flu and other diseases.

“Rectifying and regulating the order of live poultry markets and strengthening market supervision are important measures in effectively controlling the occurrence and spread of the bird flu,” the document said.

The official Xinhua news agency said the document indicated the central government intended to restrict the number of live poultry markets and gradually move them away from urban areas in large and medium-size cities.” - excerpt

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061128/wl_asia_afp/healthfluchina_061128110734

Barada – at 09:13

Roche says no increase noted in bird flu’s resistance to Tamiflu drug

Edited Press Release

ZURICH (MarketWatch) — “Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) Tuesday said there has been no increase in Tamiflu drug resistance observed in patients infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus.

“Over the last few months, there has been erroneous speculation that resistance to Tamiflu is increasing. This is an area that Roche and independent groups have been closely monitoring and there is no scientific evidence to suggest this is happening”, said David Reddy, Roche’s Influenza Pandemic Taskforce Leader.”

In one case, the prophylactic dose (75 mg daily) rather than the treatment dose (75 mg twice daily) was given to a patient already exhibiting clinical symptoms, thus under-dosing the patient and increasing the risk of resistance, the company said.

Company Web Site: http://www.roche.com

Nikto – at 09:39

Migratory birds looked at as possible source of bird flu

works to uncover origin of recent virulent strain

Nov 28/06

“There is a possibility that a virulent strain of avian influenza detected in South Korea was contracted from migratory birds, but it is too early to determine the risk. So says the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which is putting its utmost efforts into an effective quarantine in order to prevent the spread of a highly pathogenic type of avian influenza that appeared in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.

Health investigators are now carrying out on-the-spot inspections in and around the affected poultry farm in Iksan. Agriculture Minister Park Heung-soo said, “We will determine the cause of infection within a month by mobilizing all of our capabilities.”

Therefore, the Agriculture Ministry is putting its focus on the possibility that excrement from migratory birds may be at the root of the infection at the poultry farm in Iksan, about 15 kilometers east of the southern part of a river known to be an arrival site for migratory birds.

However, other cases point to the possibility that the ministry may not figure out the cause of infection. In 2003, when South Korea reported its first bird flu outbreak, the government failed to figure out the exact cause of infection. Kim Chang-seop, a senior ministry official, said, “In 2003, the government suspected that the infection may have been related to migratory birds after analyzing genetic fingerprints. It may not be easy to figure out the exact cause of [this latest] infection.”

Environmental groups and bird experts are concerned about the government’s presumption that migratory birds may have caused the outbreak of avian influenza. Kim Gyeong-won, an official at the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, said, “The quarantine authorities are tending to emphasize the possibility of infection from migratory birds because they are having difficulty figuring out the cause.”

There is a possibility that a virulent strain of avian influenza detected in South Korea was contracted from migratory birds, but it is too early to determine the risk. So says the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which is putting its utmost efforts into an effective quarantine in order to prevent the spread of a highly pathogenic type of avian influenza that appeared in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.

Health investigators are now carrying out on-the-spot inspections in and around the affected poultry farm in Iksan. Agriculture Minister Park Heung-soo said, “We will determine the cause of infection within a month by mobilizing all of our capabilities.”

Therefore, the Agriculture Ministry is putting its focus on the possibility that excrement from migratory birds may be at the root of the infection at the poultry farm in Iksan, about 15 kilometers east of the southern part of a river known to be an arrival site for migratory birds.

However, other cases point to the possibility that the ministry may not figure out the cause of infection. In 2003, when South Korea reported its first bird flu outbreak, the government failed to figure out the exact cause of infection. Kim Chang-seop, a senior ministry official, said, “In 2003, the government suspected that the infection may have been related to migratory birds after analyzing genetic fingerprints. It may not be easy to figure out the exact cause of [this latest] infection.”

Environmental groups and bird experts are concerned about the government’s presumption that migratory birds may have caused the outbreak of avian influenza. Kim Gyeong-won, an official at the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, said, “The quarantine authorities are tending to emphasize the possibility of infection from migratory birds because they are having difficulty figuring out the cause.”

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/174755.html

Nova – at 09:49

Massive Bird Die-Off in New Zeland. Dogs and Cats in contact with birds die too. Pro-Med link:

http://tinyurl.com/v6yp9

Anon – at 09:54

- just when you think things can’t get any more complicated….

Flu Viruses May Be Preserved in Ice for Millennia

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — “Influenza viruses may bepreserved in glaciers and Arctic ice for thousands of years and released into the environment when the frozen water is thawed, potentially touching off lethal pandemics, researchers said.

Global warming may speed the release of the microbes, increasing the frequency of outbreaks, according to a study in the December issue of the Journal of Virology. The study is based on tests of water and ice from three lakes in Siberia, where large populations of migratory waterfowl breed before traveling to North America, southern Asia, Europe and Africa.

The finding may help explain the constant emergence of influenza A-type viruses that cause seasonal epidemics and occasionally set off pandemics capable of killing millions of people. Disease trackers are monitoring flu viruses amid an outbreak of the H5N1 strain, known to have infected 258 people in 10 countries in the past three years, killing 153 of them.

`One expectation in relation to this phenomenon would be an increased rate of release of these microbes during times of global, or local, warming events and a decrease during cooler periods,’‘ said the authors, led by Gang Zhang from Ohio’s Bowling Green State University.

Last year was the warmest in more than a century, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. Climatologists there monitoring global annual average surface temperatures found that the four previous hottest years since the 1890s were 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Pandemic Threat

The spread of H5N1 in late 2003 has put the world closer to another pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century’s three major outbreaks occurred, according to the World Health Organization.

The H5N1 virus killed about 200 chickens at a South Korean farm, the second outbreak in three days, fueling concerns that the disease may be spreading in the country again after three years. The farm, in the southwestern city of Iksan, is about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from a property where H5N1 was confirmed Nov. 25, said Kim Yang Il, an agriculture ministry spokesman.

Aquatic birds, such as ducks and geese, are the primary host of all influenza viruses. The virus is shed in feces and frequently deposited in rivers and lakes.

Many species of aquatic birds flock to Siberia and other areas near the Arctic Circle for breeding during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer before flying south during the fall.

As the birds visit lakes along their paths they shed viruses into the water and onto any ice present, and drink water containing viruses discharged by other birds or released from the ice by thawing, the authors said in the study.

140,000 Years

In previous studies, the authors, who include researchers from Israel’s Bar-Illan University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, documented the preservation of viruses, bacteria, and fungi in glacial ice for as long as 140,000 years.

Surveillance of Arctic lakes may help disease trackerspredict which flu strains will cause future outbreaks and shape long-term vaccination strategies, the researchers said.

Ice, ice-covered lakes and glaciers have ``the potential for being major sources of viruses that cause pandemics and epizootics in birds and other animals,’‘ they wrote.

Until refreezing takes place, viruses of both present and past strains may be contracted by the waterfowl, allowing old and new viruses to continually recombine, the study said.

`Conceivably, such ongoing perpetual mechanisms have been operating cyclically throughout the virus’s evolution, enabling recurrent emergence of past genes,’‘ according to the authors.

The same pattern of evolution probably occurs in other diseases as well, the authors said, adding that ``this awaits thorough examination.’‘

It may explain why some influenza virus strains have appeared, disappeared, and then re-emerged decades later virtually unchanged, they said.

A Russian H1N1 influenza virus that caused an epidemic in 1977 was almost identical to the H1N1 strain that caused an epidemic in 1950. Other strains, most notably variants of H2N2 and H3N2 and several H1 varieties, have made similar returns, the researchers said.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aDePCieuArC0&refer=latin_america

Thinlina – at 09:55

Icebergs: time machine for viruses http://preview.tinyurl.com/y62rgk

JWB – at 10:15

Nova – at 09:49 Massive Bird Die-Off in New Zeland. Dogs and Cats in contact with birds die too. Pro-Med link:


Does anyone know if New Zealand had ANY HP H5N1 to date?

JWB – at 10:23

More on the New Zealand die-off:

200 dead birds found in Havelock North area Posted at 9:13am on 25 Nov 2006

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council says a mass death of birds in the Havelock North area is not likely to be linked to bird flu.

However, an avian influenza specialist says bird flu should not be ruled out as a cause. About 200 birds have been reported dead in the area this week.

The council says the birds range from sparrows to ducks, and at least four cats and a dog have also died.

Professor of Animal Health at Massey University, Roger Morris, says the fact that cats and ducks are among the deaths raises the level of concern.

The council’s group manager of asset management, Mike Adye, says a range of tests are being carried out to find the cause of the deaths, but it may be some time before the cause - or where it happened - can be found.

Mr Adye says there have been reports of pets dying after eating dead birds, and he advises people to dispose of any dead birds in the rubbish or to bury them deeply.

(Can’t do tinyurl at work, site is blocked)

JWB – at 10:24

and more……

Industry confident but still on guard// 22 Nov 2006

New Zealand’s poultry industry is confident that any outbreak of avian influenza in the country would be identified and contained quickly, but industry members remain vigilant.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand says that infected poultry would be culled immediately if an outbreak of bird flu was discovered. “However, the extremely strong passive surveillance programmes that we have in place lead us to believe that avian influenza would be identified quickly and any outbreak would not be widespread,” he said. New Zealand is free of avian influenza, Newcastle Disease and Infectious Bursal Disease – and is reportedly the only country in the world with this status. According to the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE), 30 countries have reported outbreaks this year, in most cases involving wild birds like swans. The World Health Organisation reports that the virus has affected 258 humans across the globe, resulting in 153 human deaths since 2003, mostly children and young adults. At the recent Biosecurity Summit in Wellington , the OIE stated that Australia and New Zealand “are probably the last two countries on earth that will be vulnerable to the H5N1 strain of avian influenza”. But Brooks says that New Zealand is still continually reviewing all the matters that it can control to lessen the risk of H5N1 strain, to protect its status as a disease-free country. “We cannot be totally confident, but believe that the industry is in a very good position to keep avian influenza out,” Brooks says.

JWB – at 10:27

If this is indeed HP H5N1 in New Zealand, then H5N1 has apparently found GoogleEarth.

MaMaat 11:23

JWB, ‘Does anyone know if New Zealand had ANY HP H5N1 to date?’

No, AFAIK they haven’t.

Anon – at 11:36

W.H.O. has adopted the New Zealand pandemic plan as a template for their response.

This is the second story in the last few days about dogs and cats either dying or culled in association with bird deaths. Results from testing have not come in yet - that is assuming they plan to release the results .

JWB – at 11:42

MaMa – at 11:23

 8-D
Barada – at 11:46

Cuisine of Korea

Consumption of dog meat

I”n Korea (as well as in parts of China, some areas of Southeast Asia) dog meat is consumed in various forms. Korean consumption of dog meat is rooted in the belief of dog meat’s medicinal purposes, particularly stamina-enhancing food

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_cuisine#Consumption_of_dog_meat

“The brutality of dogs being slaughtered is a tale many times told, but recently, the age-old dispute over one of South Korea’s traditional dishes has resurfaced after a government plan to impose strict regulations on the processing and selling of dog meat.

Professor An Yong Kun (Ann Yong Geun), a nutritionist, is known as “Dr. Dog Meat” (Kaegogi Paksa). He has studied dog meat’s nutritional aspects and is its greatest booster. He has developed processed dog meat products and even dog meat oil-based cosmetics. He says he regrets that dog meat is so expensive he can’t eat it everyday. Dr. Dog Meat is furious at foreigners who complain about eating dogs in Korea, where dogs are livestock, not pets”

http://www.deliciousdogs.com/

witness – at 12:10

Health authority plays down fears of flu strain spread Australia Nov. 27

ACT Health says the fact that a flu strain at the Jindalee Nursing Home in Canberra may match a virus at another nearby home does not mean the virus has spread.

The Health Department has confirmed a resident has tested positive to a flu virus at Morling Lodge a care facility in Red Hill.

But the dept will not say if the strain is linked to Jindalee, which has claimed the lives of eight people.

Annon – at 12:44

$1 billion more needed for bird flu-World Bank

28 Nov 2006 17:06:54 GMT

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - “As much as $1.3 billion more is needed to fight bird flu, with more than $500 million of that going to Africa, World Bank and U.N. experts said on Tuesday.

This is on top of the $1.9 billion pledged at a World Bank conference in Beijing last January, said World Bank Economic Adviser Olga Jonas, who will present her official estimates to a meeting of bird flu experts that begins next Wednesday in Bamako, Mali.

“We foresaw only a very small amount that would be needed in Africa,” Jonas said in an interview.

But since January, H5N1 avian influenza has spread out of Asia, across Europe and into Africa. Now more than 50 countries have battled the virus, which mostly affects birds but which has infected 258 people and killed 153 since 2003.

Among them are some of the poorest countries in Africa — Uganda, Niger, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Djibouti, as well as Egypt.

U.N. bird flu coordinator Dr. David Nabarro said the money pledged worldwide in January was being spent rapidly but said much more needs to be done to prepare for a pandemic, or to try to prevent one.” - excerpt

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28242069.htm

Jane – at 12:46

South Korea

This story sounds familiar, although it is dated 11/28.

Chickens that died during the last week at a location outside the original quarantine were not affected by the virulent bird flu (although nearly half the chickens there died) and therefore the disease is not defined as avian influenza. A cafeteria that serves mainly civil servants has stopped offering chicken, and even eggs in sauce have been left over (paraphrase). The Agriculture minister says you don’t have to feel anxious.

“new flu not virulent” http://www.tinyurl.com/ylzlfs

Jane – at 12:49

So. Korea: Two locations were given for the new outbreaks in the Donga story-Seosan, So. Chungcheong Province and Yangpyeong in Gyeonggi Province.

Annon – at 12:51

South Korea

Jane – at 12:57

Annon, thanks for the map. The first outbreak was in North Jeolla, wasn’t it? So the provinces are all along the coast but all are not so close to each other.

Jane – at 12:59

USA

The CDC flu map shows a lot of influenza in the Southeast now.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

JWB – at 13:07

Dr. Dog Meat! Isn’t he the guy that married Ms. Cat Liver?

JWB – at 13:13

Jane – at 12:57 Annon, thanks for the map. The first outbreak was in North Jeolla, wasn’t it? So the provinces are all along the coast but all are not so close to each other.


Seagulls spreading it?

Annon – at 13:48

Jane – at 12:57 wrote:

“ The first outbreak was in North Jeolla, wasn’t it? So the provinces are all along the coast but all are not so close to each other.”


“ The (first) farm is located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the operations of the nation’s largest poultry supplier, Halim, which slaughters and processes up to 350,000 chickens daily, or 22 percent of domestic demand.”

The H5N1 virus is tenacious and can be carried from one farm to another by shoes as well as birds.

http://tinyurl.com/vafgw

Cats, Dogs & Mice Killed – at 15:14

S. Korea kills animals to stop bird flu, Chickens, Cats, Dogs & Mice

Nov. 28, 2006, 1:28PM

“South Korean officials insist the decision to slaughter dogs, cats and pigs was not unusual and that the step has been taken in other countries without public knowledge.

Park Kyung-hee, an official at Iksan City Hall, said 677 dogs _ bred on farms for their meat _ along with 300 pigs were to be slaughtered Tuesday, and said stray cats and mice also would be killed. Another city official said pet “dogs raised individually in houses will also be subject to slaughter.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4365083.html

Cats, Dogs & Mice Culled – at 15:28

Experimental Vaccine Protects Mice Against Deadly 1918 Flu Virus

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

National Institutes of Health

Federal scientists have developed a vaccine that protects mice against the killer 1918 influenza virus.

To determine the vaccine’s protective effects, the CDC’s Dr. Tumpey intranasally exposed a group of mice to live, reconstructed 1918 virus 14 days after they were immunized with the experimental DNA vaccine. All 10 vaccinated mice survived the challenge with the deadly virus.” - excerpt

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2006/niaid-17.htm

Cats Dogs Mice Culled – at 15:49

Neurovirulence in Mice of H5N1 Influenza Virus Genotypes Isolated from Hong Kong Poultry in 2001

JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY, Mar. 2003, p. 3816–3823

Aleksandr S. Lipatov,1 Scott Krauss,1 Yi Guan,2 Malik Peiris,2 Jerold E. Rehg,3 Daniel R. Perez,1 and Robert G. Webster

 30 August 2002

“It is of questionable validity to connect the pathogenicity of Hong Kong H5N1 viruses in mice with their potential pathogenicity in humans and other mammalian species. However, the rapidity of selection of neurotropic variants in mice raises concern about the possibility of a similarly rapid selection of variants that are pathogenic for other mammals.” - excerpt ‘’‘

http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/77/6/3816.pdf

crfullmoon – at 16:10

“However, the rapidity of selection of neurotropic variants in mice raises concern about the possibility of a similarly rapid selection of variants that are pathogenic for other mammals” like, humans once the virus goes through some more humans…

Jane – at 19:33

South Korea

Seosan chickens did not die from avian flu, but from a common chicken disease. The chickens at farms in Yangpyeong and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi province has low-path. avian influenza.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/200611280026.html

From Korean television news (KBS):

There’s a shortage of workers, hampering the cleanup at the Iksan farm which has been infected with avian flu. The nature of the disease makes it impossible to use soldiers. (paraphrase)

comment

I wish they had elaborated on the non-use of soldiers.

Another outbreak of avian flu has been discovered in Iksan, about 3km from the first outbreak. Students at nearby schools have been sent home.

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2006112996928

Jane – at 19:40

The second outbreak in Iksan had 606 chickens die so far, out of 12,000, so right now it looks better than the 6000 dead chickens of 13,000 at the first farm.

Jane – at 19:57

Japan

Stocks of Tamiflu are “so low in Japan that only 1 out of 2 can get relief.” Another problem is the disparity in the prioritzing by pandemic planners and by the public. In a survey of 1200 people <snip> Police and firefighters ranked eighth; communications, transportation and energy workers ranked ninth; and administration officials were in 10th place.

“Policies (priorities) that disregard citizens’ sentiment risk causing considerable confusion,” the team warned in its report.<snip>

<snip>drills in which a “patient” is rushed in an isolation capsule from an airport to a hospital are impractical. The key, he says, is to prevent in-house infection at hospitals.

Tonooka’s list of prevention steps may sound familiar as it is the same as for ordinary flu.

Do not cook if you are infected, is one.

Wash your hands thoroughly; do not handle clothes worn by a patient until eight hours have passed since they were removed are among other instructions.(IHT/Asahi: November 29,2006)

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200611280462.html

FrenchieGirl29 November 2006, 06:10

‘’‘NEWS - South Korea - China - China bans South Korean poultry in 6 provinces, construction of live poultry markets (5:24 p.m.) - 2006/11/29 - BEIJING (AP)

China has prohibited the construction of live poultry markets in urban areas and has sent an urgent notice to six provinces banning poultry from South Korea as part of ongoing efforts to prevent bird flu outbreaks.

The China Post Online - http://preview.tinyurl.com/yyven2

FrenchieGirl29 November 2006, 07:52

NEWS - WHO - http://preview.tinyurl.com/y5vtkz

 - WHO confirms 57th female death in Indonesia

Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 38 - 29 November 2006

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed the country’s 57th death from H5N1 avian influenza. The 35-year-old female, whose infection was announced on 13 November, died early in the morning on 28 November in hospital.

Of the 74 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 57 have been fatal.

anonymous — 29 November 2006, 09:39

test

Annon?29 November 2006, 09:46

Suspect H5N1 Patient in Rimouski Quebec Canada?

November 29 2006

“….. several independent reports of a nine year old boy hospitalized in Rimouski, Quebec. The patient has pneumonia and is in isolation. “

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/11/18/difficile-outbreak.htm

Annon?29 November 2006, 09:55

CHRONOLOGY-Bird flu developments

Wed 29 Nov 2006

Nov 29 (Reuters) - A 35-year-old Indonesian woman has died of bird flu, taking the country’s human death toll from the virus to 57, the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on its Web site on Wednesday.

Late last month an Egyptian woman died of bird flu, bringing the total number of human deaths in Egypt to seven.

Here is a brief chronology of some of the major bird flu developments in 2006:

Jan 18 - International donors pledge $1.9 billion to combat the spread of bird flu at a conference in Beijing.

Feb 8 - The first African cases of the deadly H5N1 strain are detected in poultry in the northern Nigerian states of Kano, Kaduna and Plateau.

Feb 11/12 - Italy says six wild swans found in Sicily and on the southern mainland tested positive for H5N1. In Greece, three swans found south of Thessaloniki test positive for H5N1. These are the first known cases of the strain in the EU. Several countries subsequently report outbreaks in wild birds.

Feb 17 - Egypt finds its first cases of H5N1 in chickens.

Feb 18 - India announces its first cases of H5N1, finding the virus in poultry in a western state.

Feb 22 - The EU approves plans by France and the Netherlands to vaccinate millions of hens, ducks and geese against bird flu.

Feb 25 - France confirms H5N1 at a farm in the east where thousands of turkeys have died. It is the first case of the virus in domestic farm birds in the EU.

May 11 - Djibouti announces its first case of human H5N1, the first confirmed case in a person in the Horn of Africa.

July 26 - Pharmaceuticals group GlaxoSmithKline Plc says a bird flu vaccine for humans that uses only a very low dose of active ingredient has proved effective in clinical tests.

Aug 8 - China says its first H5N1 human case was in 2003, and not in 2005 as it had originally reported.

Sept 26 - WHO’s new influenza pandemic task force calls on countries to share all virus samples and genetic sequencing data, key to developing a vaccine against a bird flu pandemic.

Sept 28 - China shares long-sought samples of H5N1 in what many scientists view as a breakthrough in cooperation.

Oct 31 - Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States say they have detected a new strain of H5N1 bird flu virus in China and say it may have started another wave of outbreaks in poultry in Southeast Asia and move deeper into Eurasia. China later rejects the report.

Nov 28 - South Korea says it has found a second case of H5N1 bird flu at a poultry farm, after confirming days earlier it had its first outbreak in three years of the strain.”

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L29316575

Cats Dogs Mice Culled?29 November 2006, 10:12

South Korea kills pigs, dogs over bird flu fear; pets won’t be slaughtered

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

CBC - excerpts

“City official Park Kyung-hee said 426 pigs and four dogs have so far been killed along with 127,200 chickens. Some 6.8 million eggs have been destroyed.

“Dogs and cats that are raised at individual homes are not our target,” said a quarantine official, who asked not to be named because he’s not authorized to talk to media.

She has said nearly 700 dogs - bred on farms for consumption - were to be killed, but said Wednesday it was unclear when the slaughter would take place, with efforts focused on destroying more susceptible animals like poultry and pigs for now.

Park said the killing of such non-poultry animals was in accordance with national guidelines, adding that mice will also be killed.”

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/061129/x112902A.html

Birdie Kate29 November 2006, 12:44

Annon?,

story has mysteriously disappeared hmmmmmm

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