Bird Flu - Avian Influenza - news - information

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Dead Aristocrat May Hold Key To Bird Flu

(AP) Scientists want to exhume the body of a British diplomat who died of Spanish flu during the 1919 pandemic in hopes of discovering clues to fight a possible future global outbreak sparked by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

Sir Mark Sykes, best known for his work dismantling the Ottoman Empire, was buried in a lead-lined coffin, which may have preserved enough human tissue to yield useful information on how he died and the nature of the avian flu that killed him.

“We’re after an intact body,” said John Oxford, a professor of virology at Queen Mary’s College. “Sometimes people who have been buried in lead are very well preserved. If we obtain (the body), then we can ask a lot of important questions about the way that Sir Mark died.”

Understanding more about the Spanish flu might help scientists design better treatments for H5N1. Victims of Spanish flu frequently experienced an overly aggressive immune response, which began to attack their own bodies. The same phenomenon has been seen in human H5N1 cases.

“The first thing we’ll be looking at is the pathology of the lung _ whether he was overwhelmed by his own immune response,” Oxford said.

Spanish flu victims have been studied before _ including Inuit bodies recovered from the Arctic permafrost and corpses of World War I soldiers. Experts estimate the Spanish flu killed more than 40 million people worldwide.

Oxford said it was extremely difficult to locate flu victims who were buried in lead-lined coffins, in part because few records were kept about coffins. In addition, it can be difficult to find the descendants of victims.

However, Sykes was a famous victim because of his diplomatic status, and his coffin was photographed before he was interred.

Although permission has been obtained from Sykes’ family, Oxford said he still needs permission from Britain’s health and safety body. He said it would not be known how well Sykes’ body was preserved until his coffin was opened.

“These are all expectations and hopes that can be easily dashed,” he said.

An aristocratic, well-traveled and talented linguist, Sykes was chosen to draw up the British half of a secret agreement to divide the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire into French and British spheres of influence, drawing lines which would eventually coalesce into the borders of Iraq, Syria and Israel.

Sykes later returned to the Middle East to try to secure an understanding among French, British and Arab officials there, a marathon effort which taxed his endurance, Sykes’ biographer Roger Adelson said.

“He’d spent weeks burning the midnight oil trying to get these factions to agree, but he didn’t succeed,” Adelson said, adding that Sykes had lost weight, “so he was very vulnerable.”

Sykes traveled to Paris in early 1919, and he died soon afterward.

Although he was a Roman Catholic, Sykes was buried in a Church of England graveyard at St. Mary Sledmere church, near his ancestral home about 200 miles north of London.

The Church of England has granted permission to unearth the corpse, ruling that the possible benefit _ and the family’s approval _ outweighed the church’s strong preference for leaving human remains undisturbed.

Bird flu story source: AP

Egypt reports 23rd case of bird flu in humans

A four-year-old Egyptian girl has caught the bird flu after coming in contact with infected domestic poultry, the 23rd case among humans in the North African country, the state news agency MENA said on Tuesday.

Sara Sayed Burhan from Nabarouh in the Nile Delta province of Dakahlia is in the Chest Hospital in the provincial capital Mansoura with a high temperature from the disease, it said, quoting Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shahin.

Her relatives are undergoing tests to see whether they too are infected, the spokesman added.

Avian influenza story source: Reuters via MENA

Seven new bird flu cases, including one falcon - Kuwait

KUWAIT, Feb 27 (KUNA)—Seven new cases of bird flu-related deaths were reported Tuesday by the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries.

The Head of the Health Ministry’s Media and Public Awareness Authority and Member of the Anti-Bird Flu National Committee Dr. Ahmad Al-Shatti told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the new cases included two turkeys and four hens in Wafra as well as one falcon in Rabia bringing to 39 the total number of cases discovered in Kuwait in the past three days.

All seven birds died from the H5N1 virus.

Al-Shatti said the owner of the Wafra poultry farm, where the dead birds were reported, had also reported the death of 95 other birds last week. But only four of them, including two turkeys and two hens, were attributed to the deadly virus in that non-commercial farm.

But, on all commercial farms, there has been no confirmed bird flu cases as reported by the tests conducted by health authorities, Al-Shatti said.

Meanwhile, an amateur falcon breeder reported to the national committee the death of one of his birds because of bird flu.

In all cases of bird flu- related deaths, all birds suspected of having been in contact with the contaminated birds were disposed off in line with international norms for public safety. The premises, where the cases were reported were disinfected, the national committee said.

It added that the government was determined to report to the public any new cases of migrating birds, that are found to have died from the disease on Kuwaiti soil.

Al-Shatti stressed that a 24-hour hotline was available in case any new cases should be reported and he praised the positive response by the public to the awareness campaign. He also called members of the public and owners of poultry farms to abide by the government guidelines regarding the disease to prevent further worsening.

Bird flu story source: Kuwait News Agency

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Avian Influenza H5N1 Outbreak in Afghanistan - FAO press release

Press Release - Kabul, 26 Feb 2007 - (FAO) In response to concerns about the possibility of re-introduction of H5N1 due to outbreaks in Pakistan, government veterinarians and FAO field workers have intensified surveillance, actively seeking cases of unusual mortality in poultry and taking appropriate samples.  Samples from such situations have been received from Behsod, Dara-e-Noor, Mohmand Dara, and Shewa districts and Jalalabad City (Nangarhar) and from Sawki district (Kunar). 

H5N1 was confirmed in the FAO and Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU3) supported laboratory in the Central Veterinary Diagnostic and Research Laboratories (CVDRL) from samples from Nohea 4, Jalalabad City, of Nangarhar Province on 20th February 2007 and from Sawki district of Kunar Province on 24th February 2007. Positive samples were collected from domestic turkeys and chickens. In the other investigated sites, avian influenza was not detected and no further evidence of disease has been observed so far.

Therefore, the outbreaks seem geographically limited and controllable at this time, given a vigorous response in terms of selective and appropriate quarantine, culling, disinfection and intensified surveillance.

When the cases of H5N1 were confirmed in Jalalabad city and Kunar province, an emergency coordination meeting on Avian Influenza took place at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), gathering MAIL, MOPH, the Afghan Public Health Institute, UNAMA, WHO and FAO.

The Veterinary department has quarantined and disinfected the contaminated area of Nohea 4 in Jalalabad. Additional samples for virus detection were taken in neighbourhood flocks and these await processing in the CVDRL. An awareness campaign was done in the area for the population.

On average two thousand vaccinations are carried out on a daily basis in the areas surrounding infected places. It is estimated that a total of 60 000 vaccinations will be performed in the next month in Jalalabad. The Veterinary department in Jalalabad has still a stock of 140,000 vaccines available and part of those is going to be used for the areas around the case in Sawki District of Kunar.

It is essential that careful records of vaccinated birds are kept in order to focus surveillance in this population because vaccinated birds may harbour the virus in apparently.

The Ministry of Agriculture requested the Ministry of Interior to enforce the ban on poultry trade, which took place at a later stage. The Ministry of Agriculture has issued a ban on bird trade in Sawki District and has sent a team to start the disinfection of the area.

Avian influenza story source: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations)

Monday, February 26, 2007

Laos suspects first case of human bird flu

Bangkok: A 15-year-old girl is suspected to be the first human case of bird flu in Laos, official media said on Monday.

Vientiane Times quoted Health Minister Ponmek Dalalay as saying that the girl went down with headaches and aching limbs.

She was moved to a hospital in Thailand where initial analysis confirmed she was suffering from an H5 virus. It is not clear if she had the deadly bird flu strain.

Bird flu story source: Gulf News

Kuwait reports 20 cases of bird flu at zoo, farm

KUWAIT, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Kuwait’s health ministry on Monday confirmed outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, potentially fatal to humans, at a zoo and a farm in the south of the country, the first in two years.

“Kuwait banned on Sunday the entry of live birds after the discovery of the H5N1 virus,” Ahmed Al-Shattil, a health ministry official, said.

“The public authority for food and agriculture conducted tests on falcons in the Wafra region and at the Kuwait Zoo, they found 20 infected with the virus,” he said. Wafra is a farming area south of the capital.

He said samples were sent to London for further checks and 20 cases tested positive for the virus.

Kuwait closed the bird section of the zoo, he said.

Avian influenza story source: Reuters

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Egyptian child recovers from bird flu

CAIRO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A five-year-old Egyptian boy who tested positive for bird flu has recovered, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Saturday.

Mohamed Ahmed Suleiman recovered after treatment with frontline antiviral Tamiflu and was allowed to go home, MENA quoted Yusri Ragab, director of the Cairo hospital where the child was treated as saying.

Suleiman was the 22nd case to test positive for the H5N1 virus in Egypt, which has the largest bird flu cluster outside Asia. Of the 22 cases, 13 have died.

Most people infected in Egypt had been in contact with live birds kept at home. Bird flu initially caused panic across the country and did extensive damage to the poultry industry, although the sector has largely recovered.

World Health Organisation officials have said a delay in reporting symptoms in Egypt, where many people keep poultry at home, made the virus harder to fight.

Bird flu story source: Reuters

Friday, February 23, 2007

U.S. Donates More Bird Flu Equipment To Armenia

The U.S. government on Friday provided Armenia with laboratory equipment and special vehicles which officials said will significantly improve veterinary authorities’ ability to guard against possible outbreaks of bird flu.

The $300,000 equipment, donated to the Armenian Agriculture Ministry’s Central Veterinary Laboratory, is part of a $2.6 million program implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The one-year aid scheme is aimed at helping Armenia cope with the potentially lethal H5N1 virus. In addition to equipment supplies, it envisages training of Armenian veterinary officials charged with monitoring and controlling the disease.

“As of today, Armenia has more capabilities [to deal with bird flu] that it had before,” the U.S. charge d’affaires in Yerevan, Anthony Godfrey, said during an official ceremony.

“With this equipment we will be able to diagnose the existence of a bird flu virus in any place and help people guard against it,” agreed Agriculture Minister David Lokian, also present at the ceremony. “It will make us feel safer.”

The equipment transfer came just a week after the World Bank approved $2 million in similar assistance to Armenia. The sum will be released from a special fund set by eight donor agencies, including the European Union, to combat the worldwide spread of avian influenza. The World Bank had already disbursed a $6.25 million loan to Yerevan for the same purpose last July.

Armenia is the only country in the region that has not registered any cases of H5N1 so far. Neighboring Turkey reported last week another more such cases in eastern regions of the country that are not far from the Armenian border.

“I think it would be wrong to dismiss the danger of a bird flu outbreak [in Armenia],” Lokian said. “That danger is grave, seeing as the bird flu virus has already been detected in all of the neighboring states. So we must be ready to quickly detect and localize [a possible outbreak].”

Bird flu story source: Armenia Liberty News

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Veterinary official: H5N1 bird flu strain confirmed in 8 suburban Moscow districts

MOSCOW: The H5N1 bird flu strain has been confirmed in eight suburban Moscow districts, a top Russian veterinary official said Thursday, as experts enforced a quarantine in several villages and sought to keep the disease from spreading.

Nikolai Vlasov, head of agriculture oversight agency Rosselkhoznadzor, told reporters that increased awareness about bird flu had led to a rush of calls from people reporting bird deaths.

There were now eight areas where H5N1 has been confirmed, three of which were recently added, he said.

Russian news reports cited local officials as saying, meanwhile, that a ninth suburban district had reported poultry dying of bird flu. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

The virus, which began killing domestic birds in the Moscow suburbs on Feb. 9, has been traced to a single animal market just outside the capital.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said Wednesday that at least 333 domestic birds have died since Feb. 9, and an additional 1,833 have been killed at eight locations on Moscow’s outskirts.

Officials have enforced a quarantine around the affected districts, spraying down vehicle tires and vaccinating poultry.

Some residents of Ramenskoye, a town southeast of the capital, said they had seen no signs of dead poultry.

“I never noticed anything strange, or any signs of disease. They (chickens) are very healthy, they eat their food as usual, I give them snow instead of water,” Lyudmila Gorbatova told Associated Press Television News.

Bird flu story source: AP

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

H5N1 bird flu found in poultry in eastern Afghanistan, U.N. says

KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghan authorities were culling poultry after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in chicken in an eastern Afghan city, a U.N. official said Wednesday.

Bird flu was reported in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar, said Serge Verniau, the country representative of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization in Afghanistan.

Samples of chicken in the Nangarhar provincial capital of Jalalabad were found to have the H5N1 strain, while the exact type of the outbreak in Kunar has yet to be confirmed, Verniau said.

The latest Afghan outbreak was reported a day after authorities in neighboring Pakistan closed a zoo in the capital Islamabad following lab tests that confirmed H5N1 in its peacocks and geese.

“We do not know whether it is the same strain as the one which appeared in Pakistan,” Verniau said.

Afghanistan is a crossroads for migratory birds and there is considerable trade among countries in the region, he said.

Avian influenza story source: AP