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AVIAN FLU: PREVENTING A PANDEMIC

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Avian Flu News Tracker
April 16, 2006 6:32 a.m.

Updated regularly with news on avian-flu precautions, research and outbreaks. All times EST.

Sunday, April 16

6:30 a.m.: Palestinian health workers contained an outbreak of bird flu in the Gaza Strip after culling more than 360,000 birds exposed to the illness, Gaza Governor Mohammed al-Kidwa said. The flu was detected in Gaza near the border with Israel on March 22 and later spread to five farming locations. U.N. officials have warned that the virus will deal a severe blow to Gaza's already shaky economy.

Saturday, April 15

10:00 a.m.: Azerbaijan's authorities said that they lifted the last quarantine imposed to prevent the spread of bird flu in the ex-Soviet Caspian Sea nation, where the disease has claimed five lives. The government body in charge of combating bird flu said that the final restrictions had been lifted in the village of Banovshalar, in the western Agdam region.
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Friday, April 14

12:40 p.m.: A growing number of avian-flu cases in Indonesia, both in birds and humans, suggests there is a breakdown somewhere in the country's crackdown on the disease, the WHO said. While other southeast Asian countries have brought bird flu under control using existing tactics, "something is not working" in Indonesia, the WHO's Alex Thiermann said. "The situation needs to be investigated." Indonesia has the second-highest human-fatality rate from bird flu, reporting 31 human infections and 23 fatalities. See the WHO's latest report on human H5N1 cases.

10:45 a.m.: In about three weeks, migratory birds will begin to arrive in Alaska for mating. Amid concern that they may bring bird flu with them, U.S. and Alaskan wildlife officials are setting up more than 50 remote, backcountry camps throughout the state, where tests on both living and dead birds will be conducted. Samples will be sent to one of 40 labs around the U.S.; the main lab is in Madison, Wis. See Alaska's avian-flu site.

9:25 a.m.: Hawaii is ahead of many U.S. states in preparing for possible global-flu pandemic. With many visitors from Asia, where the latest outbreak of bird flu originated, Hawaii was the first state to start an airport flu-monitoring program. Officials also have plans for limited quarantines and have amassed a supply of protective gear for doctors and nurses. Next month, the state will hold a preparedness seminar for employers. Read Hawaii's pandemic-preparedness plan.

Thursday, April 13

4:50 p.m.: A fourth Egyptian has died of bird flu, the Ministry of Health reported. Samah Mandouh Abdel Ghaffar, 18 years old, died today in a hospital in the Nile Delta province of Manoufiya. She had been admitted to the hospital on April 10 and was on life support at the time of her death. In all, Egypt has reported 12 humans infected with bird flu. Four -- all women -- have died. Five have recovered and three remain in the hospital.


3:20 p.m.: Key West, Fla., is famous for its roaming chickens but the island's birds may soon be cooped up. Worried about bird flu, City Commissioner Bill Verge wants the city to begin rounding up the island's 2,000 to 3,000 chickens. He's going to have a tough job, though, amid tough critics. Katha Sheehan likened a Key West without chickens to "New Orleans without the jazz and San Francisco without the cable cars."

10:40 a.m.: Russia reported two new outbreaks of bird flu in the southwestern part of the country. H5N1 was determined as the cause of death for 25 chickens in the Volgograd region, and in the Rostov region, H5N1 was found in dying wild birds. The government says bird flu has been detected in 43 locations in 11 regions in southern Russia.
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10:25 a.m.: The Czech Republic reported four new cases of H5N1. A reference lab in Prague confirmed that four swans found dead in the southern part of the country were infected with the virus. Another four swans tested positive for H5 and are being tested for H5N1. A total of seven cases of H5N1 have been confirmed so far in the country.

12 a.m.: WSJ's Nicholas Zamiska reports. A coming Lancet study ranks 21 European countries according to their national plans for coping with a human outbreak of bird flu, likely raising politically sensitive questions. Of 21 national plans examined, seven don't mention the role of veterinary services, many don't include a strategy for containing an original outbreak and fewer than half address how to maintain essential services in the event of a pandemic, according to the study.