09 October 2006
Milo – at 09:02
yesterday’s news thread is here
Green Mom – at 09:46
Is there no news today? ;-) Or is everyone like myself this morning so stunned/overwhelmed by the news lately-i.e. N. Korea, Chickungunya/dengue in India, etc that it seems wierd/pointless to post it here?
(Hey! y’all hear North Korea tested a nuclear device?
Yeah, yeah, we’re all watching it on CNN…….)
DennisC – at 10:06
Not exactly N5N1 but as we know it has been confusion between the two and it is a “slow news day.
Colombia -dengue fever “Colombia has seen 1,842 cases of classic dengue fever so far this year, 11 people were were killed by hemorrhagic dengue fever, according to official statistics published on Sunday. The worst-hit department was Sucre, where 1,242 cases have been found and four people have died. In the department of La Guajira, the epidemic has left three dead. Over 200 classic dengue cases have been found, and more than 100 of them have become hemorrhagic dengue. In Cesar, two children have died of the disease. The municipalities of Valledupar and La Jagua de Ibirico have witnessed the most cases…
Its symptoms include high fever, nausea, rashes, backache and headaches. Most mainstream dengue cases are not fatal, but the hemorrhagic variant, which causes severe internal bleeding as blood vessels collapse, kills one in 20 of those infected. - Some 50 million people are infected with dengue each year, most of them in the tropical regions. “
Klatu – at 10:44
Bird flu found in pigs in Indonesia’s Bali
09 Oct 2006 (excerpt) Source: Reuters
JAKARTA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The H5N1 bird flu virus has infected pigs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Monday.
“There were two pigs that were infected by bird flu in Bali. These were old cases that happened last July,” Musni Suatmodjo, agriculture ministry director of animal health, told Reuters. Koran Tempo newspaper had reported on the weekend that a team from the veterinary faculty at Udayana University had discovered avian influenza infected two pigs in the regencies of Gianyar and Tabanan in Bali. It was not clear if the pigs died.”
Green Mom – at 10:51
I was hoping no news was good news, but noooooo, you guys have got to find bird flu in Bali pigs and Dengue in Columbia. (sigh)
Klatu – at 11:12
Changes made to how Singapore will tackle bird flu pandemic
09 October 2006 1517 hrs
Channelnewsasia.com
“Should a pandemic hit Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) says it will be able to vaccinate the entire population, 4–6 months after the new flu strain is confirmed.
Lim Kok Peng, Deputy Director for Contingency and Scenario Planning, MOH, on obtaining the vaccine, says “We are not first in line, but we are not last.”
The MOH also predicts that any outbreak would enter Singapore from beyond its borders and could reach Singapore within days or weeks of emerging, with two or more waves lasting about six weeks each, in the same year. “
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/234564/1/.html
bird-dog – at 11:27
Lots of activity today!
RSOE HAVARIA Emergency and Disaster Information Service: >>> http://tinyurl.com/bmpbq
My sister is travelling from Delhi to Kathmandu today and plans to live there for a couple of months with Tibetan friends. I’ve asked her to report back on her experience there and any info re. dengue, chik., H5N1, and how she and the locals are protecting themselves esp. ‘folk’ medicines. I’m afraid that I doubt that I’ll hear back but I’ll post immediately if I do. I also sent her the link to the ‘India’ thread. We’ll see…
Pixie – at 11:42
Full text of John Lange (US Special Rep. on Avian and Pandemic Influenza) speech of Oct. 5
Mr. Lange took it a bit on the chin for his comments which were reported as stating that the U.S. had a “state of the art” but what he actually said was:
Our state of preparedness in this country may be state-of-the art, but contrasting it with the lack of preparedness in many of the world’s developing nations can be dispiriting.
Also, at the outset of his speech, he stated that:
In this regard, I should state up front that my remarks here — and I know that time is limited — will be confined to addressing the nature of the avian threat abroad and the measures the U.S. Government and the international community are taking to limit that threat. In contrast, the vastly important responsibility of how we might deal with the possibility of a human pandemic outbreak in this country primarily falls under the purview of other government agencies, particularly the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Defense.
It seems that the press took Mr. Lange’s statements out of context, and he was speaking of our preparedness for meeting the challenge of avian flu in avians, not pandemic flu in humans, in the U.S. (It would be nice if someone in officialdom spoke to the latter).
Klatu – at 12:33
Iatrogenic Humor
“A man left his cat with his brother while he went on vacation for a week. When he came back, he called his brother to see when he could pick the cat up. The brother hesitated, then said, “I’m so sorry, but while you were away, the cat died.”
The man was very upset and yelled, “You know, you could have broken the news to me better than that. When I called today, you could have said the cat caught a harmless Low-Pathogen H5N1, from eating dead birds. Then when I called the next day, you could have said that the cat developed fever and the vet was giving him Tamiflu. Then when I called the third day, you could have said he had passed away.”
The brother thought about it and apologized.
“So how’s Mom?” asked the man.
“She’s on Tamiflu.”
lifeisgreat05 – at 12:56
I’m curious about two news developments: Peptides, per the university of michigan, blocking the virus and then the other story is that pigs are now being infected in bali. thanks!
Klatu – at 13:11
lifeisgreat05 – at 12:56 wrote:
I’m curious about two news developments: Peptides, per the university of michigan, blocking the virus and then the other story is that pigs are now being infected in bali. thanks!
The Peptides work well in mice - give it a few years.
The Bali pigs have had H5N1 for over a year - this was discovered by an Indonesian virologist. The original story was forgotten. The virologist speculated that 50% of the Indonesian pigs were infected, based on the pigs he examined. Speculation is, something else is making people sick in Indonesia and it ain’t pigs or chickens, because none of the people who have died from H5N1 in Indonesia - were genetically connected to sick/dead chickens or pigs. Either there is an unknown animal reservoir or an unknown human reservoir.
Blue Ridge Mountain Mom – at 14:22
USA Illinois
Plan for 35% of employees of all occupations staying home in event of pandemic flu outbreak advised
By JOHN FROEHLING/of the Daily Ledger Published: Monday, October 9, 2006 12:54 PM CDT
The swift spread of a deadly strain of influenza from birds to humans does not appear to be an imminent threat in the United States, but the time may be ripe for a global epidemic, or pandemic, of some other kind of life-threatening flu, a county health official said.
<snip>
James noted many advances in medicine have been made over the years. Lack of effective medication in 1918 was part of the reason so many died at that time. Should a pandemic flu occur in the near future, a vaccine would be developed, but the process would take some time.
<snip>
He explained there are three types of flu. There is the regular kind for which many people get annual flu shots but otherwise can make people quite ill — 200,000 a year die from it every year — and then there are avian and pandemic flu. Avian flu affects birds. A few dozen people in third-world countries who live in unsanitary conditions have contracted that virus from close contact with birds (such as slaughtering chickens). But avian flu does not appear to pose the threat to humans once feared.
(COMMENT-Well that’s a relief!!)
The idea of birds flying thousands of miles in their migration patterns and spreading a virus far and wide was the source for such fear. But again, the casual, indirect spread of the disease from birds to humans does not seem to be the case now.
Pandemic flu, on the other hand, spreads very quickly when it does occur. Preparing for it means storing reserves of food and water. Having ample water is most important, James said. He added many people have enough food and water to last a week anyway.
But he added preparing for pandemic flu also requires weighing how society will continue to function if large numbers of people get sick. How will businesses and agencies run if more than a third of their personnel do not report for work? It would not do much good to ask for help from other organizations if 35 percent of the manpower of those agencies are either ill or at home caring for someone else who is ill, James said.
He pointed out a 35 percent reduction in the workforce means fewer police and firemen to respond to crimes, accidents, and burning buildings. It means fewer doctors and nurses able to help the ill. It means fewer workers to make products, provide services, grow food, do scientific research, maintain water and sewer systems, and so forth.
James noted the Peoria Journal Star newspaper last summer printed a story (on the front page of a Sunday edition) warning of an imminent threat of pandemic flu. The time for the disease to reportedly strike has come and gone. The story was based on information from the American Red Cross only. No other source was cited in the story to corroborate the information of a potentially deadly outbreak that could be widespread.
James said it was unfortunate the Red Cross did not confer with health officials from other agencies before releasing such a story to the media. Health officials need “to speak with one voice” to ensure accurate information is presented. This will help avoid confusion, prevent panic and assure the public it is not being misled.
In the future, the health-care community should work closer together to inform the public of possible threats, when necessary, and advisable precautions, James said.
Klatu – at 14:30
Bird flu updates 2006
SciDev.Net has published regular news updates containing links to the most recent news on the spread of the bird flu virus and the threat to human health.
Click below to follow the latest developments. You can’t the players without a program.
October 2006
• 2 October - 9 October
September 2006
• 25 September - 2 October • 18 September - 25 September • 11 September - 18 September • 4 September - 11 September
http://www.scidev.net/dossiers/index.cfm?fuseaction=specifictopics&dossier=24&topic=178
Klatu – at 14:33
“ You tell the players…”
AnotherAnon – at 14:43
Blue Ridge Mountain Mom – at 14:22
Great article, thank you for catching it. : )
Per the forum rules, can you please post just a portion, and provide a link.
Thanks. : )
Blue Ridge Mountain Mom – at 14:56
AnotherAnon - 14:43 There is a TinyURL provided at the bottom of the article and only a portion has been posted. That’s what the <snip> designations represent.
AnotherAnon – at 15:23
Hi Blue Ridge Mountain Mom – at 14:56
I saw the tiny URL. Just seemed the article was posted almost in its entirety and that’s why I brought up the fair use issue. : )
DennisC – at 17:07
As I understand it, if you use just a small portion of the article (set in some court cases as 3 paragraphs) for news, then you are OK. Also if you include comment on the article, you are OK with the fair use doctrine.
DennisC – at 17:23
Study finds signs virus resistant to oseltamivir
“The bird flu virus has already developed signs of resistance to oseltamivir, the drug widely used to treat the disease’s symptoms in humans, a research study has found. Yong Poovorawan, who headed a group of researchers, said his team learned of the resistance which was reflected in the change of the position of amino acids in the virus samples. It was the first scientific study that could pinpoint such changes _ a result of the genetic shift of avian flu _ and its resistance to oseltamivir. The study would soon be published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal and Journal of Virological Methods. ….
Klatu – at 17:56
Yup, signs of resistance.
On Monday, October 09 2006
(Software Translation from Indonesian)
Bandung: “…infection…also attacked the brain
Bandung — MIOL:” The condition for the patient suspect bird flu, Mama Komariah, 65, that was treated in RS Handsome Sadikin (RSHS) Bandung, continued to worsen.
Apart from already did not make himself aware, the citizen Kp. The Love round, the Heulang Sand Village, To. Cisarua, Kab.Bandung, this also experienced breathless difficult.
Apart from the sample of blood, we also took the sample of casualties’s spinal cord.
We suspected, casualties did not only experience the infection on the chest, but also has attacked the brain, and that happened to the bird flu patient in several neighbouring countries, explained the Chairman Tim the Handling of RSHS Hadi Jusuf Bird Flu, on Monday.
Although already since Sunday (8/10), respiratory aids have been given to casualties, but his breathless condition has not still improved. The temperature of casualties’s body also still was tall, so as the tight supervision continued to be carried out by the team of the doctor. The “condition for stable casualties, but heavy.”
We were still being waiting for the sample inspection of blood, whether he was positive terjangkit bird flu or not, said Hadi. In the meantime, because the condition for his body continued to improve, four patients suspect bird flu that beforehand was treated in RSHS, has been permitted to come home, on Monday.
The four patients who have been stated by the bird flu negative were Great, 9, from Kp. The Subang mountain, Kel. Cilamajang, Kec. Kawalu, the Tasikmalaya City, the older brother’s patient was siblings Wildan, 20, and Krisna, 17, the citizen Rt 04/05 the Andir Camp, the Kahuripan Warehouse Village, Kec. Lembang, Kab. Bandung as well as Holy Rahmawati, the child was 14 months old, the citizen Street. Like Wening RT 03/06 Ds. Hegarmanah, Kec. Jatinangor, Kab. Sumedang.
“Appropriate protap, after being stated by the bird flu negative, they have been treated for seven days to restore his condition.”
At this time their condition has been very healthy, and was permitted to come home, stated Hadi.”
- excerpt
Klatu – at 18:00
Next Pandemic may not be due to H5N1.”
Chinese Medical Journal, 2006, Vol. 119 No. 17 : 1458–1464
LU Jia-hai School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; ZHANG Ding-mei School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; WANG Guo-ling School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Correspondence to: LU Jia-hai School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China (Tel:86–20–87330605 Fax:86–20–87332438 Email:jiahailu@ yahoo.com.cn )
CONCLUSION
“In Netherlands/Germany in 2003, the highly pathogenic H7N7 influenza viruses that was lethal to poultry infected the eyes of more than 80 people and killed one person; H6 and H9 have spread from a wild aquatic bird reservoir to domestic poultry over the past 10 years. H9N2 viruses have also been associated with human infections in the mainland of China and Hong Kong. Avian influenza H10N7 seems to have crossed the species barrier from poultry to people for the first time. Hence, it is possible that the next influenza pandemic may not be due to H5N1.”
anonymous – at 18:28
http://tinyurl.com/gg4xr Fit chickens can carry bird flu
Oct 05, 2006, Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung - “A healthy chicken could be a carrier of the bird flu virus although it shows no symptoms of the illness, a health official warned Wednesday.”
…healthy chickens tested positive with H5N1 virus from around the house of two dead flu victims in Kebonwaru area, Batunggal.
“Currently, people are only made aware of the danger of bird flu when chickens die suddenly in their neighborhood, but Rachmat said healthy chickens could also be carriers. He said cases where healthy chickens were infected with bird flu had occurred not only in Bandung, but also in other cities and regencies.”
…serology tests on 11 dogs kept by the family of the bird flu cluster in Kebonwaru came back negative.
Pixie – at 18:53
From Thailand:
BIRD FLU H5N1 GENETIC CHANGE - Study finds signs virus resistant to oseltamivir
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL
The bird flu virus has already developed signs of resistance to oseltamivir, the drug widely used to treat the disease’s symptoms in humans, a research study has found. Yong Poovorawan, who headed a group of researchers, said his team learned of the resistance which was reflected in the change of the position of amino acids in the virus samples. It was the first scientific study that could pinpoint such changes _ a result of the genetic shift of avian flu _ and its resistance to oseltamivir. The study would soon be published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal and Journal of Virological Methods.
This study will enable medical science and health personnel to precisely diagnose bird flu-like symptoms among patients for immediate, appropriate treatment, he said.
Avian flu resistance to oseltamivir had been confirmed in four bird flu patients in Vietnam, three of whom died last year. The Vietnam cases showed the possibility that oseltamivir might be less effective than anticipated, particularly as resistant strains of bird flu become more prevalent.
A previous study in Japan also found a genetic shift in the H3N2 flu strain in 18% of patients who took oseltamivir, he said.
Dr Yong, a virologist at Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of medicine, earlier warned the Public Health Ministry and the hospitals run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to exercise caution when prescribing oseltamivir in patients with influenza and bird flu-like symptoms, saying continuous and frequent use of the medicine without precise diagnoses was likely to trigger viral resistance.
During bird flu outbreaks, health personnel treated people with flu and bird flu-like symptoms with oseltamivir, even if they had not been in contact with poultry.
Disease Control Department director-general Thawat Sundarachan agreed that the anti-viral drug made it harder for doctors and epidemiologists to identify the virus due to the absence of related bird flu symptoms, citing the latest death case in Nong Bua Lam Phu province. Several laboratory tests had to be conducted before the death was confirmed as the country’s 17th bird flu fatality.
But Dr Thawat insisted only patients with records of touching or eating chickens that had died mysteriously would be treated with oseltamivir. He believed that the medicine was still the best defence against the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu and other types of human flu.
The closely-related zanamivir drug was also effective, but since the drug had to be inhaled, it was almost impossible for patients with severe lung damage to use it, he said.
Pixie – at 18:55
There’s just too much going on in that Bangkok Post article to even know where to begin to comment on it.
LauraB – at 19:33
From Klatu: “Next Pandemic may not be due to H5N1.” I knew there had been things going on with other versions, but I ahd no idea it was getting worse. Yikes. What’s my ppf now?
10 October 2006
Klatu – at 00:23
LauraB – at 06:12
klatu - cool graphic! Do we have that on file somewhere? Could come in handy for others pulling together presentations, etc. like Goju and others.
Goju – at 06:18
based on reassortment - not recombination which seems to be driving H5N1 evolution.
lugon – at 08:29
LauraB - at 06:12 Forum.TheLargeFileCommunicationsProject4 At the top of that page you’ll find how to access many “big files”.
lugon – at 08:35
Maybe Forum.TheLargeFileCommunicationsProject5 should be revitalised?
lifeisgreat05 – at 11:35
Thanks so much klatu. That was a very clear concise anwser.
Commonground – at 11:41
Klatu - at 00:23: Thanks for the visual. That’s been my worse fear all along. Huh.
Closed - Bronco Bill — 18 December 2006, 15:00
Closed to increase server speed