AVIAN FLU UPDATE

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2012 Confirmed Human H5N1 Birdflu Cases

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Created on Jan 23 · By commonground · Updated 13 hours ago

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China


39 yo Shenzhen, Guangdong Province Onset: 12/21 Adm: 12/25 Date of Death: 12/31 www.who.int/csr/don/2012_01_05b/en/index.html

China

39 yo Guiyan City, Guizhou Province Onset: 1/6 Date of Death: 1/22 www.who.int/csr/don/2012_01_24/en/index.html


Indonesia - Jakarta


Cluster [2 victims listed below] 23 yo (uncle to 5 yo below) Jakarta, Indonesia Onset: 12/31 Adm: Jan. 2 Date of Death: 1/7 5 yo (neice to 23 yo above) Jakarta, Indonesia Onset: Discovered ...


Indonesia - Jakarta


Cluster [2 victims listed below] 5 yo (niece to 23 yo below) Jakarta, Indonesia Onset: Discovered during surveillance for 23 yo above Adm: 1/7 Date of Death: 1/16 23 yo (uncle to 5 yo above) Jaka...

CONTINUED:

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Indonesia reports EIGHTH human bird flu death of 2012

Indonesia

August 10, 2012

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has reported a new fatal human case of avian influenza (H5N1) in a man from Yogyakarta province on Java.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) Global Alert and Response (GAR) Friday, the 37 year old male developed fever on 24 July 2012, was hospitalized on 27 July and died on 30 July.

The investigation into the case revealed found that the man had four pet caged birds in his home, which is about 50 meters from a poultry slaughter house and near a farm.

Infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus was confirmed by the National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD), Ministry of Health and reported to WHO by the National IHR Focal Point according to the GAR.

In 2012, there have been 8 human cases of avian influenza, in which all were fatal.

Since 2003, the total number of human influenza A(H5N1) cases in Indonesia is 191 with 159 fatalities.
According to the WHO, the primary risk factor for human infection with the virus appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead poultry or contaminated environments.

They go on to say there is no evidence to suggest that the H5N1 virus can be transmitted to humans through properly prepared poultry or eggs. A few human cases have been linked to consumption of dishes made of raw, contaminated poultry blood. However, slaughter, defeathering, handling carcasses of infected poultry, and preparing poultry for consumption, especially in household settings, are likely to be risk factors.

www.examiner.com/article/indonesia-reports-eighth-human-bird-flu-death-of-2012?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next


Indonesia reports ninth human 'bird flu' death of 2012

Indonesia bird flu
December 14, 2012
By: Robert Herriman


4-year-old West Java boy is the latest case of human H5N1 avian influenza detected in 2012, according to a FluTrackers report Dec. 14.

According to the timeline from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the boy is a resident of Kampung Nagreg, Gorowong Village, District Parung Panjang, Bogor regency, West Java.

The child exhibited symptoms of fever on Nov. 20, 2012, and on Dec. 1, 2012 the case was moved to Pustu. On Dec. 4, 2012 there was no change in the condition of the case when seen by a private doctor. On the morning of Dec. 5, 2012 the case went to a health centre and in the afternoon was referred to the Private RSIA for hospitalization.

On Dec. 6, 2012 the case was referred to the Tangerang District Hospital because of onset of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The condition of the patient worsened and the child eventually died that evening.

Epidemiological investigations have been conducted by the hospital and the other agencies involved, which conclude a possible risk factor is direct contact with poultry carcasses, including possible exposure to entog (ducks) in the neighborhood.

This case represents the ninth case and fatality from avian influenza H5N1 in Indonesia this year. In addition, this is the first human case detected globally since late July, which involved a man from Yogyakarta province on Java, Indonesia.

Since 2003, the total number of human influenza A(H5N1) cases in Indonesia is now 192 with 160 fatalities.

Official confirmation by the World Health Organization (WHO) is pending. When confirmed, it will be the 31st case in 2012.

According to the WHO, the primary risk factor for human infection with the virus appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead poultry or contaminated environments.

They go on to say there is no evidence to suggest that the H5N1 virus can be transmitted to humans through properly prepared poultry or eggs. A few human cases have been linked to consumption of dishes made of raw, contaminated poultry blood. However, slaughter, defeathering, handling carcasses of infected poultry, and preparing poultry for consumption, especially in household settings, are likely to be risk factors.

www.examiner.com/article/indonesia-reports-ninth-human-bird-flu-death-of-2012

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Controversial Bird Flu Work To Resume Soon

December 19, 2012

by: Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR

Scientists recently sparked controversy when they made dangerous new forms of bird flu. The National Institutes of Health is about to put in place a new system for reviewing this kind of work in the future.

A health official culls chickens on a poultry farm in a village on the outskirts of Katmandu, Nepal. Chickens suspected of being infected with H5N1 bird flu were found in the area in October.
Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images
Flu researchers may be close to ending an unusual moratorium on some controversial scientific work that has lasted almost a year.

That's because officials at the National Institutes of Health say they will be moving swiftly to finalize a new process for deciding whether or not to fund proposed experiments that could potentially create more dangerous forms of the bird flu virus H5N1.

Such work has been on hold since January, when dozens of flu researchers around the world voluntarily agreed to a pause that was originally supposed to last 60 days. The move came in response to fears that NIH-funded researchers in two labs had created contagious forms of H5N1 bird flu virus that could potentially cause a pandemic in people, if the contagious germs escaped or fell into the wrong hands.

But researchers say the moratorium has stopped work that's vital for understanding how flu viruses found in animals can jump into humans and start a dangerous pandemic. They say these studies are needed to help public health officials get ready for that threat.

The NIH has just concluded a public meeting to discuss the benefits and risks. Scientists, public health experts, and security specialists from around the world were also asked to weigh in on a proposed set of criteria that the NIH would use in the future to decide what kinds of experiments could be funded.

The government is accepting comments on that draft policy until January 10, and officials indicated that a final version could come soon after. "This isn't something that could be drawn out over a very long period of time," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a media briefing after the conference.

He said federally funded flu researchers have indicated that they plan to quickly submit proposals for experiments so they can be reviewed under the new system. "As soon as we finalize it, get the comments, and get it solid as an official framework, then we can just very nicely, I hope, take these proposals as they come in," Fauci said.

In addition to this new NIH review system, federally funded flu researchers also need the government to indicate what laboratory safety measures should be required for these types of experiments. That issue has been under review and a decision is expected soon. "That's also on an expedited timeline as well," says Amy Patterson, director of the office of science policy at the NIH.

Under the NIH's proposed new framework, research that might create more dangerous H5N1 bird flu viruses would have meet certain criteria in order to receive funding. For example, the experiments would have to address significant public health questions, and there would have to be no less-risky ways of addressing those questions. But some participants at the meeting say they still don't fully understand how decisions would actually get made.

"It's critical who is going to do the vetting on this research. Who decides what can be done and what cannot be done?" says virologist Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, whose NIH-funded lab did one of the experiments that sparked the most concern.

"If you ask infectious disease specialists about what should be done, you are going to get different answers than if you ask security specialists," says Fouchier. "And so, the committee that would look at grant proposals is absolutely critical in the decision-making process and it's unclear at this stage who that committee would be."

Fauci was emphatic on one point — the NIH will not fund a future proposal for this type of flu research unless there's an expectation that the results will be broadly shared.

Whether or not to openly publish the details of the two H5N1 bird flu experiments that sparked concern last year was a major source of contention. Some security experts worried that doing so would be like publishing the recipe for a deadly, contagious bioweapon.

But public health officials said that sharing scientific knowledge was essential for it to be of any use in pandemic preparedness. After months of debate, both research studies were published in full in science journals.

"Our mandate is to do basic and clinical research that adds to the fundamental knowledge that the world can use, so it is completely outside of our mandate to do classified research," Fauci said at the meeting. "When you do classified research, there's automatically a suspicion that somehow there's something maybe nefarious about that. And that's not the space the NIH is in, wants to be in, or ever will be in. We're not going to do classified research."

Flu researchers whose experiments get funding from non-U. S. sources may also resume their work. "I suspect that we will be seeing a lifting of the moratorium on the part of people who are not NIH-funded. They will do that according to their own guidelines of their own funders and the country in which they are doing the research," says Fauci, who added that members of that community seemed to be waiting for this NIH conference, though it did not directly involve them.

Fouchier says that as far as he knows, all scientists who signed on to the moratorium are still abiding by it, but that most scientists in the Eastern Hemisphere are ready to lift it. "They want to move on with this research because all of the benefits of this research have not been claimed yet," says Fouchier. "And I think that maybe after this meeting we'll have another discussion about moving forward."

The World Health Organization is planning to hold another conference to discuss the issues raised by this research at the end of February

app1.kuhf.org/articles/npr1355951711-Controversial-Bird-Flu-Work-To-Resume-Soon.html


Avian flu virus learns to fly without wings
13:55 21 December 2012 by Andy Coghlan
For similar stories, visit the Bird Flu Topic Guide


Potentially fatal bird flu viruses can spread on the wind, a hitherto suspected but unproven route of transmission.

Usually, people catch bird flu through close physical contact with each other or, much more commonly, with infected poultry.

The newly identified capacity for wind to spread it opens up a potential route by which the viruses can spread between farms.

The finding came about after Dutch researchers studied an outbreak of the avian flu strain H7N7 in poultry on Dutch farms in 2003, which resulted in 89 confirmed human infections including one death.

Computer models showed that wind patterns at the time of the outbreak explain how different genetic variants of H7N7 ended up on different farms (Journal of Infectious Diseases, doi.org/j3b).

H5N1 is the most harmful strain of avian flu, having killed 360 of 610 infected people since it was discovered in 2003. The fact that a related strain can travel on the wind suggests that H5N1 can too, says Marion Koopmans of the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, who coordinated the research project. "You must assume that this same potential is there for H5N1," she says.

Other researchers agreed that by implication, H5N1 could spread in the same way. "Because we don't know, we should assume the worst case – and the worst case is that H5N1 travels on the wind as well," says John McCauley, a bird flu researcher at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London.

He says it's well known that the virus that causes foot and mouth disease in cattle and pigs travels many kilometres on the wind, but it's lighter than avian flu and is produced in huge amounts by infected animals. McCauley says the most likely scenario for bird flu is that the virus hitches a ride on airborne particles from farms, especially particles of infected faeces from poultry farms.

www.newscientist.com/article/dn23029-avian-flu-virus-learns-to-fly-without-wings.html

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Cambodia reports 7th death of bird flu this year

Source: XINHUA | 2013-2-21

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia reported on Thursday that another 2-year-old boy died of Avian Influenza H5N1, bringing the death toll to seven and the number of cases to eight in 2013.

The toddler lived in Angkor Chey district of Southwestern Kampot province. He died of the virus in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Kantha Bopha Hospital in Phnom Penh, 18 hours after he was admitted, Dr. Denis Laurent, deputy director of Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital, told Xinhua over telephone on Thursday.

"He passed away even though our doctors did all their best to save him," he said.

Last week, a 3-year-old girl from the same district also died of the virus at the hospital.

The country sees the worst outbreak of the virus this year since the disease was first identified in Jan. 2004. To date, the country has reported 29 human cases of the virus, killing 26 people.

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Cambodia bird flu outbreak continues with 14th case
July 16, 2013 00:14

A 3-year-old boy is the 14th confirmed case of H5N1 in Cambodia in 2013, as authorities work to contain the spread of the deadly sickness.

Cambodia's outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza continues apace as the summer wears on, with a 3-year-old boy becoming the 14th victim this year and the 35th case confirmed in the Southeast Asian nation since records began to be kept.

The Cambodian Ministry of Health has deployed a rapid response team to Prey Veng's Kampong Trabek district to perform "contact tracing" or mass testingof everyone who came into contact with the recently diagnosed 3-year-old boy, including both family and neighbors, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The boy is currently in stable condition at the Kantha Bopha children's hospital in Phnom Penh. He was likely exposed to sick or dead poultry in his village prior to developing the illness.

Officials will be carefully monitoring everyone who could potentially come down with the disease, while the government will continue public information campaigns meant to inform Cambodians about the potential risks and transmission methods of H5N1.

More from GlobalPost: Seventh person dies from bird flu in Cambodia

Poultry on the go and an increasingly urban Khmer society are probably to blame for the disturbing uptick in cases this year, said WHO spokesman Sonny Krishnan in an interview with GlobalPost.

"Contact between humans and poultry seem to be increasing because of the proliferation of peri-urban areas, mainly due to the rural-to-urban migration," he said. "Poor households keep poultry to supplement their household income, through the sale of eggs."

Although neighboring Thailand and Vietnam are subject to H5N1 as well, these two nations carefully control the cross-border movement of both eggs and live poultry, which keeps the communicable disease under better control than in poorer Cambodia.

Avian influenza has been an issue in Cambodia for years, but 2013 has seen the highest number of deaths in a single year and the largest number of cases ever recorded, according to the WHO's Krishnan.

Many victims die because they are taken to the hospital too late, and most are young: of 35 confirmed cases, 24 took place in children. Out of the fourteen cases recorded this year, only five victims survived.

Travelers eager to see Angkor Wat during their summer vacation don't need to be too concerned about themselves or their childen catching a case of bird flu in Cambodia.

"There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 human avian influenza," says Krishnan. "The advice remains the same: keep your children away from poultry when visiting rural areas, and do not allow them to play with chickens or ducks."

H5N1 first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997 and has spread throughout the world since, with high-profile outbreaks in 2003 and 2004. With a much higher fatality rate than thatseen from garden-variety seasonal influenza, health officials continue to be concerned that H5N1 could potentially create a human pandemic if not properly managed.

www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/cambodia/130716/cambodia-bird-flu-outbreak-continues-14th-case

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Jul 16, 2013
News
 
Alaska: Possible entry point for N5N1 bird flu  
  
A study, conducted by US Geological Survey [USGS] scientists, found low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses with Eurasian genes among birds in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western Alaska. This finding supports the theory that the area is a potential entry point for foreign animal diseases such as the more highly pathogenic H5N1 strain.
Alaska: Possible entry point for N5N1 bird flu

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is an important breeding ground for many bird species and is located where multiple bird migration flyways converge, providing opportunities for avian pathogens to spread. Among these pathogens are H5N1 avian influenza, which occurs in both low-pathogenic and the more dangerous highly pathogenic forms.

After the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza in wild birds of China in 2005, the USGS and the US Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS], in cooperation with the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the Kawerak Tribal Corporation and other partners, conducted 4 years of testing wild migratory birds in western Alaska for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain.

In a paper published by the USGS and the USFWS scientists, no highly pathogenic forms of avian influenza were found in more than 24 000 samples tested from 82 species on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta from 2006 to 2009. However, 90 low-pathogenic strains of the virus were obtained from these Alaskan samples. Low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses are common among wild birds and do not cause mortalities to the degree often seen with highly pathogenic forms of the virus, said USGS research geneticist Andrew Reeves, lead author of the paper. The significance of this study is that it demonstrates that viruses with genes of Eurasian origin can enter North America via migratory birds.

In addition, researchers discussed how low pathogenic virus samples from birds further from Asia contained fewer genes attributable to Eurasian strains.

"This finding supports a 'dilution-by-distance' idea we've hypothesized in other studies," Reeves said. "Birds sampled further from Asia, such as in the lower 48 United States, very rarely contain avian influenza viruses with Eurasian genes, but in Alaska they are more common."

"Many of the bird samples used in the study were provided by subsistence hunters in 11 villages throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta who collected samples from many species, including ducks, geese, swans, and shorebirds," said Kim Trust of the USFWS.

"Without our partners in western Alaska, we would not have the robust data set that supports the findings in this paper," Trust said.

Reeves added that the current study provides support for retaining the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta as a high-priority region for the surveillance of potentially harmful avian pathogens.

[dothedd]

Nepal bans chicken sales in capital over bird flu August 01, 2013 11:53 AM

August 01, 2013 11:53 AM

KATMANDU: A Nepalese official said Thursday the government has banned the sale and transport of chicken and all poultry products in the capital city to prevent the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Agriculture Ministry spokesman Prabhakar Pathak said that the virus has been detected in several poultry farms in Katmandu and surrounding areas. No human casualties have been reported.

Stories selling poultry have been shut down and authorities have urged the public not to panic.


Read more: www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Aug-01/225887-nepal-bans-chicken-sales-in-capital-over-bird-flu.ashx#ixzz2ajaZf24t
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News ::

[dothedd]

Bird flu alert in Chattisgarh

Aug 2, 2013, 03.53 AM IST

RAIPUR: With suspected bird flu reported in Anjora in Durg district, Chhattisgarh government has gone on high alert to prevent a possible outbreak after few samples were found positive by the Bhopal based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, country's premier lab under the Indian Veterinary Research Institute ( IVRI).


"There are large number of birds at the veterinary college in Anjora in Durg district. Some samples were sent to Bhopal laboratory after the local officials suspected flu. We have received a verbal communication that these samples tested positive for bird flu," state agriculture minister Chandrasekhar Sahu told TOI.

"We are awaiting a detailed report. However, we have initiated steps to prevent the possible spread of avian flu. Livestock officials of the districts have been directed to maintain a strict vigil," he said adding, "Once we receive the report with official confirmation about the bird flu, we will initiate further steps as per the procedures and guidelines laid down to deal with the situation."

Sahu said export of chicken and chicken related items from within 1km radius of the affected area concerned would be stopped until further notice and if necessary, culling of birds and destroying eggs would be carried out after issuing a notification. "Chicken droppings as manure from those points would also be stopped to prevent spread of disease," he added.

The minister said an alert has been sounded to keep a close watch on the birds with any possible symptoms of avian flu in other areas as a precautionary measure.

[dothedd]

English.news.cn 2013-08-06 16:57:03              

KATHMANDU, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Residents of Kathmandu Valley had the scare of their life after 32 outbreaks of bird flu were reported during the past 21 days since the beginning of Nepal's fiscal year on July 16.

Chicken trade, which includes sale of chicken and poultry products, has been banned in the Nepali capital for one week starting from August 1. Thousands of chickens were culled while tons of eggs and feeds were destroyed.

On Sunday, Khil Raj Regmi, chairman of Interim Election Council, the de facto Nepal government, expressed worry over the spread of bird flu in the capital and instructed his health and agriculture ministers to bring the outbreak under control.

Poultry farmers and government officials have been blaming each other for the failure to control the H5N1 virus.

"The government wants to cull all chickens, in which we have invested millions of rupees. But we are being paid only a pittance, " Jung Bahadur GC, a poultry farmer and president of Chicken Suppliers' Association, told Xinhua.

As of Monday, the government has culled more than 120,000 heads of chicken worth at least 1 million U.S. dollars in Kathmandu alone. The culling of sick chickens has been going on for the past three weeks.

The chicken farmers complained that the government paid them only one-third of their total investments.

GC blamed the government for its inadequate and slow response to the outbreak of the flu epidemic.

The government, however, said it was due to the poultry farmers and suppliers that bird flu cases increased as never seen before.

"The main reason is that the poultry farmers and suppliers did not adhere to the code of conduct that the government has imposed, " said Narayan Prasad Ghimire, a senior veterinarian at the Department of Livestock Services.

"During an outbreak, farmers have to approach us to cull their chicken and they can't bring out remaining stock to the market. They are also prohibited from hiding their infected poultry. But they are not doing this," Ghimire said.

As a precautionary measure, the government had to strengthen its quarantine checkpoint in Kathmandu Valley to prevent the entry of infected chickens from other parts of the country, said Til Chandra Bhattarai, a poultry expert.

"Infected chickens entered the capital city freely from rest of the country. This is the main reason for the spread of the epidemic," Bhattarai said.

Baltram KC, another poultry trader, said that government mechanism of confirming the bird flu has been slow, adding that there should have been on-the-spot testing and culling of infected chicken as well as destroying eggs, used feeds and excreta.

During the massive outbreak, the government did not have adequate manpower to cull the chickens, Bijay Kant Jha, director at the Livestock Services Department, admitted.

"We need extra human resources who are trained to respond to bird flu epidemic like that had happened," Jha said.

Experts further pointed out that the open border between Nepal and India has been the key source of the entry of bird flu from India.

"India reported its first bird flu case in 2006. We imported bird flu from India in 2009 due to our porous border with the southern neighbor," said Prabhakar Pathak, a former director of the Livestock Services Department.

"There is a need to strengthen our quarantine procedures in the border areas with India and ban the importation of infected chicken if we really want to control bird flu in the long run," added Pathak.

[dothedd]

Bird flu: More than 4,000 birds to be killed in Chhattisgarh
Rashmi Drolia, TNN | Aug 6, 2013, 07.01 PM IST

RAIPUR: Soon after the samples sent from Anjora and Jagdalpur farm were declared positive by Bhopal's high security animal diseases laboratory, the rapid response team of animal husbandry's veterinary department commenced disinfection in the region by killing more than 4,000 birds there.

Talking to TOI, SK Pandey, director, animal husbandry department, said, "The cleaning and sanitation work is underway in both the affected areas which would finish latest by Wednesday morning. An area of one kilometre around the radius of infected zones would be sanitized. We had an inspection meeting with the alertness committee, health, forest and revenue officials after the Union ministry advised killing the birds in the affected areas. Nearly 2,500-3,000 birds have already died out of which 500 were in Anjora farm, Durg district and 3,000 in Jagdalpur's Kukkut farm."

He said that the birds, including hens and ducks, would be killed and buried there itself along with disposing off of their eggs, litter and disinfection of their shed. Pandey said that the department will have to be aware about every single death of birds and inform the Centre.

"Nearly 4,500 birds would be killed in this process after which the situation will come under control as no selling and distribution of these birds being undertaken. Hence, chances of the infection spreading are rare," Pandey said, adding the department has imposed a ban on the movement of poultry products from the infected region to alerted zones.

Few officials claimed that poultry birds are also exposed to high risk of bird flu and with the severity of disease, selling and purchasing from other states has been banned for the next few months.

Refuting the claims, Dhanraj Banerjee, director, egg industry, said that it was important for people to understand that with so many bird flu alerts in West Bengal, Bangalore and Orissa there have been no declared cases of human infection which came to the fore. It commonly happens with the local breeds kept in government universities and veterinary colleges which are not vaccinated properly. "Consumers get scared after such alerts but they needn't worry because the poultry birds or the commercial farming breed are white feathered which undergo advanced technique lab tests. Hygiene and bio-security are ensured with the quality of the product," Dhanraj said.

Though there have been reports that the poultry business has been affected, with fewer sale of eggs and chickens, Dhanraj said that it's also because of the ongoing religious sawan month when people keep away from eating non-vegetarian food. "Just like how chickens have nothing to do with Chikungunya disease, bird flu has nothing to do with commercial farm birds," he said.

[dothedd]

Bird flu detected in Nawalparas

Last Updated At: 2013-08-06 2:54 PM

KATHMANDU: Bird flu has been confirmed in Nawalparasi district.

The bird flu was confirmed after lab test carried out on samples from the dead fowls of Lila Mahato of Prasauni-1tested positive to H5N1, the virus that causes the disease. The District Livestock Office, Nawalparasi, had sent the samples for lab test on July 31.

Veterinary doctor, Uttam Acharya, said that according to the lab report the samples tested positive for the bird flu virus.

A total of 80 chickens and 60 ducks of Mahato died due to the bird flu. A campaign has been started to kill fowls, he added.

Initiative to control the bird flu in the affected areas has been started adopting high-alert to control the disease.

According to Chief District Officer, Keshav Raj Ghimire, a team comprising the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police has been deployed for conducting strict checking on the border and a team of veterinarians under the leadership of Acharya has been assigned to control the bird flu.

Similarly, a technical team will be kept stand by at Gaindakot to prohibit the possible entry of infected fowls in the district from the capital.

Ghimire said that police have been mobilized for conducting strict checking as eggs and chickens are being smuggled into Nepal from bordering India.

[dothedd]

‘Haphazard use of vaccines led to bird flu in Nepal’
IANS August 12, 2013 at 10:25 am

Bird flu outbreaks in Nepal, which have not yet been controlled, mainly spread due to unverified vaccines being administered haphazardly to chickens by poultry farmers, an official said on Sunday.

Poultry farmers imported and used the vaccines haphazardly without first consulting the government’s veterinary doctors, Narayan Ghimire, spokesperson of the government’s bird flu control campaign, told Xinhua.

As the vaccines were unverified, the virus grew so rapidly that it became difficult to control, said Ghimire.

Experts said that before injecting a particular vaccine that contains a small amount of bird flu virus, first the species of flu present in a fowl has to be determined.

If one type of vaccine is administered in a fowl infected with another type of bird flu, the vaccine suppresses the symptoms of the disease for a short period. In the long run, the virus spreads both in quantity and quality.

A team of experts from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) would also visit Nepal soon to study the problem and suggest remedial measures.

‘We will be able to recommend the appropriate vaccines, only after the team submits its final report,’ an official said.

Since mid-July, at least 40 bird flu cases have been reported in the Kathmandu valley, while more than 30 cases have been reported from nearby Bhaktapur.

Following the outbreak, the government imposed a one-week ban on sale and supply of chicken products from Aug 1-7. The ban has been lifted, but cases of bird flu are still emerging in various poultry farms in the capital.

What is bird flu?

Bird flu also known as avian influenza is a disease that’s caused by viruses and affects birds and can be passed on to humans. Bird flu’s H5N1 strain has evolved such that it infects more species than any known strain and is constantly evolving. If a farm-raised bird gets affected it must be immediately culled to stop the virus from spreading.



‘Haphazard use of vaccines led to bird flu in Nepal’

They are blaming egg based vaccines from the US.

[dothedd]

Sat, 17 Aug 2013
Nepal extends bird flu emergency zone
Kathmandu, Aug 17 (IANS) Amid health concerns expressed by various quarters, the Nepalesegovernment Saturday extended the bird flu emergency zone to more parts of the Kathmandu district for three months.

"After declaring Bhaktapur district of the capital as emergency zone on Aug 15, it was necessary to include more parts under it, " Narayan Ghimire, the government's spokesperson for bird flu control campaign, told Xinhua.
Among three districts of Nepalese capital (Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kathmandu), the extension of the emergency zone will be enforced in some parts of Kathmandu district.

"We can't say exactly how much fowls we are going to cull in Kathmandu district, as poultry farms, by and large, have remained an unchecked and non-regulated business," said Ghimire.

As per the provision of emergency zone, all fowls including chicken, duck and pigeon will be destroyed along with their eggs, feed and excreta and the poultry farms will be cleaned and disinfected.

During an emergency zone period, fowls cannot be transported and supplied to and from the infected area and no one can keep new fowls. The sales of chicken and other fowl meat will also be banned.

Since the beginning of new fiscal year on July 16, the Nepalese capital has registered more than 55 bird flu cases, of which Bhaktapur alone recorded more than 40 cases.

A bird flu case was first reported in Nepal in January 2009. Since then, its recurrence has been witnessed time and again.

[dothedd]

Updated: August 17, 2013 11:31 IST

Bird flu emergency declared in Nepal’s capital

An avian flu emergency was declared in parts of Nepal’s capital after fresh cases emerged in different areas of the Kathmandu valley, authorities said on Saturday.

The Animal Health Directorate said the decision meant that trading of birds was completely banned and culling ordered in the areas declared emergency zones.

More than 50 cases of the H5N1 strain has been reported in the capital in past month in more than 200 poultry farms. Culling of birds has been stepped up in different parts of the country.

The first case of the avian flu in Nepal was reported in January 2009. No human deaths due to the virus have been reported in the country so far.

Worldwide, the virus has caused more than 370 human deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

[dothedd]

Ninety thousand fowls culled in Bhaktapur
BHAKTAPUR, AUG 20 - Culling of fowls and poultry feed continued in Bhaktapur on Tuesday, six days after the district was declared bird flu emergency zone .

The Rapid Response Team today culled fowls, eggs and poultry feed in 85 different poultry farms in the district, according to Chief of the District Livestock Service Office, Bhaktapur , Khagendra Raj Bhatta.

So far, 75,410 fowls and 14,789 chickens have been destroyed. Today alone, 24,992 eggs and 2,163 poultry feed were destroyed, according to Bhatta.

Last week on Wednesday, the government had declared Bhaktapur district as bird flu emergency zone as the outbreak of bird flu virus in various poultry farms in the district did not show any sign of coming under control even after four weeks since the first outbreak .

A few days later, Kathmandu district was also declared as bird flu emergency zone .

Meanwhile, in Sirutar VDC-4 of the district, poultry farm owner Rajendra Raut distributed fowls from his farm free of cost to the locals, after hearing that the rapid response team was arriving to cull chickens at his farm.

He reportedly distributed more than 200 chickens to local villagers.

Ignorant of the fact of the presence of bird flu in poultry farms in the district, locals readily accepted the freely distributed fowls, with some grabbing as many as six fowls, local residents said.

Meanwhile, the Poultry Entrepreneurs' Association Bhaktapur has begun an indefinite agitation against the alleged failure of the government to provide compensation to the affected entrepreneurs, starting today.

Accordingly, they staged a sit-in in front of the District Livestock Service Office today and also blocked traffic for an hour.

They also staged a sit-in in front of the District Administration Office later today.

The sit-ins in both the offices would continue until our demands are met, said the Association President Tulasi Ram Dhukwa.

Posted on: 2013-08-20 07:48

[dothedd]

Related News:

Aug 20 2013

Sales of mutton, fish, pork jump after ban on chicken
Aug 19 2013

Poultry industry in Pokhara, Chitwan hit hard
Aug 18 2013

Bird flu in 4 Lalitpur farms
Aug 17 2013

Bird flu in four poultry farms of Lalitpur
Aug 17 2013

Over 10,000 chickens culled in Hetauda
Aug 17 2013

Over 50,000 fowls killed in one day
Aug 17 2013

Avian flu emergency in Kathmandu too
Aug 16 2013

Indiscriminate killing of live chickens in Bhaktapur
Aug 16 2013

Bird flu confirmed in Hetauda farms
Aug 16 2013

ekantipur.com/2013/08/20/top-story/ninety-thousand-fowls-culled-in-bhaktapur/376760.html

[dothedd]

Don't neglect over the spreading bird flu
20th Aug : REVIEW NEPAL

Responding to the concerns expressed from various quarters, the government has extended the bird flu emergency zone to more parts of the capital for three months. The emergency zone declared by the government covers the areas of three districts- Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur- including some parts of the Kathmandu valley. As per the provision of emergency zone, all fowls including chicken, duck and pigeon will be destroyed along with their eggs, feed and excreta and the poultry farms will be cleaned and disinfected. Likewise, the sales of chicken and other fowl meat will also be banned in the emergency areas.

But, the decision is not only being violated by the poultry farmers and traders but also the concerned government authorities have shown seriousness to implement the decision. The government decision is being translated as humorous in the sense that such a shortsighted decision would not fix the bird flu only in the emergency zone areas. Despite the decision fowls and their products have easily been transporting one place to another.

Not only in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, but also more poultry farms operating even in Dhadhing and Makawanpur were found bird flu infected. The current rate of spreading bird flu in the poultry farm in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Dhading, Hetauda and Chitwan has crossed about five dozen cases in the last three months. Considering the situation, it has been revealing that the recent partial decision would not sufficient to eradicate the spreading bird flu. According to the concerned officials, more parts, particularly the surrounding areas of the bird flu infected farms should be covered under the provision.

Though, human-to-human transmission of the bird flu is extremely rare, it cannot be rule out that the countries like in Nepal would be safe from the long being speared bird flu. The concerned authorities might not find out the infection of bird flu before it is too late as the flu would have spread in the remote parts of the country. The government and its concerned authorities should be aware considering the fact that the bird flu outbreaks, that had transmitted human to human, have already claimed 44 lives in neighboring China.

As bird flu has been a regular phenomenon in Nepal for the last few years, people had not paid much attention to its dangers. Despite the declaration, it is not hard to find chicken products even in and around the so-called emergency zone areas. However, the sale and consumption of chicken products have gone down significantly in Kathmandu valley. The spreading bird flu would not come into control until and unless the government takes the poultry farmers and traders into confidence with restrictive measures.

[dothedd]

Bird flu still a threat
August 20, 2013 by AFP
Filed under Cambodia, News

PHNOM PENH, 20 August 2013: A nine-year-old boy has died from bird flu in a children’s hospital located in the tourist hub of Siem Reap.

He was the 10th victim this year, the World Health Organisation said Monday, warning that the kingdom’s deadliest outbreak of the virus could continue.

The boy, from the northwest province of Battambang, was being treated in a hospital in Siem Reap. He died Sunday night after falling ill last month, the WHO in Cambodia said in a statement.

“The boy carried dead and sick ducks and chickens from a cage for food preparation by his sister before he became sick,” said spokesman Sonny Krishnan.

Tests confirmed the victim had contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, he added.

Cambodia is seeing its deadliest outbreak of the virus, topping the eight killed in 2011.

“We at WHO are concerned. The H5N1 virus is still circulating in the country,” Krishnan told AFP.

“One probable reason for its spread is through the unregulated, informal, movement of poultry from village-to-village by poultry transporters on motorbikes,” he added.

Cambodia has recorded 37 human cases of H5N1 since 2003, with all but eight of them proving fatal.

Authorities have been scrambling to control the outbreak, although scientists have been baffled by the sharp rise in deaths this year.

The virus has killed 378 people worldwide since a major outbreak in 2003, according to WHO statistics.

It typically spreads from birds to humans through direct contact. But experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to trigger a pandemic.

Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has killed at least 45 people in China, out of some 134 confirmed cases in the country.

Scientists in China recently reported the first likely case of person-to-person transmission of the virus, but urged people not to panic saying the virus’s transmissibility remained “limited and non-sustainable”.

[dothedd]

NEW DELHI, September 9, 2013

Centre puts States on bird flu alert

Cites “high risk” of occurrence of avian influenza after monsoon as in the past

The Centre has alerted States on post-monsoon outbreak of highly contagious avian influenza or bird flu, which has the potential to be transmitted from birds and poultry to human beings (zoonotic risk).

In an advisory to the governments, the Centre said that as in the past there was a “high risk” of occurrence of avian influenza after monsoon. Therefore States must step up vigil and surveillance of potential sources of infection such as in indigenous fowls and ducks and migratory birds.

Avian influenza was reported early last month from a poultry production unit in Durg and a government-run farm in Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. As is the international practice, nearly 2,500 birds were destroyed to prevent the disease from spreading. This entails not only loss to poultry farmers and the government because of stamping out ofinfected birds, but also in terms of payment of compensation to farmers and commercial loss in trade.

While there have been cases near border States last year, Bhutan reported bird flu cases a fortnight ago in a backyard poultry farm near the national highway and had to kill nearly 2,000 birds. Emphasising the importance of early detection of the disease in poultry and a rapid response to contain the disease, the Department of Animal Husbandry under the Agriculture Ministry has asked the States to keep a watch on any unusual sickness or death in birds, including backyard poultry.

According to government sources, States have been alerted so that they can undertake “intensive surveillance” in all districts with special attention on surveillance at daily and weekly markets, haats and on international borders.

The Centre has warned the States to be extra vigilant about outbreaks in government poultry farms and to set in place a sound bio-security regime. They must set up panels which regularly conduct inspections in the poultry farms and closely monitor the movement of wild and migratory birds who carry the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.

The Union government has also asked States to keep a strict vigil on any unusual mortality in wild birds and subject the dead birds to tests at the nearest Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL) or the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal. In case the infected birds test positive, containment procedure has to be adopted immediately.

The incidence of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was the second highest in the world last year, second only to the Foot and Mouth Disease in livestock.

In this file photo, officials cull birds at a poultry farm in Tripura. The Centre has alerted States on post-monsoon outbreak of highly contagious avian influenza, which has the potential to be transmitted to human beings.
www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/policy-and-issues/centre-puts-states-on-bird-flu-alert/article5107761.ece

[dothedd]

Two new bird flu cases confirmed in Cambodia, one dies

English.news.cn 2013-09-19 13:41:08


PHNOM PENH, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two more new human cases of avian influenza have been confirmed for the H5N1 virus in Cambodia, bringing the number of the cases to 20 so far this year, a hospital spokesman said Thursday.

A five-year-old girl from Takeo province and a two-year-old girl from Kampot province, who already died on Wednesday, marked the 19th and 20th confirmed cases of avian influenza this year, said Dr. Denis Laurent, deputy director of Kantha Bopha Children' s Hospital, the kingdom's largest pediatric hospital. "The little girl from Kampot was in very serious condition when she arrived at our hospital and died Wednesday," he told Xinhua." The little girl from Takeo still hospitalizes, but her condition is stable."

Only nine out of the 20 cases this year survived.

H5N1 influenza is a flu that normally spreads between sick poultry, but it can sometimes spread from poultry to humans, according to the World Health Organization. It is a very serious disease that requires hospitalization.

Cambodia saw the worst outbreak of the virus this year since it was first identified in 2004. To date, the country has recorded 41 human cases of the virus, killing 30 people.


 


 
 

[dothedd]

Bird flu kills 11th person in Cambodia this year

Published: September 20, 2013


PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A 2-year-old girl has become the 11th person to die of bird flu in Cambodia this year, the country's health ministry said Friday.



The girl from the southern province of Kampot died from the H5N1 bird flu virus on Tuesday after suffering from fever, breathing difficulties, diarrhea and other symptoms, the ministry said.

It said the girl and other villagers had shared a meal of chickens that had died.

A 5-year-old girl from the southern Takeo province was also diagnosed with bird flu but is recovering.

The H5N1 virus normally spreads between poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans.

The number of deaths from bird flu in Cambodia this year is the highest since the disease surfaced in 2003. Of the 41 bird flu cases confirmed so far in the country, 30 have been children under age 14.

Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said the spread of bird flu is a particular concern with the approach of the Cambodian festival of Pchum Ben in early October, when families prepare chickens and ducks for meals and offerings.

[dothedd]

Ability of H5N1 virus’s ability to mutate and adapt is becoming a grave concern

October 2013

It should be noted that the virus can obtain these changes by far faster means than thru mutation. (that article only considered the difficulty of becoming transmissible between humans through mutation alone.)The 4 changes/mutations mentioned are what could be done thru mutation. It's entirely possible that two or even just one gene swaps could accomplish the same ability to transfer between humans. (and multiple gene swaps can and WILL occur when one individual is infected with more than one version of influenza at once. That's why I noted before that having TWO pandemics (H7N9 and H1N5 for example) at the same time would be far far worse than merely twice as bad as having only one.

The threat of having a H7N9 * OR* a H1N5 pandemic at the same time as an epidemic of a more conventional flu is very bad because the the H7N9 could freely swap genes for transmissibility with the conventional flu. Having H7N9 and H1N5 pandemics at the same time would be a very major problem as almost inevitably a hybrid influenza with the worst virulence characteristics of both combined would very likely result.

[dothedd]

H5N1 bird flu genes show nature can pick worrisome traits


Oct. 23, 2013 by Terry Devitt
 
In the beginning, all flu viruses came from birds.

Over time, the virus evolved to adapt to other animals, including humans, as natural selection favored viruses with mutations that allowed them to more readily infect the cells of new host species. For some strains of bird flu virus, notably the worrisome H5N1 variant, the genetic changes that could make human-to-human transmission a possibility and spark a pandemic are the markers of intense interest to those who track flu as a threat to human health.

Photo: microscopic image of H5N1 virus
A deep look into the genes of transmitted H5N1 viruses reveals the surprising degree to which the virus can mutate and genetically diversify in each infected host — a troubling trait for a pathogen that has so far infected 637 people, killing 378.

Photo: Takeshi Noda, University of Tokyo

Now, in a study published today (Oct. 23, 2013) in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers shows how evolution can favor mutations that make avian flu more transmissible in mammals.

The study used what scientists call “deep sequencing” to identify low-frequency genetic mutations that occur as the virus grows in and transmits between animals. Combing the genetic data from a transmission study in ferrets, a team led by Thomas Friedrich, a professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, found that during transmission, when one animal is infected by another through sneezing or coughing, the process of natural selection acts strongly on hemagglutinin, the structure the virus uses to attach to and infect host cells.

The deep look into the genes of transmitted H5N1 viruses also reveals the surprising degree to which the virus can mutate and genetically diversify in each infected host, a troubling trait for a pathogen that has so far infected 637 people, killing 378. The team’s data emphasize the fact that influenza viruses exist in each infected individual — bird, human or ferret — as a population or “swarm” of genetically related, but distinct, mutants.

A mutation occurs somewhere on the viral genome every time a virus infects a cell, Friedrich explains. “You might think they all have the same sequence, but they don’t. We found that this diversity increases over time in essentially all infected individuals we examined.”

Perhaps their most surprising and troubling discovery was that mutations present in only about 6 percent of the viruses infecting one ferret could be transmitted to another. This suggests that even very rare mutants can be transmitted if they have an evolutionary advantage.

Most human infections with H5N1 viruses come directly from birds and are not transmitted to other people. Past studies have identified four key genetic mutations needed for the virus to become transmissible between mammals. Surveillance by public health officials has already identified viruses containing one or more of the required mutations from fowl in Egypt and some Asian countries.

The data, Friedrich says, indicate that viruses capable of infecting humans probably already exist in nature, but at very low frequencies. Those findings, he adds, suggest that current surveillance methods may be missing H5N1 viruses capable of making the leap from birds to humans.

“Traditional sequencing can detect a mutation if it’s present in maybe 20 percent or 30 percent of viruses. We were able to detect the transmission of rare mutants in this study only because we used deep sequencing. So there may be a background of transmissible viruses we are missing because surveillance currently relies on older technologies,” says Friedrich. “Maybe they’ve always been there and we just couldn’t see them. There may be viruses out there just one or zero mutations away. They just haven’t encountered a susceptible host.”

“If natural selection is playing a role, it will favor transmission of that one-in-a-million virus.”

Thomas Friedrich

The new work drew on transmission studies conducted last year in the lab of Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a co-author of the new study and also a professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. The original studies examined the transmission of an engineered variant of the H5N1 virus between ferrets. Friedrich and his colleagues analyzed the genes of these variant viruses in their new study; no new ferret experiments were performed for the new analysis.

“Fully avian viruses may act differently in nature,” he notes. “But the data suggest to us that it wouldn’t take many viruses from a chicken to infect a person, if the right mutations were there — even if they were a tiny minority of the overall virus population. I suspect that result will hold true.”

A key aim of the study was to determine how transmission from one host to another affects the virus’s genetic makeup. Researchers believed that transmission would reduce the genetic diversity present in the virus, but it was unclear whether genetic changes associated with transmission were random or if natural selection might favor mutations to make it more transmissible. “We found evidence for natural selection occurring. We see it playing a role in which viruses start an infection, creating a genetic bottleneck,” Friedrich says.

A genetic bottleneck occurs when the survival of an organism with certain traits or mutations is favored over others in the same population, reducing the overall genetic diversity in subsequent generations. “If natural selection is playing a role, it will favor transmission of that one-in-a-million virus,” Friedrich notes.

www.news.wisc.edu/22239

[dothedd]

Ability of H5N1 virus’s ability to mutate and adapt is becoming a grave concern

www.thealmagest.com/ability-h5n1-viruss-ability-mutate-adapt-becoming-grave-concern/2815

[dothedd]

Spread if the new avian bird flu can be stopped with use of the already existing FDA approved food additive

(The Almagest) Flu viruses take the help of a special protein, hemagglutinin, for attaching itself to host cells. Hemagglutinin opens up the “key” receptors in cells. The FDA-approved tert-butyl hydroquinone attaches itself to the “Achilles’ heel of the virus” which makes infecting the cell impossible. This revealed a new target area for researchers where the existing drugs could not reach.

Researchers studied the same during the recent H7N9 breakout in China. They infused the hemagglutinin virus to a considerable less dangerous virus. Results showed that tert-butyl hydroquinone could prevent the virus from infecting human lung cells in the laboratory.

Researchers are studying ways to make this food additive available as prevention to spreading the virus. They figured one way was to add it to poultry feed. If it could be suppressed from spreading in chickens, it might not move on to humans. Questions remain of its safety if consumed in high doses.

[dothedd]

Bird Flu Kills 12th Person in Cambodia This Year

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia November 4, 2013 (AP) Associated Press report...

A 2-year-old girl has become the 12th person to die of bird flu in Cambodia this year, authorities said Monday.

The girl died from the H5N1 bird flu virus on Oct. 26 after suffering from fever, difficulty in breathing and lethargy, the country's Health Ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement.

The statement said that an investigation at the girl's village in the western province of Pursat revealed that two months before her illness, poultry had died suddenly at her grandparents' house, where she often stayed.

The H5N1 virus normally spreads between poultry, but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans.

The numbers of confirmed human cases and deaths from bird flu in Cambodia this year are the highest since the disease surfaced in 2003. Of the 44 cases confirmed in the country, 23 have occurred this year.

[dothedd]

Vietnam: Tien Giang declares H5N1 bird flu epizootic

NOVEMER 7, 2013

Via Tuoi Tre News: Tien Giang declares H5N1 bird flu epidemic. But it's really an epizootic; no humans are reported ill.

The southern Tien Giang Province People’s Committee on Wednesday declared an epidemic of the H5N1 avian flu in two communes, where the disease spread widely with most of the 557 affected ducks having died.

The declaration was issued by deputy chairwoman of the Committee, Tran Thi Kim Mai, who asked the local Veterinary Sub-Department and other concerned agencies to take measures to control and drive back the epidemic in accordance with the Ordinance on Veterinary.

All concerned agencies are required to tighten control over poultry-related activities and absolutely ban transporting of poultry into or out of epidemic areas, the authorities said.

According to a report of the Sub-Department of Veterinary, the epidemic broke out from October 31 to November 4 at four households that raise a total of over 900 ducks in Tan Phu and Tan Thoi communes in Tan Phu Dong District.

All the above ducks have been destroyed in conformity with current regulations.
In related news, a herd of ducks in Tan Hung Commune, Dong Phu District, southern Binh Phuoc province have been infected with the deadly flu virus, said the local Sub-department of Veterinary.
All the 300 ducks of the herd have been destroyed according to prevailing regulations, the sub-department said, adding that this is the first outbreak of the disease in the province this year.

[dothedd]

THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH
KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA AND
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
Press Release 14 November20 13

25'" and 26th ~New Human Case of Avian Influenza H5N1 in Cambodia in 2013

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to advise members of the public that
two new human cases of avian influenza have been confirmed for the H5N1 virus. These are the 25" and
26' cases this year and the 46th and 47" people to become infected with the H5N1 virus in Cambodia. Case 25 is from Kampong Speu province and case 26 was from Pailin province. The Kampong Speu case is currently in a critical condition whereas the Pailin case has died. Of the 47 confirmed cases, 35 were children under 14, and 27 of the 47 were female. In addition, only 13 cases out of the 26 cases this year survived.

The 25"case, a 3-year-old boy from Veal Vong village, Sendey commune, Samrong Tang district, Kampong Speu province, was confirmed positive for H5N1 human avian influenza on 9"November 2013 by Institute Pasteur du Cambodge. The boy had onset fever on 5%ovember 2013, his parents sought treatment at a local private practitioner on 6th~ovember, but his condition worsened. The boy was admitted to KanthaBopha Hospital, Phnom Penh, on 8"~ovember 2013 with fever, cough, and dyspnoea. Laboratory samples were taken on 8%ovember and Tamiflu administered the same day.

[dothedd]

Nov 12, 2013 23:01:56 GMT -5 @patstab said:

Isn't it going to be great when we let the Chinese send us processed chicken, the companies do not have to disclose its from china because its processed.  Oh I'm just so excited, getting possibly sick and filthy food from there.  Who is getting paid off to allow something like that.  How long will it be before we are paying for bird flu to be brought to our country.

SORRY I MISSED THIS until now, but I'm in and out quickly most of the time .... sorry.

I think we are already paying for it, we just have not been officially notified. 

PORK ... CHICKENS ... time to move to the country and grow our own.  

Hope you are having a GREAT day! 

d

[dothedd]

PS  Thank you PATSTAB for reading the Novavax board.