Bird Flu - Avian Influenza - news - information

Friday, April 27, 2007

Antibodies to bird flu found in wild ducks in Altai region (Russia)

BARNAUL, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - Wild ducks in three areas of Russia’s Altai region were found to have antibodies to bird flu, sources from the regional veterinary department told Tass on Friday.

“This means that the birds have contacted with ill species or have been ill” with bird flu themselves, they stressed. Monitoring of water fowl began last week, and antibodies to bird flu have been found in the blood of wild ducks on the Korostylyovskoye water reservoir, on the Novoye and Presnoye lakes, they specified.

The sources said the situation in private households remains normal, but nevertheless owners of domestic poultry were asked to keep the birds inside.

Meanwhile, vaccination against the N5N1 strain of bird flu continues in the region. About one million domestic birds have been vaccinated. Domestic birds in thirty-seven districts of the region situated on migratory birds routes are vaccinated first.

Bird flu story source: TASS

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Bangladesh says bird flu spread to more farms

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh said on Saturday bird flu has spread to six more farms despite efforts to tackle the virus by veterinary and health officials and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

“The infection was detected at a farm in western Magura district 200 km(124 miles) west of the capital Dhaka and five farms at Savar in the Dhaka district,” a spokesman at the fisheries and livestock ministry said.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has been spreading in poultry flocks in Bangladesh ever since it was first detected on six of the country’s farms on March 22 and despite culling and banning of the movement of chickens in areas with confirmed outbreaks.

Magura district is adjacent to India’s West Bengal state.

Bangladesh also shares a border with Myanmar, which is fighting the disease. But no one knows for sure how the disease jumped to Bangladesh this March.

A 10-member FAO team arrived in Dhaka last week and has visited a number of affected farms and laboratories.

Since the detection of the H5N1 virus on March 22, some 98,000 chickens have been culled on 38 farms in nine districts.

Bird flu article source: Reuters

Kuwait reports new case of birdflu in ostrich

KUWAIT, April 22 (Reuters) - Kuwait said on Sunday it has found a new case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in the south of the Gulf Arab state near the Saudi border.

“We now have 46 infected focal points after the latest finding in an ostrich in Wafra,” said health ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Shatti.

“We no longer count individual cases. We concentrate on focal points or areas where the disease has been found like farms, domestic cages or pens,” he added.

On April 2, Kuwait said the number of individual birdflu cases found in falcons, chicken and quails was 106.

Kuwait has culled around 1.7 million birds, banned import of live birds, closed down the country’s zoo as well as poultry shops in residential areas since the first case was reported this year in February.

Kuwaiti news agency KUNA said earlier in April poultry sales have fallen around 40 percent since the outbreak of the disease.

In 2005, Kuwait reported a case of bird flu in a flamingo.

Bird flu story source: Reuters

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Tamiflu key to treat bird flu, avoid steroids: (WHO opinion piece)

GENEVA (Reuters) - Bird flu patients who get early treatment with the antiviral drug Tamiflu have the best chances of surviving while using steroids can do more harm than good, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

The United Nations agency was reporting on the preliminary conclusions of international experts who met last month in Turkey to compare notes on treatments, including the attempt by doctors in some countries to use steroids as well.

“Corticosteroid therapy has failed so far to show effectiveness,” the WHO warned in a statement. “Prolonged or high dose corticosteroids can result in serious adverse events.”

Frederick Hayden of WHO’s global influenza program said some doctors, notably in Vietnam and Indonesia, had administered steroids to try to save quickly deteriorating bird flu patients. Eight of nine had died, he said, citing published research.

“A concern is some treatment is of unsubstantiated value and in some instances may be doing more harm than good,” he told Reuters.

“Data presented gave strong support that early treatment makes a difference,” Hayden said, citing data from Egypt where 20 of 34 bird flu patients have survived to date.

Bird flu story source: Reuters

Kuwaiti locates ‘spot infected with bird flu’

KUWAIT:  Authorities have found a new location infected with the bird flu disease in the region of Kabad, southwest of the capital of the Gulf country.
Official spokesman of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) said in a statement yesterday that special teams disinfected an area of a three-kilometre-radius in Kabad, a region of many farms.

He added that up to 45 locations infected with the disease had been found, and affirmed that the relevant authorities would follow up on the situation and take proper precautions and action against the bird flu.

Kabad is famed for harbouring cattle stables, farms of livestock and birds.

Bird flu story source: Kuwaiti Times

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Research reveals ongoing evolution of bird flu in Europe-(current mutations)

Detailed genetic studies of H5N1 bird flu samples collected in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have revealed the existence of a distinct Euro-African strain of the disease in the region and shed new light on the spread of the disease.

The study, which was partly funded by the EU, is published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Researchers sequenced the entire genomes of 36 samples of H5N1 taken from birds found in Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMA) and Vietnam. Bird flu was first detected in the EMA region in late 2005 and early 2006.

The researchers found that the samples from the EMA region were closely related, despite being taken from birds found as far apart as Slovenia, Afghanistan and Sudan. The samples all fell into a distinct Euro-African lineage which is distinct from the three other major H5N1 lineages currently circulating in Asia. This EMA strain has subsequently split into three sub-lineages.

‘This is the first time anyone’s looked at all of the H5N1 genomes in the west,’ commented the University of Maryland’s Steven Salzberg, the lead author of the paper. ‘Until now, the studies have been primarily on samples from the far east. Our study shows that the virus is spreading west, and that there have been three separate introductions of H5N1 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.’

‘The shared lineage of the viruses suggests a single genetic source for introduction of influenza (H5N1) into western Europe and northern and western Africa,’ write the researchers, who trace back this source to either Russia or Qinghai Province in China.’

Furthermore, while the three sub-lineages are now evolving independently, one virus sample taken from a Nigerian chicken turned out to have a genome which is the result of a combination of two of the EMA sub-lineages. According to the researchers, the fact that all three sub-lineages are found in the same geographic area means there are ample opportunities for such ‘reassortment’ events.

‘Additional surveillance will be necessary to determine if this reassortant strain spreads further in the avian population and to assess its ability to infect mammals,’ the researchers note.

The study also revealed that the EMA strains have a mutation which is associated with virulence in mice and adaptation to mammalian hosts.

‘The spread of EMA has coincided with the rapid appearance of cases in mammals - including humans in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and Djibouti, and cats in Germany, Austria and Iraq,’ the researchers warn, adding that the EMA strains of the virus appear too be as virulent as the Asian strains, with almost half of all cases in humans proving fatal.

According to the researchers, the broad dispersal of the disease also suggests that human movement, and not the migration of wild birds, is primarily responsible for the rapid spread of H5N1.

‘The migratory pathways of wild birds don’t correspond with the movement of the genomes that we sequenced,’ explained Dr Salzberg. ‘Humans carry chickens between many of the countries in our study, often transporting them across great distances. That and the weak biosecurity standards in most rural areas point to human-related movement of live poultry as the source of the introduction of H5N1 in some countries.’

‘These findings show how whole-genome analysis of influenza viruses is instrumental to the better understanding of the evolution and epidemiology of this infection,’ the researchers conclude. ‘This and related analyses, facilitated by global initiatives on sharing influenza data, will help us understand the dynamics of infection between wild and domesticated bird populations, which in turn should promote the development of control and prevention strategies.’

The study brought together researchers from many countries, including Egypt, Ivory Coast, Iran and Afghanistan. ‘Collaborations like this one are essential if the scientific community is going to keep track of avian flu, but most influenza researchers continue to work in isolation,’ commented Dr Salzberg. ‘We have to recognise that flu knows no boundaries, and we must not only collaborate widely, but also share out data freely with one another, as we have in this study.’

Bird flu story source: CORDIS

China hoarding H5N1 samples for over a year: WHO

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China has not shared any human H5N1 bird flu samples with WHO-accredited laboratories for over a year, sparking renewed fears that it may be frustrating efforts to track changes in the virus and find ways to fight it.

But Henk Bekedam, WHO’s representative in China, said the Chinese had shared their scientific analyses of virus samples taken from human victims in the past year, and there was no evidence the H5N1 had mutated significantly in a dangerous way.

“The whole notion about urgency (of sharing) is still there ... but at the same time, the virus is not changing into something that is easily transmissible between humans,” he said.

China last shared human H5N1 samples with WHO collaborating laboratories in April 2006 and the country has since reported five more human infections.

The WHO had asked a few times for samples of three of these, Bekedam said, and he was confident they would be shipped soon.

On animal H5N1 samples, Bekedam said WHO was trying to get Beijing to share viruses that were more recent China’s Ministry of Agriculture last shipped animal H5N1 samples to WHO laboratories in November 2006, but these were viruses isolated in 2004 and 2005.

“We are negotiating if we can get viruses from 2006 and we hope we would be getting them soon,” Bekedam said.

Viruses change constantly and fast, and in the case of the H5N1, experts stress the importance of timely sharing of samples to check if it has developed resistance to drugs or if it has become more transmissible among people.

Bird flu story source: Reuters

US approves first bird flu vaccine for people-(Interim Measure)

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The first bird flu vaccine for people won U.S. approval on Tuesday as an interim measure in case an influenza pandemic strikes before a better immunization comes along.

The vaccine made by French company Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) (SNY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will not be sold commercially. It is being stockpiled by the government for use if the H5N1 bird flu virus mutates to a form that can spread easily from person to person.

The Food and Drug Administration said two injections given 28 days apart may provide “limited” protection if a pandemic occurs. About 45 percent of people who got the vaccine in a study developed an immune response to the virus.

The vaccine is “sort of an interim measure” until better ones are developed, said Norman Baylor, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review. Several companies are working on other versions.

“Ideally, yes, you would like a vaccine that would have a higher efficacy,” Baylor told reporters.

A single shot and a lower dose also would be preferred, Baylor said. The dose needed for the new Sanofi vaccine is higher than used in the seasonal flu vaccine.

Still, “we feel as part of pandemic preparedness it would be best to have a licensed vaccine. Our review suggests this vaccine is safe and effective,” Baylor said.

David Williams, president of Sanofi vaccine unit Sanofi Pasteur, said in a statement the approval was “a significant milestone in pandemic preparedness.”

Sanofi manufactures the vaccine at a plant in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it had already purchased 13 million doses of the Sanofi vaccine, enough to inoculate 6.5 million people.

The vaccine was approved for people age 18 to 64. Studies in other age groups are ongoing. The most common side effects reported were pain at the injection site, headache, “general ill feeling” and muscle pain, the FDA said.

Research on the Sanofi vaccine was conducted by the National Institutes of Health as part of the government’s efforts to prepare for a flu pandemic.

Bird flu story source: Reuters

Monday, April 16, 2007

Family suspected of having bird flu-(Indonesia)

BANDUNG, West Java: A five-member family were admitted to Slamet Hospital in Garut, West Java, on Saturday evening due to concerns they had contracted the bird flu virus.

Yogi Prayogi, spokesman for the hospital, said the family, ranging in age from 50 to six years old, were rushed to hospital suffering from respiratory problems and high fevers, symptoms associated with bird flu.

“Five of the family’s chickens died suddenly and were buried in the front yard of their house. Not long after that, members of the family fell ill,” Yogi said.

The condition of two of the family members was critical, both with temperatures above 39 degrees Celsius(102.2 F), he said.

bird flu story source: Jakarta Post

Bangladesh says bird flu spreads to more farms(two new farms)

DHAKA, April 16 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to two more farms in Bangladesh despite efforts to contain the spread of the disease, fisheries and livestock ministry officials said on Monday.

“A farm was found to be infected at western Jessore district while the other was at Savar near Dhaka, where the avian influenza was first detected last month,” a ministry spokesman said.

Jessore district is adjacent to West Bengal state of India, where bird flu has also been identified.

So far 79,000 chickens have been culled on 32 farms in eight districts since the detection of the H5N1 virus on six farms at Savar on March 22.

The government said on Sunday it would pay 70 taka ($1.00) in compensation for each chicken culled.

Officials said the virus was under control. “Had it not been controlled the virus would have infected all the districts like a wildfire,” said Khalilur Rahman Siddiqui, a senior ministry official.

bird flu story source: Reuters