AVIAN FLU UPDATE

[dothedd]

H5N1 bird flu virus able to jump to pigs

09 Sep 2010

The H5N1 bird flu virus may be evolving the ability to spread from mammal to mammal, says a team who have discovered that pigs in Indonesia have been infected with the disease since 2005.The H5N1 bird flu kills 60 per cent of the people it infects. However, most infections occur after direct contact with an infected bird and the disease does not appear to spread well between humans. One way the virus could develop the ability to spread among humans is to first infect pigs, which have many biochemical similarities to humans. Flu viruses adapted to pigs have less trouble adapting to humans than do bird flu viruses – one pig-adapted virus caused the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

Chairul Nidom of Airlangga University in Surabaya, Indonesia, and colleagues in Japan have been tracking H5N1 in pigs since 2005 in Indonesia, the country hardest hit by the avian flu virus. They now report that between 2005 to 2007 -when the avian flu peaked- 7.4 per cent of 700 pigs they tested also carried H5N1. There have been sporadic reports of H5N1 in pigs, but this is the first time the extent of the problem has been measured.

Not from pig to pig

In each case, the virus in pigs closely resembled H5N1 from nearby outbreaks in poultry, suggesting it has jumped from the bird to the pig population. That and the small proportion of pigs infected suggest the virus cannot yet spread between pigs. "If the virus was better adapted to pigs it would have spread like wildfire," says Ab Osterhaus of the University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, a flu expert not involved in the research.

Virus can easily evade

Since 2007, avian flu outbreaks have diminished in poultry and in people in Indonesia and the investigators found that the rate of infection in pigs has similarly dropped. The team showed that infected pigs show no symptoms. "H5N1 viruses could easily evade detection as they spread through Indonesia in asymptomatic pigs," warn Nidom and colleagues. Nidom says that in one pig, the virus had developed the ability to bind to a molecule present in the noses of both pigs and humans. That's exactly the kind of change that could allow it to spread between people. "This shows we should keep a close watch on pig flu, as it can change rapidly," warns Osterhaus.

New EU collaboration

The European Union is heeding the call and is funding a scientific collaboration called FLUPIG, to study how bird flu adapts to pigs and how it spreads to people. It will meet for the first time later this month.

www.vetsweb.com/news/h5n1-bird-flu-virus-able-to-jump-to-pigs-1432.html

[dothedd]

Friday September 10, 2010

Long-lived bird flu stays on surfaces

Virus can remain infectious for up to two weeks at low temperatures…
The avian influenza H5N1 virus can survive and remain infectious on some surfaces for over 13 days, according to researchers from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The virus is particularly long-lived on glass and steel surfaces under low temperature and humidity levels, the researchers found.

“The virus used in the present study tends to survive longer in the environment in areas that are relatively colder and have less sunlight,” write Joseph Wood and colleagues in Environmental Science and Technology.1 “Measures taken to contain and inactivate the virus, especially in these areas or conditions, may be warranted.”

Earlier studies have focused mainly on the persistence of avian flu viruses in chicken faeces and feathers, as most documented cases of human H5N1 have occurred following contact with chickens. But environmental surfaces can also harbour the virus and are a potential source of infections, the authors say.

To determine how environmental conditions affected the viruses’ survival, the researchers added a solution of the virus to samples of chicken faeces, topsoil, steel, and glass. They stored the samples for up to 13 days at room temperature or at 40C (the standard temperature inside a fridge), and under low or high relative humidity.

They then extracted the viruses from the samples at set points until the end of the experiment and determined what proportion of the viruses remained viable by testing whether they could infect canine kidney cells.

They found that at room temperature, the virus was inactivated within a few days in all the samples — but at the lower temperatures tested it persisted for much longer. At low temperature and low humidity, the glass and metal samples still had large numbers of infectious viruses at the end of the experiment, the authors say. “At these conditions, the virus would be expected to persist appreciably beyond 13 days.”

The effect of humidity and temperature on influenza virus survival means that humidifiers could be useful in preventing influenza infections, and that steam-based cleaning systems could be effective at removing viruses from surfaces without damaging electrical systems or mechanical parts, suggest James McDevitt, of the Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues.

Humidifiers could even be used to reduce the chances of infection by seasonal flu in the home, they say. In research reported last week in Environmental Health,2 McDevitt and colleagues use an air quality model together with published data on seasonal virus survival rates to show that using a home humidifier during the winter months would reduce virus survival rates by up to 30%.

McDevitt et al suggest that humidification could also be used to reduce virus survival in places such as offices and hospitals. “The expected benefits of humidification are likely to be larger in places where larger populations of people with the flu and people susceptible to the flu congregate.”

[dothedd]

Avian influenza Index

Avian influenza: Also called fowl plague, avian flu, and bird flu. A highly contagious viral disease with up to 100% mortality in domestic fowl. Caused by influenza A virus subtypes H5 and H7. All types of birds are susceptible to the virus but outbreaks occur most often in chickens and turkeys. The infection may be brought by migratory wild birds which can carry the virus but show no signs of disease. Humans are only rarely affected.

Type A influenza viruses can infect several animal species aside from birds, including pigs, horses, seals and whales. Birds are an especially important species because all known subtypes of influenza A viruses circulate among wild birds, which are the natural hosts for influenza A viruses. Avian influenza viruses do not usually directly infect humans or circulate among humans.
Influenza A viruses can be divided into subtypes on the basis of their surface proteins - hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are 15 known H subtypes. While all subtypes can be found in birds, only 3 subtypes of HA (H1, H2 and H3) and two subtypes of NA (N1 and N2) are known to have circulated widely in humans.

The symptoms in humans range from typical influenza-like symptoms (with fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications.
Studies to date suggest that the prescription medications approved for human influenza strains would be effective in preventing avian influenza infection in humans.

All influenza viruses have the potential to change. It is possible that an avian influenza virus could change so that it could infect humans and could spread easily from person to person. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population. If an avian virus were able to infect people and gain the ability to spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic, a global outbreak, could begin.

Past influenza pandemics have led to high levels of illness, death, social disruption and economic loss. There were 3 pandemics in the 20th century; the Spanish flu (1918-19), Asian flu (1957-58), and Hong Kong flu (1968-69). All of them spread worldwide within a year of being detected.

[dothedd]

Bird Flu Remains a Likely Outbreak Worldwide
Sep 11, 2010

What We Should Know

Bird flu the Avian Influenza, the flu in birds. This disease is of major to humans, since there is no immunity to this flu. The virus which infects birds can alter to affect humans. This could begin a worldwide epidemic.

Dr. Webster, chairman of the virology molecular biology department at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and an expert in the field of influenza states that health authorities globally need to keep watch for possible outbreaks of influenza. Even though swine flu is a lot less deadlier than persons had begun to fear. Dr. Webster states that bird flu stays as a likely threat and possibly could be the reason of the next worldwide epidemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) as of last month has acknowledged that the H1N1(swine flu) epidemic is now over. This is after the reporting of 18,600 deaths globally. The cautions and recommendations that were issued by WHO had driven a great number of persons to believing that the world was in an epidemic which would cause millions of lives to be lost. A few distinguished medical journals along with some leading experts conveyed regard that public money in the billions of dollars range was wasted, with hardly anything accomplished except profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

According to Dr. Webster who is quoted as saying "We may think we can relax and influenza is no longer a problem. I want to assure you that that is not the case." He continues on to relay that the next outbreak could drive from birds (water fowl) which in turn would be transmitted to pigs and then from pigs to humans. The H5N1 had accomplished just that very thing. H5N1 is a flu virus in which 300 persons world wide have died to date.

Even though deaths from bird flu are decreasing within the past few years, they have increased in Egypt.

H5N1 is known to kill 61% of persons who become infected with the flu. The only positive side so far is the H5N1 flu cannot be transmitted from person to person. Dr. Webster does warn not to hold faith in that theory because it could just alter to have that ability. So there must be vigilance.

Bird Flu A(H5NI) status in Europe

Egypt's Ministry of Health has stated a new human case of A(H5N1) bird flu has been noted and confirmed. A Qaluibia governorate female who is thirty-three years old, on August 17th had developed symptoms and seven days later became hospitalized, where she did receive oseltamivir (medication) treatment. On August 26th the female had died.

Beginning examinations have shown that the patient was exposed to sick and dead poultry.

Confirmation of the woman having H5N1 was concluded by The Egyptian Public Health Laboratories and a National Influenza Center of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network(GISN).

Meaning of Bird Flu

Bird flu is a diseased which is caused by viruses. It is labeled a contagious disease which infects only birds and occasionally pigs. This virus attacks certain species however, sometimes they have crossed over the barrier and have infected persons. This is very uncommon.

In concern of farm birds (poultry) there are two primary types of the bird flu, one is usually mild and the other is deadly for birds.

Mild Case

In this case low pathogenic forms of bird flu could cause a bird to have more feathers that are ruffled and lay less eggs. This type is not commonly noticed in farmed poultry. Due to the fact in a lot of the cases the bird that becomes infected simply gets well and no one notices.

Deadly Case

In this case the high pathogenic form is greatly dangerous. It's mortality rate of around 100% spreads quickly within a flock of birds. A bird that becomes infected with a more lethal type of the flu.

The most dangerous strain is H5N1.

Foundation

The very first bird flu to affect persons occurred in Hong Kong in 1977. Which happened during the bird flu epidemic on the island. That outbreak had been associated to chickens and categorized as a vain influenza A(H5N1).

Cases of H5N1 in persons have now been declared in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the near East, Indonesia and Vietnam. About 400 persons have become sick with the virus. Slightly over 60% of persons who became ill had died.

The more the bird flu expands, the more of chance for a global outbreak to occur. There currently is enormous regard that H5N1 presents a massive epidemic threat.

Those persons who have a greater risks of getting the H5N1 are farmers and persons who work with poultry and persons who visit foreign countries where the flu is present. Also, those persons who consume undercooked poultry, eggs or blood from these birds are also at increased risk for the flu.

The bird flu has been witnessed to survive for enduring lengths of time. The infection can be spread just by touching any surfaces which have been contaminated. The birds who recover from this flu can still emit this virus through their feces and saliva for a period of ten days.

Symptoms of Bird Flu

The symptoms are dependent upon which type of strain of virus. The H5N1 in persons produce more usual symptoms that are flu like in content. These symptoms may include:

Cough

Diarrhea

Breathing Problems

Fevers which are above 100.4 degrees

Headache

Depression

Runny Nose

Sore Throat

Possible Complications

Chronic Respiratory Distress

Organ Failure

Pneumonia

Infection of the Blood

Identification through exam and tests

If you feel as if you could have been exposed, please notify your healthcare practitioner before your visit. This will enable the practitioner and their staff to take any necessary precautions that provide protection for themselves and other patients when you visit.

Test to verify this flu do exist but unfortunately are not vastly available at the present time. A test which does diagnose the strain type in persons who are thought of having the virus yield fundamental findings within four hours. The older tests had taken two to three days for results.

A practitioner may do the following types of testing:

Auscultation ( a test which notices irregular breath sounds)

Chest X-ray

Nasopharyngeal culture (test which identifies within the nasal secretions which cause disease)

White Blood Cell differential (identifies percents of white blood cells in the blood. It can also show abnormal or immature cells).

Other tests may include functioning of heart, kidneys and liver.

Treatments

Due to the fact there are various strains of the bird flu that produce different symptoms, the treatments also vary.

The usual treatment is the anti-viral medication oseltamivir or zanamivir. It can help the disease become less severe provided the medication is taken within 48 hours of symptoms appearing. The virus that produces human bird flu seems to be immune to anti-viral medications amantadine and rimantadine. Therefore, these medications should not be administered if an outbreak does occur.

Persons who have severe infections are placed on breathing machines. Health experts that persons who are diagnosed with bird flu be quarantined. Health practitioners are advocating persons obtain a flu shot to lessen risk of the bird flu viruses blending with a human virus. If it does mix it would develop a new virus which could spread quickly.

Currently the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a vaccine to safe guard humans from the bird flu. Health experts report the vaccine may be used if the recent H5N1 virus starts to spread between person to person.

Possible Chinese Medicine Effectiveness

A Chinese medicine which had received approval from a Chinese state agency to be capable against SARS has been reported as a cure for H5N1 (bird flu). Lianhuachin, the Chinese medicine is claimed to effectively eliminate the virus that causes bird flu and also can be used to in curing the flu. This is said to be from the China's Ministry of Agriculture. The report had displayed that from 0.5 to 1 gram concentration level of the formula can eliminate H5 and H9 bird flu strains within a matter of only ten minutes, with a rate of 100% effectiveness.

This formula contains two Chinese medicines which are used for flu treatments, forsythia and lonicera.

The Lianhuachin formula is one of the very first Chinese medicines to have authorization for the SARS epidemic by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration. It is said this formula is going to be distributed to the regions which are affected by the bird flu.

Vitamins and Substances

Immune system support by using Vitamin A and C along with Zinc. These help heighten the functioning of the immune system.

Researchers have indicated that aggressive strains of H5N1 in persons produce ten times more inflammation. To diminish this it is recommended to use antioxidants and other substances such as Vitamin A, C, Zinc, Beta Carotene and Alpha Lipoic Acid.

Please note that the trade associations of the dietary supplement industry, The American Herbal Products Association, Consumers Healthcare Products Association, the Council for Reasonable Nutrition and the National Nutritional Food's Association have issued a statement concerning dietary supplements.

Excerpt Reads:

"The dietary supplement industry is keenly aware of public concern regarding avian flu and of the desire of the public to protect itself against this recent health epidemic, which can cause serious illness and, ultimately, death. We do not believe any dietary supplements have been specifically shown to prevent or treat avian flu."

Common Sense Practice

Separate cooked meat from raw and do not use the same cutting board or knife for raw and cooked meat.

Do not handle raw or cooked foods without hand washing in between.

Do not place cooked meat on the same plate where it was placed when raw.

Completely cook all poultry. The virus of influenza is eliminated by heat of at least 158F.

Eggs shells should be washed before handling or cooking in soapy water. Wash hands afterward.

Do not use raw or soft boiled eggs that will not get cooked.

After the handling of raw poultry or eggs, wash hands, surfaces and utensils with soap and water.

At this current time the CDC has no recommendations for persons against traveling to countries that are affected with the bird flu.

Current information of the bird flu is available on the CDC website.

[dothedd]

SEPT 14, 2010

Antigenic and genetic characteristics of H5N1 viruses and candidate

H5N1 vaccine viruses developed for potential use as pre-pandemic

vaccines

The development of representative pre-pandemic H5N1 candidate vaccine viruses by
the WHO Global Influenza Programme

1 is being conducted as one step in an overall strategy for pandemic preparedness. This summary presents the current status of the development of new candidate H5N1 vaccine viruses and is intended to provide guidance for national authorities on the production of pre-pandemic vaccine.

The H5N1 viruses chosen for development of pre-pandemic candidate vaccine viruses are representative of antigenically and genetically distinct groups of viruses that have infected humans primarily through contact with ill or dead H5N1-infected birds.

These representative candidate H5N1 vaccine viruses have been prepared by reverse genetics and safety tested prior to release for production of pilot vaccine lots that may be used for experimental studies and for stockpiling by governments in advance of a possible H5N1 pandemic, should such a national policy exist. Companies are recommended to consult individual national authorities on the H5N1 strains to be used. Decisions should be based on the epidemiology of the circulating H5N1 viruses that are described below.

Comparison of the previously developed (clade 1 rg A/Vietnam/1194/2004 and rg
A/Vietnam 1203/2004)

2 and new candidate H5N1 vaccine viruses and studies of cross-reactivity of these pre-pandemic vaccine viruses and their relationship to newly emerging H5N1 viruses are ongoing, and will be reported periodically by WHO.Genetic characteristics of recent H5N1 viruses.

The haemagglutinin (HA) sequences of the majority of H5N1 viruses circulating in avian species during the past 3 years separated into two distinct phylogenetic clades (genetic groups).

3 Clade 1 viruses circulating in Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam were responsible for human infections in those countries during 2004 and 2005.

Clade 2 viruses circulated in birds in China and Indonesia during 2003–2004 and subsequently during 2005–2006 spread westwards to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. This latter genetic group of viruses has been principally responsible for human infections during the later part of 2005 and 2006.

Six sub-clades of clade 2 have been distinguished, three of which (subclades 1, 2 and 3) also differ in geographical
distribution and have been largely responsible for human cases in Indonesia, in countries in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, and in China, respectively ( Fig. 1). Antigenic characteristics of recent H5N1 virusesThe antigenic relationships between the HAs of human isolates representative of clade 1 and three subclades of clade 2 were compared by haemagglutination inhibition (HI).

1
See www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/mission/en/

2
See: www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/guidelines/avian_influenza_prototype_strains/en/index .html

3
See: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no10/05-0644.htm www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/guidelines/recommendationvaccin​​e.pdf

[dothedd]

Availability of a new recombinant A(H5N1) vaccine virus03 August 2010IDCDC-RG13A new recombinant A(H5N1) vaccine virus has been developed by the WHO Collaborating Center for the Surveillance, Epidemiology and Control of Influenza at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA, from A/Egypt/3300-NAMRU3/2008 (H5N1; Clade 2.2.1)

The new recombinant vaccine virus named A/Egypt/3300-NAMRU3/2008 (H5N1)-PR8-IDCDC-RG13 is available for distribution. As with all seasonal and A(H5N1) influenza viruses selected by WHO and used for vaccine development, the sequence of haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) of A/Egypt/3300-NAMRU3/2008 can be found on a public website:
:: HA Sequence
:: NA Sequence The sequence for both surface genes of the recombinant vaccine virus IDCDC-RG13 can also be found on the NCBI public website:
:: HA Sequence
:: NA Sequence Institutions, companies and others interested in pandemic vaccine development, who wish to receive these candidate vaccine viruses should contact either the WHO Global Influenza Programme at [e-mail] or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the address below:
Dr. Ruben Donis
Influenza Division, NCIRD, OID
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd., MS G-16
Atlanta, GA 30333
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

Antigenic analysis of A/Egypt/3300-NAMRU3/2008, A/Egypt/3300-NAMRU3/2008(H5N1)-PR8-IDCDC-RG13 by haemagglutination inhibition with ferret antisera indicated that it maintained the characteristics of the parental wild-type virus.

The Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN) has been closely monitoring the antigenic and genetic evolution of the circulating viruses, especially viruses that infect humans. Countries are encouraged to share with WHO their specimens and/or isolates, both from humans and animals, in order to be included in the WHO H5N1 vaccine virus selection and development programme, in addition to other activities of public health significance.

www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/H5N1virusAugust/en/index.html

[dothedd]

09/14/10

Antigenic and genetic characteristics of influenza A(H5N1) and influenza A(H9N2) viruses and candidate vaccine viruses developed for potential use in human vaccines:
www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/guidelines/201002_H5_H9_VaccineVirusUpdate.pdf

[dothedd]

Tuesday September 14 2010

H5N1 bird flu virus crossover threat

Just as bird flu appeared to have been brought under acceptable control in most countries, new evidence is emerging that claims it is crossing to pigs, intensifying the threat to humans.

The virus may be evolving the ability to spread from mammal to mammal, says a research team from Indonesia and Japan, which has found that pigs in Indonesia have been infected with the disease since 2005.

[dothedd]

Vietnam Health Ministry denies kickbacks paid on bird-flu drug

Sep 14, 2010, 6:45 GMT Hanoi - Vietnam's Health Ministry Tuesday rejected allegations by government inspectors that officials had accepted kickbacks on emergency drug purchases during the avian influenza scare of 2005-06.

The inspectors alleged the ministry had overpaid for 2 million doses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Inspectors said the ministry bought an inferior version of the drug from an Indian firm, and accused officers at state-owned drug companies of accepting kickbacks from the manufacturer.

Health officials responded angrily, saying the purchases were expensive because the government ordered them to stockpile the drug on an emergency basis in anticipation of a global avian influenza pandemic. They said inspectors had no evidence of kickbacks, and were criminalizing normal public-health measures.

'If this case is criminalized, it will wear down the Ministry of Health's leaders' will to act,' said Ministerial Secretary Nguyen Xuan Truong. 'No one will dare to make decisions in critical situations.'

On Monday, executives at four state-owned pharmaceuticals distribution companies held a press conference to deny kickbacks had taken place.

'During the flu pandemic scare, (the ministry) encouraged us to buy materials to produce Tamiflu at any cost,' Tran Thi Dao, general director of the state-owned drug distributor Imexpharm, said. 'Now we're being driven into a corner.'

The ministry decided to stockpile 20 million doses of Tamiflu in November 2005, according to the inspectors' report. Four state-owned pharmaceutical companies were directed to make the purchases.

The companies purchased the active ingredient at 18,000 dollars per kilogram from India's Hetero Labs Limited. The inspectors said the price was much higher than quoted in the ministry's proposal, and said the ministry failed to get approval for the purchase.

Inspectors also alleged the companies had failed to turn over to the government 6.6 million dollars in reimbursements they received from the foreign distributors.

The drugs expired after a three-year shelf life in early 2009.

An investigation by the newspaper Thanh Nien found that the German pharmaceuticals company Roche signed an agreement with the Ministry of Health in November 2005 to supply a version of Tamiflu's active ingredient with a 10-year shelf life at 8,500 dollars per kilo, half the price Hetero charged. A Roche representative said the ministry had never taken up the offer.
Former Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said the ministry had not accepted Roche's offer because the company could not meet the deadline of March 1, 2006. She said the price Vietnam had paid per dose was not higher than prices paid by other governments in the region.

There have been 119 human cases of avian influenza since the H5N1 virus first appeared in the country in 2003, including 59 deaths. Scientists have warned that the virus could mutate into a form transmissible between humans, leading to a global pandemic that could kill millions.

[dothedd]

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Friends Provide an Epidemic Early Warning

Monitoring popular people could help the CDC get a jump on infectious outbreaks.

Epidemics spread quickly and erratically, and researchers have been hunting for better ways to predict outbreaks for some time. But although widespread technology is providing innovative ways to pinpoint emerging outbreaks--from social media to internet trackers--government organizations still can't get as great a jump on them as they'd like.

James Fowler, who studies genetics and social networks at the University of California at San Diego, has a novel proposal for them: Rather than trying to get a grasp on what everyone is doing by studying vast networks of data, focus on what the popular people do. In research published today in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, Fowler and his Harvard colleague Nicholas Christakis followed two groups of people during the 2009 H1N1 or so-called "bird flu" pandemic--one group chosen at random from the Harvard undergrad population (the control), and one group comprised of friends of the first group.

Granted, college campuses are insular and may not be representative of larger networks, such as those in large cities; but they provide a perfect petri dish (so to speak) for experiments like Fowler's. By the end of campus outbreak, Fowler's data clearly showed that people in the friends group were, for better or worse, ahead of the epidemic curve. On average, these students came down with the flu 13.9 days before the control group.

Being dubbed a "friend" meant that someone was more likely to be widely connected than a randomly selected person in the control group. And because such people were more deeply entwined in various campus social groups (real, face-to-face social networks), they were more likely to be exposed to the H1N1 virus as it was just entering circulation. In other words, these people were early detectors of the H1N1 virus before it peaked on campus or across the country.

"The best the CDC can do right now is to lag a couple of days behind an epidemic," Fowler says. Internet search data can do a bit better, providing data that reflects the here and now. But his method, he says, "is a crystal ball for looking to see what will happen to the whole population. These are the people to look at if you want to see what will happen in the future."

Fowler wants to combine these human sensors with other methods in development, such as those that monitor internet search terms. "We could potentially follow the online behavior of the friend group. And if the friend group is looking up information about flu symptoms and what kind of cough syrup works best, we suspect that will give you advance information," he says.

[dothedd]

Dry Air Might Boost Flu TransmissionGerms prefer an environment that’s cool, dry and UV-freePosted: September 15, 2010

Science News

For flu germs, warm muggy weather is simply too close for comfort. It saps their vigor, cutting the period in which they remain infectious, according to a pair of new studies.

Although it remains a mystery why flu viruses are so sensitive to heat and humidity, both papers highlight conditions that can aid and abet infection—factors that might be thwarted by controlling aspects of the indoor environment.

One laboratory study measured how long highly pathogenic avian influenza remains infectious. Scientists applied known quantities of virus to a variety of surfaces that might be found outdoors on a chicken farm. Poultry have been implicated as a source of this particularly deadly type of bird flu.

The researchers kept samples either at room temperature or in a chilly environment more typical of a kitchen refrigerator. Relative humidity also varied from a low of between 15 and 46 percent to highs exceeding 90 percent. These conditions “are not unheard of in our part of the country,” explains study coauthor Joseph Wood of the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Virus particles didn’t remain infectious for more than about a day at room temperature and high humidity, Wood’s team reports in a paper posted online September 3 in Environmental Science & Technology. When the researchers dropped the temperature and humidity, things changed abruptly. The virus remained infectious through day four on feces, and through the end of the study—13 days—on glass, metal and soil. In fact, the environmental engineer notes, except on feces, “There was hardly any loss of the virus. It’s a bit disconcerting.”

Some samples were exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet wavelengths. On nonporous surfaces, those viruses died within a day. But UV-exposed viruses persisted two to four days in feces and soil. “Even on a sunny day, you may not have much impact from the UV light,” Wood says, probably because the virus can get buried in crevices where it’s protected from UV.

A second study simulated the impacts of a room humidifier on the persistence of virus particles in the air. Starting germ loads were based on numbers of virus particles that team members had previously measured being spewed into the air as flu sufferers coughed, talked and just breathed. Temperature and moisture conditions were chosen to simulate winter, when flu season picks up and indoor humidity plummets.

For homes with forced-air systems, virus counts in a room’s air dropped by almost 20 percent when a humidifier was used, the model indicates—and by roughly one-third in rooms where heating was supplied by radiators. (The difference: Fans in the homes with furnaces mix air more, diluting the moisture supplied by a humidifier into the air of other rooms.) The findings appear in a paper posted online September 3 in Environmental Health.

This analysis was among the first to base moisture comparisons on absolute rather than relative humidity. Relative humidity compares the mass of water in air to its saturation point—the value where moisture would begin to rain out or cause fog, explains Jeffrey Shaman of Oregon State University in Corvallis. But being, well, relative, this value changes with temperature. At 50 percent relative humidity, 40° Fahrenheit air contains only a quarter of the water vapor at air at 80° F. But absolute humidity quantifies the mass of water vapor in air, irrespective of temperature.

Studies since the 1940s have indicated that temperature and humidity play a role in the persistence of flu virus. “But the relationships were not strong,” Shaman says. “They weren’t always consistent.”

In a 2009 paper he and Melvin Kohn of the Oregon Department of Health showed that adjusting the moisture values reported in earlier flu-virus analyses to absolute humidity “seems to explain almost all of the changes in survival of the airborne virus that you see in the lab.” Previous relative humidity measurements had explained only 12 percent of the variation in rates of flu transmission and 36 percent of the variability seen in virus survival, Shaman points out.

“Humidifiers may be an important tool to reduce the survival of influenza virus in the home,” authors conclude in the new Environmental Health paper.

Not so fast, says Peter Palese of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Knocking out even a significant share of viruses in the air—like one-third—might leave enough behind to cause sickness. And if people aren’t careful, he warns, over-humidifying a building might create a new problem: mold growth.

But Shaman, an atmospheric scientist who studies the effects of moisture and temperature on infectious disease, believes it’s possible that knocking out just 30 percent of airborne flu particles might prove useful.

For a flu outbreak to sustain itself, each infected person must, on average, sicken more than one additional person. Typically, the number averages around 1.4 additional infections. But it’s possible that cutting the number of infectious virus particles indoors by 20 or 30 percent might reduce the average number of people sickened by a flu victim to less than one. “And then,” Shaman says, the outbreak “may die out.”

“It comes down to a numbers game,” he says. It also points to the importance of follow-up field tests to quantify the extent to which relatively modest changes in virus particles’ infectious lifespan may affect the transmission of disease.

[dothedd]

Hong Kong - Bird flu a real threat
17 Sep 2010

A World Health Organization official is defending the agency's actions during last year's swine flu outbreak.

There have been accusations that WHO wasted governments' money and enriched pharmaceutical companies with its strong warnings about the virus.

The official says WHO didn't hype the crisis and was acting with limited information at first. He says WHO adjusted its response when the outbreak wasn't as serious as expected. WHO received at least $170 million from member states to deal with the outbreak.

Meanwhile, a leading virus expert today warned health authorities around the world against complacency. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an influenza conference in Hong Kong, researcher Robert Webster says it's wrong to think that flu is no longer a problem. He says bird flu could spark the next global outbreak.

[dothedd]

Updated : 10:59 AM, 09/21/2010

National action plan to combat bird flu

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in coordination with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and various overseas organisations, held a seminar in Hanoi on September 20 to draw up an action plan to combat bird flu in the next five years (2011-2015).According to MARD, the animal husbandry sector in Vietnam has developed dramatically but animal health services have not yet met its requirements. As a result, there are more cases of diseases being transferred from animals to humans.

MARD’s Deputy Minister Diep Kinh Tan said that over the past five years, more than VND3,931 billion (roughly US$201.7 million) has been allocated by the State and international organisations on training medical workers and building testing centres. However, he said, the country still faces numerous challenges due to the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus.

The participants in the seminar discussed measures to minimise the risk to public health and deal with the bird flu virus in both animals and humans.

They focused their discussions on how to reduce virus transmissions from animals to people and the environment. It is also essential to restructure the agricultural sector in line with the Vietnamese Good Animal Husbandry Practices (VietGAHP), they added.

The delegates also stressed the need to effectively manage the animal health sector, stabilise the price of vaccines and control cross-border infections.

[dothedd]

Russia - Bird flu suspicions 08 Oct 2010

It is estimated that more than 1,000 birds died. The reason for birds' deaths is being investigated, reports the Russian agency, Rosselkhoznadzor.

The samples of the pathological material have been taken from dead birds and sent to KGBU regional veterinary laboratory of the Krasnodarskiy Krai and to FGI ARRIAH.

The carcasses were collected and destroyed by burning. On 19 September, restrictions were imposed by the Administration of the Minusinskiy Rayon Decision on the movement of transport along the roads close to the lake.

The veterinary-police posts were set up on the roads which lead to the lake, the hunting on the lakes of the Minusinskiy Rayon is prohibited.

The OAO Shushenskaya Poultry Plant is situated 35km from Lake Tagarskoe; more than 250 birds are kept there. The Territorial Administration of the Rosselkhoznadzor for the Krasnodarskiy Krai carried out inspections in order to check whether the activities aimed at prevention of avian influenza virus introduction are performed at the poultry plant.

According to the information of the Territorial Administration, OAO Shushenskaya Poultry Plant works in "closed-type" regime. Groups for monitoring of diseases in wild and synanthropic birds near water basins have been formed and equipped in the southern regions of the Krasnodarskiy Krai.

Source: newsroom - meattradenewsdaily.co.uk Volume 16, Number 2–February 2010LetterAvian Influenza (H5N1) Outbreak among Wild Birds, Russia, 2009Kirill Sharshov, Nikita Silko, Ivan Sousloparov, Anna Zaykovskaya, Aleksander Shestopalov, and Ilia Drozdov

Author affiliation: State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, Koltsovo, Russia
Suggested citation for this article

To the Editor: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus (H5N1) has been endemic in poultry in Southeast Asia since 2003 (1). In April 2005, an outbreak of influenza virus (H5N1) infection was detected in wild birds on Qinghai Lake in western China (2). Subsequently, the Qinghai-like (clade 2.2) HPAI virus (H5N1) lineage was detected in wild birds and poultry in many countries (1,3,4). The source of these introductions, although still debated, is likely through bird migration (5).

In June 2006, an influenza (H5N1) outbreak was detected in wild birds on Uvs-Nuur Lake in western Siberia, Russia. We showed that A/duck/Tuva/01/2006, isolated during the outbreak, was highly pathogenic for chickens and mice and belonged to the Qinghai-like group (2.2 clade) (6).

The first case of Fujian subclade 2.3.2 influenza virus (H5N1) lineage in the Russian Far East was recorded in April 2008 (7). Before this case, no HPAI (H5N1) outbreaks of the Fujian lineage had been reported in Russia.

In June 2009, an outbreak of HPAI in wild birds was recorded in Mongolia (4) and on Uvs-Nuur Lake in Russia. RNA extracted from organs (liver, spleen, intestine) of 10 dead birds belonging to 4 species (great crested grebe [Podiceps cristatus], little grebe [Tachybaptus ruficollis], black-headed gull [Larus ridibundus], and spoonbill [Platalea leucorodia]) was positive for type A influenza RNA and for the H5 subtype by real-time reverse transcription–PCR (8). We isolated 2 viruses from embryonated specific antibody–negative fowl eggs. Hemagglutination (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) inhibition assays with monospecific antiserum confirmed the H5N1 subtype. Viruses were designated as A/black-headed gull/Tyva/115/2009 and A/great crested grebe/Tyva/120/2009, and sequences of their HA and NA segments were defined. No HPAI virus (H5N1) was found in cloacal swabs obtained from 36 live birds (of the 4 species listed above) from Uvs-Nuur Lake.

Phylogenetic analysis (9) of the HA gene (Figure) showed that viruses belong to clade 2.3.2. These viruses are clearly distinguishable from the HPAI viruses previously isolated in this Russian region in 2006, A/duck/Tuva/01/2006 (clade 2.2) but are more related to A/whooper swan/Mongolia/8/2009 and A/whooper swan/Mongolia/2/2009. For the NA gene, isolated viruses were most closely related to viruses found in Mongolia. Analysis of NA protein determined that the viruses found are sensitive to NA inhibitors.

Both viruses were shown to be highly pathogenic for chickens (intravenous pathogenicity index 3). This finding is consistent with the results of the sequence analysis of the HA gene. The HA protein possesses a series of basic amino acids (PQRERRRKR) at the cleavage site. Several amino acid changes were found between HA of investigated viruses and viruses from clade 2.3.2 that were isolated in Russia in 2008. However, the receptor-binding site of HA (positions 222–224) was not changed.

The spread of HPAI (H5N1) west across the globe has caused serious debates on the roles of migratory birds in virus circulation (2,5,7). In the 2009 outbreak we describe, we doubt that wild birds were infected from local poultry because domestic poultry are not present in the Uvs-Nuur Lake region and there have been no reports of HPAI among poultry in Russia since early 2008. We suggest that wild birds brought the virus to Uvs-Nuur Lake from outside the country. Because prior to June 2009 the only case of new Fujian sub-clade 2.3.2 influenza virus (H5N1) lineage was in the Russian Far East, we believe that the virus isolated in 2009 from Uvs-Nuur Lake was probably introduced by wild birds that wintered in Southeast Asia.

Many different bird species stop at Uvs-Nuur Lake during the spring and fall migrations. Qinghai-like viruses were introduced to the region from central China by wild birds in 2006 (6). The introduction of the H5N1 Fujian-lineage to the lake 3 years later shows further evidence that Uvs-Nuur Lake is an major area for wild bird migration and breeding and hence an environment that could potentially support the introduction of influenza virus variants from migrating wild birds. Bodies of water such as Qinghai Lake and Uvs-Nuur Lake may play a major role in the circulation of avian influenza. Therefore, we continue to study new outbreaks thoroughly and take into account the ecology and pathobiology of the species involved.

Areas where large numbers of birds congregate should be closely monitored because these areas could serve as the breeding ground for avian influenza virus variants that might spread globally. Additionally, we must keep in mind that wild bird species can vary greatly in their response to HPAI and that naturally resistant waterfowl could serve as vectors for the introduction of HPAI into new locations (1,2,5,7).

Because wild birds can be involved in virus introduction, continuing surveillance is warranted. Detection of any influenza A (H5N1) virus in wild birds in a new region should be immediately followed up with efforts to characterize the virus and to control the spread of new HPAI viruses.

www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/2/349.htm

[dothedd]

NEWS SCAN: H5N1 deaths

Oct 18, 2010

Indonesia reports two H5N1 deaths

Indonesia's health ministry recently announced two new H5N1 avian influenza deaths, both in adults, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today. The first is a 35-year-old man from West Jakarta who got sick in mid August, was hospitalized Aug 20, and died on Aug 27.

Investigators found that sudden chicken deaths had occurred around the man's house a week before he became ill. The other victim is a 40-year-old woman from Kota Depok, West Java, who got sick Sep 9, was hospitalized Sep 12, and died on Sep 17.

The initial probe into the source of her infection suggests she may have been exposed to the virus at a live bird market. Kota Depok is part of an urban area that surrounds Jakarta. Indonesia's H5N1 total now stands at 170 cases and 141 deaths, both of which are the highest in the world.

Oct 18 WHO statement
WHO global H5N1 case count

[dothedd]

New Finding of Rise in H5N1 Virus (Avian Flu) Replikin Count Information contained on this page is provided by companies via press release distributed through PR Newswire, an independent third-party content provider. PR Newswire, WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

SOURCE Replikins Ltd.
Replikins Global BioRadar Surveillance System™ Shows Replikin Count in H5N1 at Record High for 2010

BOSTON, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- BioRadar™ software correctly predicted the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) outbreak a year in advance (http://www.replikins.com, Replikins Press, 2008). The same rise in Replikin Count of these genomic Replikin genes, this time in the H5N1 (Bird Flu) virus, may similarly warn of the coming of severe outbreaks in H5N1.

Specifically, BioRadar™ analyzed two separate Replikins* genes, one for infectivity and one for lethality. The high H5N1 lethality gene Replikin Count, rising since 2006 (6.0+/-7.0), has continued to rise to a high in 2010 (9.1+/-8.5) (p<0.001). BioRadar™ predicted in 2009 an increase in H5N1 outbreaks and more outbreaks appeared in 16 countries by mid-2010. The previous low infectivity of H5N1, correlated with a low Replikin Count, has been reassuring. The finding in 2010 of a significant increase in the Replikin Count of the H5N1 infectivity gene as well, in "scout" viruses to 8.4, its highest level in 53 years, is of concern.

By means of BioRadar™ software, Replikins were identified in all sequences (N, H5N1=25,358) from PubMed and from Global BioRadar Surveillance System™ participants.

The studies were conducted by Samuel Bogoch, M.D., Ph.D. and Elenore S. Bogoch, M.D., Boston University School of Medicine and BioRadar UK, Ltd.

*About Replikins
Replikins are a new group of genomic peptide structures in viruses, other infectious disease agents, and cancer cells, which are associated with rapid replication (http://www.replikins.com). Two genes have been isolated in silico in viruses and relate to infectivity and lethality respectively. The increase in Replikin concentration (Replikin Count=Number of Replikins per 100 amino acids) in the virus Infectivity Gene precedes an increase in clinical infectivity and spread; and an increase in the virus Lethality Gene precedes an increase in lethality clinically.

www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13395433&clienttype=printable

[dothedd]

Health alert: Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Thomas Tsang and Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow brief reporters on a case of H5 influenza A involving a 59-year-old woman.

Woman infected with H5 virus

November 17, 2010

The Government has upgraded its response level for influenza pandemic to 'serious' as a 59-year-old woman is confirmed to have been infected with H5 influenza A virus after a trip to the Mainland.

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow today told reporters the patient is in serious condition with pneumonia symptoms and will be transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital's intensive care unit.

She travelled to Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou with her family from October 23 to November 1, and visited local markets and consumed chicken but did not have any contact with live poultry contact nor visit farms during her stay on the Mainland. She came down with flu symptoms the day after returning and her condition has deteriorated. Her 60-year-old husband also had symptoms but has recovered.

Video 1 of 1 Download


As she went to Yan Oi Market in Tuen Mun after her return, the Government will conduct more tests to confirm whether it is a local or imported case.

The Government has notified the Mainland authorities of the case and will inform the World Health Organisation. It will strengthen disease surveillance, and enhance monitoring of wild birds and chickens in local farms and from the Mainland. So far no problems have been found in local chicken farms and wholesale markets.

"A steering committee meeting involving other concerned bureaus and departments will be held tomorrow to review the situation and plan for further actions, if required."

Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Thomas Tsang said the centre will monitor the condition of the patient's family members and the five patients who shared her hospital cubical.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010Woman infected with H5N1 virus The Government has upgraded its response level for influenza pandemic to 'serious' as a 59-year-old woman is confirmed to have been infected with H5 influenza A virus after a trip to the Mainland.

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow today told reporters the patient is in serious condition with pneumonia symptoms and will be transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital's intensive care unit.

She travelled to Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou with her family from October 23 to November 1, and visited local markets and consumed chicken but did not have any contact with live poultry contact nor visit farms during her stay on the Mainland. She came down with flu symptoms the day after returning and her condition has deteriorated. Her 60-year-old husband also had symptoms but has recovered.

11/17/2010Hong Kong: Woman infected with H5 in serious condition (11/17/10)

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Hong Kong officials meet after bird flu confirmedThe Associated Press

Wednesday, November 17, 2010; 10:56 PM

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of human bird flu in seven years.

Health Secretary York Chow said late Wednesday that a 59-year-old woman had tested positive for H5N1 bird flu after returning to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland, and is in serious condition in a local hospital.

With the announcement, the government raised the bird flu alert to "serious," meaning there is a risk of contracting the disease within the territory.

Chow said Hong Kong officials were meeting Thursday and would determine whether additional measures are needed to safeguard local residents.

The bird flu virus first struck Hong Kong in 1997. Six people died in that outbreak and all chickens in the territory were culled.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/17/AR2010111707811.html

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No. of bird flu-infected cranes in Kagoshima totals 5

Tuesday 28th December, 12:03 AM JST

KAGOSHIMA —

The Izumi city government in Kagoshima Prefecture said Monday that three hooded cranes that flew into the Izumi Plains have been confirmed as infected with the highly virulent avian influenza virus H5N1, raising the number of bird-flu-infected hooded cranes there to five so far.

The three were found dead by Dec 21 and tested positive for bird flu in a preliminary test, prompting the local government to send their samples to Tottori University for further testing. While no other dead or weakened cranes were found in the plains on Monday, municipal government officials said they will keep an eye on developments there.

The local government also decided Monday to continue suspending the city’s crane observation center and prohibiting access to nearby places until Jan 18 next year.

[dothedd]

ALERT:


WHO, Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 39 (Dec. 29 2010, edited)

[Source: World Health Organization, full page: WHO | Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 39. Edited.]

Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 39

29 December 2010


The Ministry of Health of Egypt has announced two new cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza.

A 28 year-old woman from Manshaet district of Damnhouar governorate developed symptoms on 12 December.

She was admitted to hospital on the 14th and subsequently discharged on the 22nd in good and stable condition.

She has a history of exposure in a market where live animals are sold.

An 11 year-old girl from Esna district of Luxor governorate developed symptoms on 18 December and was admitted in the hospital the following day.

She experienced severe respiratory symptoms requiring mechanical ventilation and died on 23 December.

No information is available regarding poultry exposure.

Investigations into the source of infection are underway.

Laboratory tests have confirmed H5N1 virus and both patients were treated with antiviral medications.

Of the 115 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 38 have been fatal.
-

[dothedd]

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010

Toyama bird flu strain deemed highly lethal TOYAMA (Kyodo) The highly infectious H5 avian flu virus found in a dead swan in Toyama Prefecture is very lethal and extremely close to the strains that infected birds in Shimane Prefecture and Hokkaido, the National Institute of Animal Health said late Sunday.

Following the announcement, the Environment Ministry upgraded its alert level against avian influenza to the highest rank of 3 from 2 for areas within a radius of 10 km from a park in the Toyama city of Takaoka where the infected bird — a mute swan — was found dead.

In Shimane Prefecture, the highly lethal H5N1 virus was confirmed in chickens that were found infected with flu last month at a poultry farm in the city of Yasugi, after the same virus was detected in October in the droppings of a wild duck in Wakkanai, Hokkaido.

The DNA sequence of the virus found in Toyama was 99.7 percent identical to that of the H5N1 strain seen in Yasugi, and the national institute in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, was expected to clarify its type Tuesday, officials said.

After two dead swans were found Thursday in Takaoka, the Toyama government culled 10 birds found in the same moat and inspected local poultry farms, and was due to start distributing lime hydrate as a disinfectant.

[dothedd]

Monday, December 27, 2010
Pakistan faces ‘bird flu’ threat
* Experts say migratory birds core source of infection

Staff Report

KARACHI: A flock of birds flying across the sea at the time of sunset presents an appealing vista, but no one knows that one of these birds is carrying a life-threatening virus for the person enjoying the panorama.

As winter sets in Siberia, Russia approximately 150 bird species migrate to Pakistan and other countries in a large number and dwell in these countries till March.

These migratory birds are considered as a core source of viral diseases particularly bird flue. All birds are thought to be susceptible of avian influenza virus infection. Many wild bird species carry these viruses with no apparent signs of harm.

Avian influenza, generally known as bird flu, is an infectious disease of birds caused by H5N1 strains of the influenza virus. Bird flu is largely considered an epidemic, inflicting losses to the poultry sector as well as the lives of human beings across the globe as it is a human transferable disease.

Apart from being highly infectious among poultry, avian influenza viruses are very dangerous for the lives of human beings. H5N1, H7N3, H7N7, and H9N2 types of avian influenza virus are human infections. The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus can survive in bird faeces for at least 35 days at low temperature (4 degree centigrade). At a much higher temperature (37 degree centigrade), H5N1 viruses have been shown to survive, in fecal samples for six days.

In general the H5N1 virus is the greatest present concern for human health as it has crossed the species barrier to infect humans on at least four occasions in last two decades. H5N1 is also presently the virus of the greatest concern because of the possibility that other avian influenza viruses, known to infect humans, might cause a pandemic cannot be ruled out.

Though World Wildlife Fund and some experts spell out the impression that the migratory birds are carriers of influenza and argued that there is no solid evidence, which shows correlation between migratory birds and bird flue in any part of the world, various scientists and poultry researchers insist on connection between bird flu and migratory birds.

According to a report of World Health Organisation (WHO) an additional and significant source of international spread of the virus in birds are migrated birds. Scientists are increasingly convinced that at least some migratory waterfowl are now carrying the H5N1 virus in its highly pathogenic form, sometimes over long distances, and introducing the virus to poultry flocks in areas that lie along their migratory routes.

Evidence supporting this altered role began to emerge in April 2005, when more than 6,000 migratory birds were found dead at the Qinghai Lake nature reserve in China, situated at a migratory route. Reason behind this die-off was ascertained as highly pathogenic H5N1 virus (bird flu).

Later advanced scientific studies, comparing viruses from different outbreaks in birds have found that viruses from the most recently affected countries, all of which lie along migratory routes, are almost identical to viruses recovered from dead migratory birds at Qinghai Lake. Viruses from Turkey’s first two human cases, which were fatal, were also virtually identical to viruses from Qinghai Lake.

“Further spread of the virus along the migratory routes of wild waterfowl is, however, anticipated. Moreover, bird migration is a recurring event. Countries that lie along the flight pathways of birds migrating from Central Asia may face a persistent risk of introduction or reintroduction of the virus to domestic poultry flocks,” says a report of WHO.

Close contact with dead or sick birds is also the principal source of human infection with the H5N1 virus. Especially risky behaviours identified include the slaughtering, de-feathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of infected birds.

In Pakistan bird flu has caused severe losses to the poultry sector in last decades. This issue has been countered in the country through Bird Flu Control Programme since 2004.

Sindh Avian Influenza Control Programme (AICP) Coordinator Dr Aslam Jalali said while talking to Daily Times that migratory birds, which are now present in the country, are considered as a strong source of viral diseases, particularly bird flu.

He said that samples for test of bird flu from migratory birds are being collected regularly across Pakistan under AICP. He said that the department is aware of the vulnerability of the issue and is completely alert.

At the other hand the situation of the health sector is very weak across Pakistan. National Institute of Health, Islamabad is the only institute, which has the capability to conduct the test of bird flu. In all the four provinces of the country there is no laboratory, which has the said facility.

Although the government has ordered hospitals in all parts of the country to establish isolated wards for bird flu, all these hospitals are even deprived of the facility to confirm that if a patient is suffering from bird flu or some thing else.

It is the need of the hour to take serious and solid measures to tackle the threat of bird flu, particularly when migratory birds are present in a large number in the country.

[dothedd]

Friday, December 31, 2010

H5N1 Virus Replikin Gene Counts Indicate a New More Virulent Influenza Cycle Has Begun
Replikins Ltd. has found that H5N1 virus replikin peak gene counts in 2007 in Hong Kong, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Israel indicate that a new replikin cycle has begun. The mean replikin count exceeded the maximum of the previous cycle identified by the company. Although several conditions are required to produce a pandemic, the increase in replikin count, a feature of each of the last three pandemics, is now in the range of the increase seen in the 1918 H1N1 pandemic.


Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 27, 2008

Replikins Ltd. has found that H5N1 virus replikin peak gene counts in 2007 in Hong Kong, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Israel indicate that a new replikin cycle has begun. The mean replikin count exceeded the maximum of the previous cycle identified by the company. Although several conditions are required to produce a pandemic, the increase in replikin count, a feature of each of the last three pandemics, is now in the range of the increase seen in the 1918 H1N1 pandemic.

FluForecast® software was used to examine all influenza sequences published on PubMed. The area of the genome which contained the highest count of replikins (Replikin Peak Gene, RPG area) was isolated. A major control was obtained in the finding that the replikin count of the RPG area of influenza B virus, which is not lethal, never exceeded a value of 4 in a 67-year period. The first increase in H5N1 virus replikin count in 1996 was found to have preceded the Hong Kong flu outbreak in 1997 (see attached figure). The next increases in H5N1 virus replikin count in 2001, 2002, and 2003 preceded further H5N1 outbreaks and increases in human H5N1 mortality rates. In all countries together, a lower H5N1 virus replikin count occurred from 2004 through 2006, followed by a reduced number of total human cases and deaths confirmed by the World Health Organization. Replikins, Ltd then reported that the cycle of rapid replication for H5N1 which began in 1996 appeared to be over in 2006 ---"until the next rapid replication cycle of this or another influenza virus strain begins".

In 2007, with the replikin count rising to its maximum value to date, a new and perhaps more lethal H5N1 cycle appears to have begun (see figure). In mid-June 2008, the appearance of H5N1 in chickens in markets in Hong Kong prompted extensive culling.

www.prweb.com/releases/2008/06/prweb1059394.htm

[dothedd]

South Korea has culled over a million pigs and cows to stop foot and mouth

South Korea said on Friday it had culled over one million animals, mainly pigs and cattle, to contain foot-and-mouth outbreaks that are threatening to keep pushing up prices of beef and pork in Asia's No. 4 economy.

10:20AM GMT 07 Jan 2011
Comment
A net importer of beef, pork and chicken, South Korea is also fighting against rising cases of bird flu.

Hundreds of thousands of authorities have been working day and night to slaughter the animals, and vaccinating more than 1.2 million animals, mostly cattle, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The outbreaks since last November have led prices of beef and pork to climb in South Korea and might lead to more imports of beef from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

"Beef supply is getting instable as slaughter places are shut down and transferring animals are blocked due to foot-and-mouth disease," a separate statement from the ministry said.

"Beef prices are expected to continue rising through a high-demand season of Chinese New Year holidays," it added, referring to the country's biggest holidays from Feb. 2 to 6.

Retail prices of beef and pork on Thursday soared 10 and 11 per cent respectively from Wednesday, the ministry said.

South Korean president Lee Myung-bak on Thursday called an emergency cabinet meeting against foot-and-mouth, which affects livestock including sheep, cows and pigs. The disease and meat from infected animals, however, are not harmful to humans.

"We should prepare fundamental measures on top of the quarantines, as travellers are increasing and adjacent China and Vietnam have the disease every year," Mr Lee said on Thursday.

South Korea as of Friday confirmed 95 cases of 134 foot-and-mouth suspected reports in six provinces. It has killed 1.1 million animals, or about eight per cent of the total number of pigs and cattle in the country, the ministry said.

The nationwide outbreaks, originated in pigs in the city of Andong in North Gyeongsang province on Nov. 28, have prompted all livestock markets to be closed, according to the ministry. Some zoos have also been shut down, local media said.

South Korea also has more than 10 suspected cases of bird flu, or H5N1 avian influenza, in poultry, confirming three cases so far.

[dothedd]

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[dothedd]

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Yesterday

Migrating animals might decrease the spread of bird flu and other infectious... Scientific American 12:32 Fri, 21 Jan 2011

Azerbaijani Agriculture Ministry published results of monitoring on ‘bird flu’ Trend News Agency 09:57 Fri, 21 Jan 2011

Large-billed crow tests H5N1 positive in Hong Kong China Daily 07:36 Fri, 21 Jan 2011

Avian tuberculosis found for first time in 50 years Korea Times 04:50 Fri, 21 Jan 2011

www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Hot+Topics/Flu+Pandemics/Bird+Flu

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Today

6 dead chickens confirmed with highly pathogenic flu virus in Miyazaki Japan Today 17:25 Fri, 21 Jan 2011

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In the last 2 hours

Japan culls chickens to contain bird flu Channel NewsAsia 23:02 Fri, 21 Jan 2011