Quick overview of avian influenza

Avian flu threatens fast-paced world

Contingency panel warns of ways pandemic would challenge region

By ERIC ANDERSON Deputy business editor
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Friday, July 14, 2006 COLONIE -- The very things that keep the modern economy humming -- just-in-time deliveries, lean inventories, frequent international travel -- could deepen the impact of an avian flu pandemic, health care experts warned during a presentation Thursday morning.

The 1-year-old Capital Region chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners gathered to see what needs to be done to prepare for a potential outbreak.
"There's quite a bit of hype about this" in the media, said Dr. Sarah Elmendorf, an epidemiologist at Albany Medical Center. Still, the risk is real, although individuals can take steps to protect themselves.

While Elmendorf described the different types of influenza and what it would take for avian flu to create a pandemic -- easy human-to-human transmission, which hasn't yet happened -- a colleague, Kim Baker, described the potential impact to businesses, and what people can do to protect themselves.

Elmendorf said pandemic flu typically strikes three to four times a century and can come at any time of year, unlike seasonal influenza, which typically strikes in the fall and winter. Also, pandemic flu puts the entire population at risk because it's a new strain for which there's no resistance.

One challenge will be hospital capacity.

"The surge capacity in hospitals is limited," Elmendorf said. "Our hospitals are full. We don't have the beds right now."

Basic economic functions could be challenged by the high rate of absenteeism that would result from a pandemic, Baker said.

The state and federal governments likely won't be able to provide much assistance, she said, reminding the audience of how difficult it was to assist the areas struck by Hurricane Katrina.

Businesses could slow the spread of disease by keeping people apart, Baker said, letting workers telecommute when possible. Businesses also could increase the cleaning and sanitizing of door knobs, keyboards, telephones and other commonly touched office surfaces.

Employers should expect high rates of absenteeism and health care services that are overwhelmed, Baker said.

Essential services could also be at risk, with supply lines disrupted. With lean inventories, everything from groceries to the chlorine that's needed to treat water could soon be in short supply.

"Preparations should be made, not because it's imminent but because the cost of not preparing will be great," Baker said.

Eric Anderson can be reached at 454-5323 or by e-mail at eanderson@timesunion.com.

Health officials offer tips for avian flu pandemic
BY JAY BODAS
Staff Writer

If a much-feared avian flu pandemic were to hit the U.S. three months from now, would you be prepared?

The American Red Cross is helping the general public to learn just what to do if such a catastrophe were to occur through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Red Cross held a disaster preparedness workshop on June 29 at the offices of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton to help participants learn the facts of disaster planning on a pandemic scale.

"After 9/11, our chapter realized that during a disaster, the more things people can do themselves, the more our organization can take care of, and the more we can concentrate on acute cases," said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey before the start of the conference.

"For example, we teach people how to prepare if they could not go out for 48 hours due to a state of emergency and what to do," he said. "We provide information on what kinds of emergencies may affect you and your family, and we teach people to make a plan and be involved."

More than 50 people attended the conference.

"They came from all professions, all walks of life," said conference organizer Hugh Adams after the workshop's end. "The workshop is geared toward everybody, from school systems and universities to police, fire, and emergency first-responders."

John Dowd, health educator risk communicator for the Middlesex County Public Health Department, was one of the conference's speakers.

He said that in an influenza outbreak, a person who exhibits early signs and symptoms of the flu should not immediately rush to the emergency room.

"Hospital emergency rooms are not prepared to handle all those in the beginning stages, if you are just getting sick," Dowd said. "You will have people running to the emergency room for all kinds of reasons. But if you are in the advanced stages, then definitely go."

Neighbors should look out for one another," he said.

"Be a good neighbor and take care of each other," Dowd said. "It used to be that you knew everybody on your street. Nowadays you are lucky if you know the person living next to you."

The Red Cross advises people to create a "pandemic" supply kit - basically a beefed up version of a normal disaster kit.

The kit would include items such as soap, fever-reducing medications, bleach, paper towels and tissues, a thermometer, and drinks containing electrolytes such as sports drinks, Dowd said.

Kathleen Pearson, health and safety services director for the Central Jersey chapter of the Red Cross, suggested that employers more clearly outline their rights to better prepare for a pandemic situation.

"Do your policies allow you to force an employee to go home when they come in sick?" Pearson asked. "Some people refuse to go home when they are sick, and there may be nothing in the policy manual to force them to do that. You should have the right to say, 'You are sick, and you must go home,' " she added. "Putting that in there may avoid you getting hit with a lawsuit."

Dowd said it was difficult to predict the odds of a global influenza pandemic actually occurring in the near future, but that in many ways, the world is less prepared for one today than it was at the start of the 20th century.

"In the past century, we have had three or four," he said. "It is hard to predict, as we don't know what strain will mutate to meet the criteria. And it's true that in 1918 they didn't have antivirals, and we do now, but now we are also a local society, with a plane ride away from spreading germs around the world."

United States Flyway Map

Thought I should publish a larger map of the flyways for the US. The maps are available for all areas of the world, as birds migrate in all directions.

Indonesia update on 53rd case H5N1

WHO confirms Indonesia's 53rd avian flu case

Jul 14, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A 3-year-old girl who died on Jul 6 near Jakarta had Indonesia's 53rd case of H5N1 avian influenza, according to test results announced today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Meanwhile, Bloomberg news reported last night that the only survivor of a recent family cluster of avian flu cases in Indonesia is being treated for brain abscesses.

The 3-year-old girl, who was from a suburb of Jakarta, became ill on Jun 23 and was hospitalized Jul 5. The WHO said investigators found that she had handled some dead chickens 2 days before she fell ill. Samples taken from chickens in her neighborhood were positive. Investigators found no other patients with influenza-like illnesses, and they are monitoring close contacts of the girl, the agency said.

With 41 avian flu deaths, Indonesia now trails Vietnam for most deaths by only one, according to WHO statistics. Vietnam, however, has had no human cases of H5N1 since last November, while Indonesia's 53 cases have all come in 2005 and 2006.

According to the Bloomberg story, Luhur Soeroso, a doctor caring for the sole survivor of the avian flu case cluster in North Sumatra, said the 25-year-old man experienced headaches and fatigue a month after he was treated for avian flu. The patient, Jones Ginting, is hospitalized at Adam Malik Hospital in the northern Sumatra city of Medan. The cluster involved seven confirmed cases and one probable case.

"We found abscesses in several parts of his brain," Soeroso said. He suggested that antibiotics and other drugs given for avian flu might have weakened the patient's immune system, but said the brain abscesses are gradually shrinking in response to treatment.

Neurologic manifestations of H5N1 infection have been reported before, though rarely. A Vietnamese boy who died of encephalitis in 2004 was later found to have had H5N1 infection, according to a research report published last year. Encephalitis is also known to be a rare complication of ordinary influenza.

Avian flu testing for flyway birds

State will test birds for avian flu

U.S. effort aimed at early detection

By KAWANZA NEWSON
knewson@journalsentinel.com

Posted: July 14, 2006

Many birds heading south along the Mississippi Flyway this fall may have their flights delayed as they undergo screening for a deadly flu strain.

Wildlife experts will stop hundreds of waterfowl and shorebirds traveling along Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River to collect fecal samples for detection of the H5N1 virus. In addition, they'll set up check stations for testing of hunter-killed birds and swab carcasses for the virus that has been infecting bird populations around the world.

"We're not doing this because we're really worried this will happen here," said Sarah Shapiro Hurley, deputy administrator of the state Department of Natural Resources' land division. "This is just a part of a national program so that we'll know what's going on with the bird population and be aware of whatever viruses might be circulating."

"Clearly, Alaska and other states have a higher probability of having a wild bird with a highly pathogenic virus move across their area," she said. "There is a very low risk of finding a highly pathogenic bird in Wisconsin."

In March, officials representing three federal agencies announced plans to significantly increase testing of wild birds to allow rapid detection of avian flu if it reaches the United States.

That plan called for collection of about 100,000 samples from live and dead wild birds this year, along with 50,000 samples of water or feces from waterfowl habitats across the U.S. Officials also recommended investigation of any disease outbreaks in wild birds and spot checks of birds killed by hunters, as well as those being sold in live bird markets and being raised by farmers.

Many of the samples will be tested in Madison, which is home to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center.

The H5N1 strain has infected a large number of domestic birds in Asia and about 230 people, including 131 who have died since 2003. Most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds, though the World Health Organization and others have warned that the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, possibly triggering a global pandemic.

Research led by University of Wisconsin-Madison flu expert Yoshihiro Kawaoka has shown that it will be extremely difficult to transmit the H5N1 virus between humans because the virus binds only to cells buried deep in the recesses of the human lower respiratory tract. The virus doesn't stick in the upper respiratory tract, where human flus are carried.

Kawaoka will head a $9 million, 20,000-square-foot Institute for Influenza Viral Research being built in existing space at the University Research Park on the far west side of Madison, making the city a national hub for genetic research studies on influenza viruses.

In addition, the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene was selected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to become the first state laboratory to test whether flu strains will respond to commonly used anti-viral drugs.

State to test 2,000 samples

As part of the increased migratory bird surveillance, Wisconsin will test at least 2,000 samples from live and dead birds throughout the state.

The DNR received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is using that money to hire two people who will lead the teams traveling along the shorelines of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, as well as to buy equipment needed for testing bird samples, said Kent Van Horn, the migratory game bird ecologist who was involved in development of both the Wisconsin plan and the Mississippi Flyway regional plan.

Van Horn said there are six to 10 anticipated monitoring sites throughout the state and that mallard, pintail and green-winged teal ducks will be among the species targeted for testing in Wisconsin.

However, those plans may change, he said.

"The weather and animals will determine where you go and when," he said. "You make these really nice plans, and then the ducks end up somewhere different."

U.S. wildlife experts have been monitoring wild migratory birds since the virus emerged in Asia in 1997. They have tested more than 12,000 birds in Alaska since 1998 and almost 4,000 traveling across the Atlantic since 2000.

Officials have been focusing on Alaska because it is a central hub for bird migration, said Paul Slota, a biologist with the Geological Survey who will be overseeing the testing of samples at the agency's wildlife health center in Madison.

The assumption is that an infected bird would migrate from Asia and come into contact with birds in Alaska, potentially infecting millions. During fall migration, the Alaskan bird could enter the U.S. mainland and likely spread the virus first along the Pacific Flyway. The Pacific Flyway includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and those portions of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming that are west of the Continental Divide.

Officials have recommended priority testing for birds found in these areas, followed by those obtained along the Central Flyway, Mississippi Flyway and then the Atlantic Flyway, Slota said.

However, it's understood that birds may travel other pathways to reach their destinations, he said.

Flu detection process

Julie Langenberg, a wildlife veterinarian for the DNR, said screening for influenza takes about three days, but additional testing will be conducted if a flu virus is detected.

If that occurs, the sample is kicked into a national reporting loop, where federal officials would learn the sample subtype and then alert Wisconsin officials of the results, she said.

However, it's important to remember that detection of influenza viruses in birds is not uncommon, said Chris Franson, a research wildlife biologist with the wildlife health center in Madison.

The agency has tested more than 4,500 samples in 2006, said Hon Ip, a disease investigations virologist with the Geological Survey.

The samples have come mainly from Alaska but include a variety of other birds from across the country and from as far away as the Pacific islands, he said.

However, to date, no birds have tested positive for H5N1, Ip said.

The birds congregate in late summer and early fall, making it easy to spread the virus between them.

Many birds will show no signs of illness, and common influenza viruses detected in hunter-killed birds can be eliminated with proper washing and cooking, Van Horn said.

f/u on possible bird flu contaminated meat

Saturday, July 15, 2006

No signs of avian flu found at 36 eateries

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

County health officials completed inspections Friday at all 36 Michigan restaurants known to be supplied by a Troy warehouse that is under federal investigation. They found no signs of poultry suspected to be contaminated with avian flu, a state official said.

Monitoring will continue and federal charges against the owner of the warehouse are possible, said Bridget Beckman, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

The state Thursday suspended the license of the warehouse, which was shut down Friday.

State and federal officials recently seized and destroyed thousands of pounds of poultry and other food products from Asia Food Service Inc.

The business is suspected of illegally importing frozen poultry from China in violation of a ban imposed due to avian flu concerns. No tests of the food were conducted, so officials do not know whether it was contaminated.

You can reach Paul Egan

Indonesia woes with H5N1

Jakarta - A senior health official conceded Friday that Indonesia will be unable to bring bird flu under control in the near future, as a US laboratory confirmed the country's 41st death from the H5N1 virus.

Nyoman Kandun, director general of Indonesia's Health Ministry, said a sample sent to the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta confirmed that a 3-year-old toddler who died in hospital in Jakarta last week had bird flu.

Vietnam has recorded 42 bird-flu deaths, the most of any nation, but has not had a single case this year. Indonesia, however, has had 30 deaths alone in 2006 and a 75-per-cent death rate overall from the virus.

The Jakarta Post on Friday, citing leading veterinarians, reported that Indonesia will continue to be plagued by bird flu because the government\'s vaccination, early detection, research, eradication and public-awareness campaigns were not being conducted simultaneously.

Indonesia has been criticized for its slow reaction and subsequent attempts to contain the virus after it was first detected in the country's poultry population in 2004.

Incidental culling in one area and vaccination in another would not ensure the virus would be gone' Rangga Tabu, an animal expert from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, told a national veterinarian congress on Thursday, the Post reported.

Kandun agreed that as long as Indonesia was unable to stop birds from passing along the virus to humans, infections would continue among both the poultry and human populations.

'The risk factors are there he told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa. 'As long as you cannot manage the upstream (of the disease) to people, you will be examining the cases all the time.'

International scientists and health officials have warned the H5N1 virus could mutate and cause human-to-human transmission, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.

© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur';

Africa haven for bird flu growth

FAO warns bird flu threat exists in Africa

July 13, 2006, 7 hours, 14 minutes and 44 seconds ago.

By ANDnetwork .com

Bird flu is still spreading in Africa and will continue to threaten the continent in the years to come, the UN food agency, FAO, has warned and called for rapid and decisive action to quell the disease.

"In the majority of cases, wherever the highly pathogenous influenza flu appeared, the global community and the countries concerned succeeded in circumventing it. "But there is always cause for concern in Indonesia and it is spreading in Africa where it is likely to become endemic in several countries," FAO warned in a statement issued this week. Culling, compensation of farmers and the control of animal movements form difficulties for the implementation of appropriate measures to fight it in Africa. To all these problems should be added the illegal trade of poultry. "The risk will persist as long as this trade is not rigorously controlled by more dynamic veterinary services and, in any case, not before the improvement of surveillance, response to alerts, diagnosis and the transmission of field reports," FAO explained. Since the outbreak of the epidemic over two years ago, 229 people have been infected by the H5N1 virus causing 131 deaths and some 200 million poultry were culled causing losses of $10 billion in Southeast Asia alone. Angola Press MB/JB

Biosafety concerns re: avian influenza

USDA releases farm biosecurity guide

Jul 12, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released a guide to helps farmers protect crops and animals from security threats.

The guide, titled "Pre-Harvest Security Guidelines and Checklist 2006," offers voluntary, practical measures to help farmers protect crops and animals from natural disasters and naturally or intentionally introduced pathogens.

In drafting the security guidelines, the USDA received input from producers throughout the country. The 20-page document covers general agriculture, dairy, crops, cattle, and poultry.

One recommendation that would cover almost any type of farm is to develop and update a risk management plan and share it with employees, family, and local law enforcement. A more specific recommendation for crop farmers is to maintain an updated inventory of anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, bulk urea, pesticides, and other hazardous materials and to investigate any discrepancies.

In a press release today, the USDA said improving food-producer awareness about biosafety issues is central to its homeland security efforts. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner commented, "While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to protecting agriculture, recommendations in this guide can be beneficial to a variety of types and sizes of agricultural operations."

The guide is available at the USDA's local Farm Service Agency centers and online. It is the latest in a series of USDA publications to address biosecurity; the agency has previously published guidelines for food processors and distributors and for those involved in agricultural transportation.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) today released on its Web site a checklist of precautions for preventing avian influenza on poultry farms. The checklist includes tips such as maintaining a visitor log, requiring visitors to wash their hands before entering a poultry house, following a strict schedule when caring for the flock (such as working from youngest to oldest), and draining ponds near poultry houses.

See also:

USDA's pre-harvest security guidelines and checklist
http://www.usda.gov/documents/PreHarvestSecurity_final.pdf

Jul 12 USDA news release on farm security guidelines

CFIA checklist for preventing avian influenza on farms
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/avflu/bacdoc/bioliste.shtml

curious and curioser: Chinese meats in our food?

Metro Detroit

Bird flu sleuths sent out

Poultry precaution: 300 sites targeted

July 13, 2006

BY DAVID ASHENFELTER and KIM NORRIS

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

Officials aren't sure how much poultry allegedly smuggled into the United States from areas of China affected by the avian flu outbreak made its way into southeast Michigan's Chinese restaurants, Asian markets and residential kitchens.

But they plan to find out.

State agriculture workers and county and local health inspectors are fanning out to 300 Chinese restaurants and Asian grocery stores to search for the frozen poultry -- geese, ducks and chickens with intestines still intact -- distributed by a Troy wholesaler, the Tinsway Co., at the center of the controversy.

It's an incident that raises questions about the purity of the food supply, given the nation's global food network, and what steps people can take to protect themselves.

Officials said as long as the food was cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, it should not have presented a threat.

"The food supply is safe," said Brad Deacon, emergency management coordinator for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. "We have seen no indication that any of this material was contaminated with avian influenza."

But he and other state agriculture officials conceded that there's no way to know for sure because federal inspectors destroyed all of the poultry they recovered without testing it.

The owner of the 7-year-old Troy company where the poultry was shipped, Wei Zhi Hou, insisted in a telephone interview Wednesday that none of the poultry he purchased from a supplier in New York had been smuggled from China.

"We don't buy chicken or duck from China," Hou said. He called the investigation a "misunderstanding."

Hou, 46, who goes by Wilson, came to the United States 20 years ago from China. He couldn't explain why he was certain the poultry was legal. Hou said he was in the Toronto area to help a friend open a restaurant and denied that he had left the country to avoid inspectors -- contrary to authorities' assertion that he disappeared in late June. He said he plans to return to Troy on Friday.

Hou's accountant, Christine Jen of Troy, said she has known Hou since 1991.

"He's a very responsible person," she said. "I don't think he would knowingly smuggle meat from China, but I also don't think he understands how serious this situation is."

Jen said Hou struggles with English and has a hard time communicating. She said she planned to call him to encourage him to return immediately to meet with authorities.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is investigating Hou, said Wednesday that it seized 1,940 pounds of illegal poultry believed to be from China from the warehouse on June 5 and destroyed it. It said testing would have served no food safety purpose.

State officials found out federal inspectors were in Michigan June 22 after one stopped by the Genesee County Clerk's Office to report that inspectors had just checked a Chinese carryout restaurant Hou once owned in Flint.

Genesee County health officials then alerted state and county authorities that federal inspectors were looking for smuggled flu-contaminated poultry in southeast Michigan.

The USDA said federal and state inspectors returned to the warehouse at the state's request on June 27, and found and impounded five boxes of illegal products, including goose intestines and pig carcasses.

State and federal inspectors returned July 5 to pick up and destroy the items, but discovered that the goose intestines had been swapped with chicken parts, which authorities then destroyed with the pig carcasses. The USDA said it is conducting a criminal probe of the swapped goose intestines.

On July 6, state inspectors seized and destroyed about 1,600 pounds of meat, poultry and other animal products because of state food violations, not because they suspected it was smuggled from China, state officials said.

Officials have said the smuggled poultry was packed in unlabeled boxes or boxes labeled as tilapia fish.

Contact DAVID ASHENFELTER at 313-223-4490 or ashenf@freepress.com. Staff writer Sylvia Rector contributed to this report.

MEAT WAREHOUSE RAIDED DUE TO BIRD FLU FEARS

Troy Warehouse Raided In Bird Flu Investigation
Health Officials Say Public Safety Is No. 1 Concern
POSTED: 11:05 pm EDT July 11, 2006
UPDATED: 3:45 pm EDT July 12, 2006

DETROIT -- Hundreds of pounds of illegally imported meat and chicken have been confiscated by federal and state investigators.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture worked with the Michigan Department of Agriculture on a raid at a Troy warehouse. Investigators found chicken, goose and pork products from areas in China affected by bird flu, Local 4 reported.
USDA investigators seized more than 1,600 pounds of illegally imported poultry and pork products, the station reported. Most of the products were mislabeled and put in boxes that read frozen tilapia, according to the report.
"This is absolutely a public health issue. Food safety and public health are our number one concerns," said Brad Deacon, emergency management coordinator for the state Agriculture Department.
Investigators said they have traced the illegal imports to a Genesee County businessman who owns the Troy warehouse but seems to have disappeared, Local 4 reported.
"The public should know that health departments in the state are out looking in warehouses and backrooms and freezers to make sure this material is not out there," said Deacon.
The warehouse has provided investigators with a list of about 300 restaurants and food stores it delivers to, and investigators will follow up with those businesses to locate all of the illegal meat, Local 4 reported.
Doctors said that cooking meat to its proper temperature should eliminate any risk of infection to humans.
Stay with Local 4 News and ClickOnDetroit.com for the latest developments.
Copyright 2006 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Indonesia virus mutated more than previously revealed

Report: H5N1 mutated rapidly in Indonesian cluster

Jul 12, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Genetic studies show that the H5N1 avian influenza virus mutated multiple times as it spread through an Indonesia family in May, but the significance of the changes is uncertain, according to a news report today in Nature.

The journal, basing its report on confidential genetic sequence data, published a chart showing that a total of 32 mutations were identified in viruses collected from six patients in the family case cluster. Previous reports from the World Health Organization and other experts gave the impression that only a few mutations had been found.

The case cluster in North Sumatra involved a 37-year-old woman who apparently contracted the virus from poultry and then passed it to six relatives before she died. One of those six, a 10-year-old boy, then passed the virus to his father. WHO officials said last month that a specific mutation found in the boy and his father marked the first laboratory confirmation of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

On May 23, the WHO said genetic sequencing of two viruses from the case cluster had shown "no evidence of genetic reassortment with human or pig influenza viruses and no evidence of significant mutations." A month later, at the end of an avian flu conference in Jakarta, WHO officials told reporters the virus had mutated slightly when it infected the 10-year-old boy, and the same mutation showed up in his father. The mutation didn't make the virus more transmissible or virulent, officials said.

The genetic data obtained by Nature came from a presentation by University of Hong Kong virologist Malik Peiris at a closed session of the Jakarta meeting in June, the article says.

The magazine says that 21 mutations were identified in a virus from the father of the 10-year-old boy, involving seven of the virus's eight genes, suggesting that the virus was evolving rapidly as it spread. In addition, from one to four mutations were found in viruses collected from five other patients.

The story says one of the mutations confers resistance to the antiviral drug amantadine, a finding not reported by the WHO.

However, the virus did not spread beyond the extended family, as the article notes. "Many of the genetic changes did not result in the use of different amino acids by the virus," the story says. "And there were no amino-acid changes in key receptor binding sites known to affect pathogenicity and transmissibility."

According to the magazine, viruses from six of the eight cases in the cluster have been sequenced, but the WHO has not shared the findings, saying they belong to Indonesia. The data have been released only to a few researchers linked to the WHO and the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, the story says.

Virologists quoted by the journal asserted that the withholding of sequence data on H5N1 is hindering scientists' understanding of the virus. But WHO staff member Paul Gully replied, according to the article, that the agency's job is investigating outbreaks, not doing academic research, and that labs don't have the time or resources to do "high-quality sequencing" during outbreaks.

See also:

May 23 WHO statement on genetic data from the case cluster
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_05_23/en/index.html

Jun 23 CIDRAP News story "H5N1 mutation showed human transmission in Indonesia"

Where's the Money??

Only fraction of bird flu aid pledges received- UN

10 Jul 2006 16:42:41 GMT

Source: Reuters

Bird flu

By Laura MacInnis GENEVA, July 10 (Reuters) - Only a fraction of the nearly $1.9 billion pledged by international donors in January to help the developing world prepare for a bird flu pandemic has been paid out so far, the United Nations said on Monday. In a joint report with the World Bank, the U.N. bird flu coordinator David Nabarro said donor countries had allocated $1.15 billion for bird flu aid from their budgets by the end of April, but had transferred just $331 million to recipients. Although the virus affects mostly wild birds, experts fear it may change into a form that can be easily transmitted among humans, sweeping the world and killing millions within weeks or months. "Our concern must tighten as we move into the colder months in the northern hemisphere [when the virus spreads more rapidly]," he said after a meeting of the U.N. Economic and Social Council on global preparedness for a bird flu pandemic. Much of the shortfall reflected slow payments from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, lenders which together accounted for $969 million of the pledges made in Beijing but had released just $4 million by the end of April. The United States had set aside the $334 million it pledged but disbursed only about $71 million, according to the report. The European Commission had locked in $178 million -- more than its $124 million pledge -- but had not distributed any funds. However, Japan had disbursed nearly $158 million, exceeding the $155 million it promised. The donor funds are designated for upgrading veterinary systems, vaccination drives and education about animal hygiene. Nabarro said more money was needed to ensure poorer countries in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere were ready for a resurgence of the bird flu threat later this year. He said Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Egypt were among those short of funds for pandemic preparation. The H5N1 bird flu strain has caused outbreaks in more than 48 countries and territories since re-emerging in Asia three years ago, and has killed more than 130 people. "It is certainly moving into more and more countries with a speed that is, for me and my colleagues, a continuing concern," Nabarro said. He added the African Union would host a major meeting in Mali in December to assess global needs. "This is a virus that has really quite extraordinary damaging potential, and that is why we are concerned about it," he said.

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California buys anti-virals

State to stockpile bird flu treatment

California is purchasing over 3.7 million treatments of anti-viral drugs to treat a human form of avian influenza in the event of a pandemic.

The state's budget, passed June 30, allocated $53.3 million to stockpile drugs officials said are needed to protect against a potentially deadly outbreak of bird flu.

The money will cover the state's share of Tamiflu and Relenza -- the two common treatments for the H5N1 virus -- according to Dr. Howard Backer, chief of the California Department of Health Services' immunization branch. Tamiflu will account for 90 percent of the drugs used to combat the spread of bird flu in California.

Under a plan proposed last fall, the federal government will pay 25 percent of the cost of the treatments, with states covering 75 percent.

The state's planned supply is separate from a national stockpile the federal government is purchasing and will also make available to states.

Backer said an outbreak of influenza is a real possibility.

"There's no way to tell when a pandemic would happen," Backer said. "The important thing is pandemics happen naturally and regularly. Like the earthquake, we know it'll happen. We just don't know when."

California's money will buy enough of the anti-viral drugs to treat at least 10 percent of the population. The state will then tap into the separate federal supply to reach its goal of covering 25 percent of the state's residents.

More than a third of the treatments purchased with the state money will be set aside for Los Angeles County, the state's most populous area.

The state and federal government should have enough of the anti-viral drugs by December 2008 to treat a quarter of the nation's population, according to health officials. That's how many people may be affected in a pandemic.

Each Tamiflu treatment consists of 10 doses in capsule or powder form taken over five days, Backer said. Relenza is inhaled.

Neither drug is a vaccine, but both are used to treat and limit the spread of influenza. A vaccine is not produced until after a virus is spread so that the specific virus can be targeted, Backer said.

Backer said that individuals should take standard emergency preparedness measures including storing food, medications and hand sanitizers.

Backer, who helped create the state's flu pandemic plan, said the state is working with businesses, schools and organizations to prepare.

The state's Tamiflu will be supplied by Roche Laboratories, Inc. On Friday, the federal government announced a deal with Roche to purchase 31 million treatments of Tamiflu over two years. This supply will be redistributed to individual states.

While there is today no increase in danger of a pandemic, California's plan to be ready by December 2008 appears distant, said Dr. Christian Sandrock, an infectious disease physician at UC Davis Medical Center.

But "reasonably it's about the best you can do," he said.

California will order the drugs by Aug. 1, the deadline federal officials set for states to report how much of the drugs they plan to buy. But it's unclear when the companies can deliver the drugs.

A shortage of a star anise found in China used to make Tamiflu is a factor in setting the December 2008 target date, Sandrock said. Also slowing the plan is Roche being the only company producing the drug, though it has begun to contract out the production.

Worldwide, 130 people have died of avian influenza since the first human case was documented in 1997, according to a federal report released last week.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Tomio Geron can be reached at (916) 321-1041

China tries to control bird flu news

Chinese bird flu whistle-blower jailed: state media

Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:25am

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court jailed a farmer who reported bird flu outbreaks to the central government to three-and-a-half years for fraud and blackmail, state media said on Tuesday.

Qiao Songju, a goose farmer in the eastern province of Jiangsu, was arrested a month after he reported bird flu outbreaks in the nearby province of Jiangsu in October, Xinhua news agency said.

Qiao had denied most, but not all, of the charges, Xinhua said, without explaining who might have been blackmailed or whether the charges were linked to his bird flu reports, which turned out to be correct.

"The defendant used measures such as fabricating facts and hiding truth to swindle public and personal property ... so he should be punished for two crimes," Xinhua quoted the prosecution as saying.

Chinese media reported last month that China was considering fines for media outlets that report emergencies, such as riots, natural disasters and outbreaks of disease such as SARS or bird flu, without authorization.

China has a long history of covering up emergency incidents, and news blackout are regularly imposed by sensitive propaganda officials nervous about the effects of news reports on the image of the ruling party.

New York has a plan for avian flu from Yahoo News

The plan, drawn up by the Department of Health with input from all the main city agencies, covers critical health areas involved in a pandemic, including disease monitoring, laboratory capacity, vaccine and medicine delivery, as well as hospital preparedness.

"We have to be ready for the possibility -- no matter how remote," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The contingency blueprint addresses how the city would implement infection control, address surge capacity in hospitals and enact disease containment measures like closing schools or limiting public gatherings.

Health Commissioner Thomas Friedman said even the best-laid plans could not prevent the social and economic chaos a pandemic would bring, but they could help lessen the impact.

"Without a vaccine, and with medications of limited supply and effectiveness, traditional measures of reducing disease spread -- such as covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, or staying home from work or school if you have fever -- would be crucial," Friedman said.

The plan envisages a worst-case scenario of widespread, serious illness that significantly impacts all sectors of society for at least several months.

The health care system would be overburdened and there could be dramatic reductions in workforce availability in all sectors as employees become ill or remain home to care for sick family members

Some of the measures included in the blueprint have been worked out from large-scale emergency response exercises to a simulated biological attack on the city.

The new plan is essentially a response to the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus which has been found in 60 countries in the past two and a half years.

Although the H5N1 virus does not spread easily between people, those who come in contact with sick birds can contract it, and scientists fear a pandemic if it mutates into a disease transmissible between humans.

The virus has so far infected 229 people. More than half -- 131 -- have died.

Mysterious bird flu

Patterns in bird flu cases remain mystery

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although his hometown has never seen bird flu, I Putu Widya is dismayed by the fact that Indonesia is one more death away from being on a par with Vietnam as countries with the world's most H5N1 fatalities.

What worries Putu is that he feels nobody has explained why the deadly virus is difficult to contain and why it kills people selectively.

"I'm so confused -- why some people die instantly due to bird flu and why others don't. That worries me," said the 27-year-old employee of a guest house in Ubud, Bali.

Bali is among four provinces that still have not seen human fatalities. The highly pathogenic virus had infected over 16 million chickens in 29 provinces.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Lili Sulistyowati said the government and scientists were still trying to figure out the mystery over the bird flu spread.

"We need thorough scientific research to explain why some people have a certain immunity against the virus and why others don't," she told The Jakarta Post.

The World Health Organization has confirmed that the H5N1 virus has mutated in one of the seven family clusters in Indonesia, but did not evolve into a more transmissible form.

However, what is not clear is why the virus infected only blood relatives but not spouses.

Critics have said research to uncover the mystery was too slow, leaving the public worried over the fact that the country continued to count more bird flu deaths.

Of the 54 confirmed human cases, Indonesia has seen 41 deaths of H5N1 since the first human casualty was recorded last year. It trails behind Vietnam with 42 deaths out of 93 confirmed cases. However, Vietnam has not recorded any deaths since a massive cull of chickens and birds last year.

The Indonesian government said it could not afford to compensate farmers for millions of infected chicken across the nation, saying it could only allot Rp 300 million this year, meaning that it could only pay for 30,000 culled fowl.

The 2005 State of the Environment report confirmed the government slow's response to the H5N1 outbreak. It said the H5N1 outbreak among poultry had actually taken place in 2003, but the Agriculture Ministry only announced it on Jan. 25 last year.

A senior Agriculture Ministry official told the Post that the late announcement was due to prolonged debate between animal health experts in determining the virus genotype, in which some experts insisted that it was not H5N1 but Newcastle disease.

An official with the National Commission on Bird Flu said none of the research was able to show exactly how to stop the virus from spreading.

But the official, who asked not to be named, acknowledged that research carried out by an animal health expert with Airlangga University in Surabaya, Chairul A. Nidom, exposed credible information.

"Nidom had said that there were limited human-to-human transmissions, although many experts were against him at the time, but now some have admitted that he might be correct," he said.

Nidom's research in Japan last year showed that some of the viruses had a form that made human genes receptive to it, thus making them easy to transmit.

Offense good defense against bird flu

Posted on Mon, Jul. 10, 2006

Best precaution against avian flu is to be informed

Avian influenza has become a hot topic, resulting in a great deal of discussion about its possible impact. This includes speculation about the potential of an avian flu pandemic.

Avian flu refers to a group of viruses that most commonly infect only birds. These pathogens are usually quite species specific, but on rare occasion, they have crossed the species barrier to infect humans.

Wild birds all over the world carry these viruses in their intestines, but they usually do not get sick from them. The viruses are very contagious among birds though. The virus can make domesticated birds such as turkeys, chickens and ducks very sick, often resulting in death.

Influenza A viruses comprise many subtypes with some particularly more devastating than others. The H5N1 avian influenza A virus is one of the more deadly of the subtypes. Since 2003, more than 150 million birds died from the H5N1 virus or were euthanized to prevent further spread, the World Health Organization reported.

Of the few avian-influenza viruses that have crossed the species barrier to humans, H5N1 has caused the largest number of cases of severe disease and death. Unlike normal seasonal influenza, avian influenza has proven to have an aggressive clinical course, with rapid deterioration and high mortality rates. According to WHO, as of January, there were 139 confirmed cases of avian influenza in humans resulting in 71 deaths.

Infection in humans is most commonly the result of direct contact with infected poultry or surfaces or other objects contaminated with bird feces containing the virus. Instances of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 and other avian-influenza viruses have occurred only rarely, and transmission beyond first-generation contacts has not been documented.

So far, the risk of human infection is considered low, but scientists warn that mutations in the virus may increase the transmission rate. Because these viruses do not typically infect humans, there is little or no immunity or protection against them. If the H5N1 virus were able to infect people and spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic or worldwide outbreak would occur.

Signs and symptoms of avian influenza in humans are nonspecific, including fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, but more serious symptoms are known, such as conjunctivitis, pneumonia and acute respiratory distress.

Presently, four antiviral drugs are FDA approved for treatment of influenza. They all maintain activity against influenza A viruses. However, with the flu's possible mutations, resistant strains invariably will develop. In fact, analysis of some of the H5N1 viruses isolated from poultry and humans in Asia have shown the viruses to be resistant to two of the medications.

Health-care workers can protect their patients, themselves and their families by strictly adhering to familiar precautionary measures. For any patient being seen with fever, respiratory symptoms and a history of intercontinental travel, it is imperative to employ standard contact and airborne precautions until another diagnosis is made or laboratory tests rule out avian influenza.

Use of personal protective equipment such as gowns, goggles or face shields should be considered mandatory when treating these patients. Dedicated equipment should be used, such as disposable blood-pressure cuffs, thermometers and stethoscopes.

Brian Johnson is a registered nurse in the medical/surgical intensive-care units at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

More on China's first bird flu case

China investigates possible 2003 bird flu death

China is conducting lab tests to confirm whether a man died of bird flu in 2003, the Ministry of Health said on Monday. A letter published by eight Chinese scientists in a June 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine said that the bird flu virus was isolated in a 24-year-old man who died in Beijing in 2003. The ministry has made contact with the eight scientists, said Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the ministry. The man, who became ill with pneumonia and respiratory disease on November 2003, died four days after being hospitalized. Since China was then experiencing the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the case was suspected a SARS case, but lab tests were negative for SARS. However, the cause of his death was not clear, Mao said. Doctors and scientists conducted studies on the specimens taken from the man over a period of two years, and compared the virus isolated from the man's samples with influenza A (H5N1) viral strains from China and other countries. Their findings suggest that the man might have died of the bird flu, Mao added. "In accordance with World Health Organization and China's diagnostic standards for human avian influenza, parallel laboratory tests are needed for further confirmation," he said. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting the tests, and the ministry will keep the WHO updated, added Mao. China reported its first human bird flu case in November, 2005. Up to now, China has reported 19 cases, among which 12 have died. Source: Xinhua

EU citizens eating less poultry, avian flu survey finds

By Ahmed ElAmin


10/07/2006 - About 48 per cent of those who reduced their consumption, or nine per cent of those surveyed, said they were aware of a potential risk.

As they were unable to measure it, they preferred to adopt a cautious attitude, the survey found.

About 15 per cent of this group, or three per cent of all EU25 citizens, were convinced that the risk of eating poultry meat was real.

On the other hand, 28 per cent, or five per cent of the total, believed there was no real risk involved in eating poultry meat, even though they decided to eat less.

Results show that more than three quarters of the group, representing 14 per cent of the total, perceived this change as temporary.

A total of 13 per cent, or three per cent of those living in all of the EU 25 countries, declared they had reduced their consumption of poultry meat forever.

Consumption of poultry meat has dropped by more than half in some EU states, with 300,000 tonnes and more in storage across the bloc, according to previous EU estimates. Import measures have also restricted the sources processors can use for their supplies of poultry meat.

The survey also found that EU citizens “are well informed about avian influenza and have confidence in the actions of EU and national authorities to tackle it”.

However the European Commission survey found “significant gaps” in the public's knowledge remain about the risks.

The survey, conducted in March and April with 25,000 people, found that between 70 per cent to 80 per cent of respondents correctly identified specific surveillance, control and eradication measures taken to prevent and contain avian flu outbreaks.

A total of 70 per cent of respondents agree that EU public authorities are guided in their actions by genuine concern about the health of European citizens.

However, the survey reveals that a significant percentage of Europeans remain unsure about certain basic facts about avian flu. For example, 28 per cent do not know that avian flu cannot be transmitted through properly cooked eggs and poultry meat, according to figures released on 7 July.

About 74 per cent of respondents displayed a very good awareness that if humans touch infected birds they can be infected.

About 77 per cent displayed a “very good awareness” of the requirement to confine poultry indoors in risk areas. About 78 per cent were aware of import restrictions from third countries affected by avian flu.

However 18 per cent of respondents think that it is not possible to catch avian influenza by touching contaminated birds and 11 per cent are not aware that vaccination against seasonal influenza is not effective against avian influenza.

About 28 per cent declare that avian flu can be transmitted through cooked poultry and 21 per cent think that avian flu can be present in an egg or its shell after cooking. A total of 29 per cent declare it is not safe to eat the meat of a chicken vaccinated against avian influenza.

Outbreaks of the disease have occurred in domestic poultry in France, Sweden, Germany and Denmark. Cases of avian influenza H5N1 have occurred in wild birds in fourteen member states of the EU to date: Spain, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Slovakia, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic and UK.

The Eurobarometer survey on avian flu is published at http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/in dex_en.htm.

Protect blood donor supply from avian flu

Stanford Researchers Scramble to Create Test for Bird Flu

San Jose, Calif. (KCBS) -- The threat of an avian fly pandemic has Stanford University researchers working on a way to test blood for the presence of the disease in an effort to protect the region's blood supply. KCBS reporter Matt Bigler says officials at the Stanford Blood Center are not mincing words when they speak of the bird flu pandemic spreading to the United States. "It would be a complete disaster if we were to have one because there is no testing for it. It's so new. It's almost like the new AIDS epidemic," said Monica Doleshel-Aguirra, a spokesperson for the center. She says without a test for the disease, blood supplies could become contaminated and by the time doctors realized it, it could be too late. That's why Stanford researchers are working to break down the genetic code of the bird flu in order to have a test ready to go even before the disease spreads. In the meantime, the more immediate threat to Bay Area residents is the critically low blood supply level. "What they don't understand, and I think it's our responsibility and to educate them is that the need is 24/7," said Doleshel-Aguirra.

Copyright 2006, KCBS. All Rights Reserved.

Tennessee has pandemic flu plan

State's bird flu plan a sensible move
July 10, 2006
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The state has a plan in case it is hit by a flu epidemic, a plan that encompasses 205 pages and deals with how thousands of health care workers and others hope to contain a virus that may spread so quickly it can't be contained.
With a divisive war, rising gasoline prices, environmental challenges and a hot summer taking most of our attention, the creeping reality is that the world may also soon have to get a grip on the so-called bird flu. Most health experts fear it will spread beyond Asia and hit the United States. When? Nobody knows for sure, but they seem united in their belief that it's coming.

The state's plan outlines how patients would be quarantined, how vaccine would be distributed and how agencies would coordinate their efforts. Exercises are planned this winter. Local agencies must turn in their own response plans to state officials.

It's scary. The plan predicts a virus would infect three in 10 Tennesseans and cause between about 4,200 and 38,000 deaths. About 900,000 could seek outpatient care, with an estimated 198,000 requiring hospitalization. One shudders to think what it would do to Sevier County's tourism industry.

It's good to see the state getting ready for such an outbreak, even if there is no assurance we'll be affected. Remember, we had no idea about terrorist attacks, ether, or a plan to handle them. Since Sept. 11, 2001, agencies have coordinated their efforts to be ready in case it happens again. That's the idea behind a strategy to confront a flu pandemic. Develop a plan that seems workable, make sure everybody understands the plan and has a role in it, and then practice it. There are no signs the virus has hit North America, but more than 130 people have died in 53 countries. The fear of bioterrorism makes the flu a potential weapon.

You'd think medicine had advanced to the point where we wouldn't have to be afraid of such a pandemic. Not so. This thing is a real threat. Thanks to state and local officials in Tennessee, it may not turn out to be as bad as it could be.


©The Mountain Press 2006

Not a "real" bird flu mutation...

Bird flu mutation "cause for concern"

Geneva (dpa) - United Nations officials said Monday the bird flu virus did mutate and was passed from human to human in Indonesia but described the mutation as "relatively insignificant," although "cause for concern."

The UN's senior co-ordinator for avian and human influenza Dr David Nabarro told journalists it was "absolutely not" the start of a potential pandemic.

He said there was human to human transmission of H5N1 going on and it was probably the third time that it had been reported.

"There was a mutation but it was not dangerous ... but this is news which is a cause of concern," he added.

United Nations had carried out a study into the spread of the virus north of Sumatra where the H5N1 strain spread within one family after contact with birds.

One of the people affected was a 10-year-old boy. Blood samples showed the virus had mutated and the mutant virus was subsequently passed to the boy's father.

"This was the kind of mutation we often see in H5N1 type viruses. It is a relatively insignificant mutation," said Nabarro.

There were various types of mutations, he added, and they had to be constantly on alert.

"The majority of them are not significant from a human health point of view. We are looking out for and trying to be prepared for a possible dangerous mutation that leads to dangerous human to human transmission. We have not had that yet," he said.

Meanwhile the UN's Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) has urged the international community to play its part in the fight against avian flu.

At its main annual meeting it said the challenge in controlling avian flu was greatest for the poorest countries, principally in Africa, where the health infrastructure was already stretched in dealing with the impact of HIV/Aids.

Ecosoc reminded nations that they were mutually dependent on each others' economic success and it was up to everyone to do their bit to conquer avian flu.

Texans plan for bird flu

On The Farm: Bird flu must be detected early in commercial flocks

By ERIC ZIMMERMAN
Special to the Eagle

Headlines about bird flu, or avian influenza, have raised concerns from the general public about this as well as other foreign animal diseases.

Avian influenza is a virus that usually affects only birds. It circulates among the wild bird population and sometimes pigs. And, as with other flu viruses, it can change or mutate. Some avian influenza strains come in one of two strengths, known as pathogenicity, or the ability to sicken or kill birds. Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) may not be apparent or may make birds slightly ill. On the other hand, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) may make birds very sick or cause fatalities.

GUIDELINES

A bird can die from a variety of diseases, but it is best to follow a few simple rules when disposing of it.

• Don't touch a dead bird with your bare hands.

• Place a plastic bag over your hand and pick it up, enclosing it in the bag.

• Always wash your hands afterward.

The highly visible bird flu in the news is a highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, which has not been detected in the United States.

Avian influenza or its pathogenicity cannot be determined by looking at a sick bird. In fact, there are numerous diseases or conditions that can cause birds to become ill or die. To determine the cause, lab tests must be conducted on blood, tissue or fecal material from a potentially infected bird.

Wild waterfowl are the natural host for the avian influenza virus. Since 1998, more than 12,000 migratory birds and waterfowl have been tested in Alaska. All tests have been negative for H5N1.

Texas is part of the central flyway, and the USDA's Wildlife Services and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will collect several thousand samples from targeted species. In all, more than 100,000 wild birds will be sampled in the United States during 2006.

It is important to test for bird flu in commercial flocks early enough to prevent an outbreak. Commercially produced poultry are raised indoors and protected from contact with wild birds. Biosecurity measures are employed at all commercial poultry houses. These measures include disinfecting boots and tools prior to entering poultry houses, restricting visitor access and cleaning vehicle tires at the farm gate.

Routine disease surveillance for avian influenza is performed on commercial flocks. Since 1995, the Texas commercial poultry industry submitted more than 200,000 samples yearly to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. In 2004, two strains of avian influenza (not H5N1) were detected in the state. The Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas USDA staff responded immediately to quarantine the flocks and eliminate the infection.

HPAI H5N1 has been detected in about 50 countries. Animal health officials in many countries follow procedures similar to those used by the United States.

Since 2003, about 200 people have contracted the HPAI H5N1 virus. Nearly all had extensive direct contact with sick or dead birds or consumed improperly prepared products from sick birds. Human-to-human transmission has not been documented. Lack of biosecurity, extreme crowding and cultural practices may contribute to the transmission of HPAI H5N1 to humans.

As of late May, about 50 human cases had been confirmed in Indonesia, a country roughly three times the size of Texas but with 245 million citizens and more than 780 million poultry - mostly in small backyard flocks. In contrast, Texas has 23 million residents, and most of the state's 100 million poultry are produced commercially.

A dead bird in your yard should not cause undue concern. However, because birds may die from a variety of causes, don't touch it with bare hands. Place a plastic bag over your hand and pick up the bird, enclosing it in the bag and disposing of it in the garbage. Always wash your hands thoroughly afterward.

For more information or to report unusual illness or deaths in your flock, call the Texas Animal Health Commission at 1-800-550-8242.

Nigeria's woes with avian flu

Concerns Over Nigeria's Bird Flu Recurrence
By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
09 July 2006


Nigerian child holds up a chicken outside the family home in Todo village
Nigerian child holds up a chicken outside the family home in Todo village
Recent research findings that Nigeria may have been hit repeatedly by different strains of bird flu are raising concern, as the West African country struggles to deal with the outbreak.

It has been about five months since the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain was first detected in Nigeria. Despite repeated government assurances that its containment measures are working, experts say the outbreak is far from over.

Dr. Bala Mohammed is the secretary general of the Nigerian Veterinary Association.

"There has been some kind of a resurgence in Taraba and Lagos. And except for some few people who believe bird flu had gone, but for those on the job, the heat is on. We have new cases in Lagos and Taraba," Mohammed says.

Researchers say Nigeria may have been hit by different strains of bird flu, raising the risk of human contagion. Experts warn that, unless the Nigerian outbreak is effectively dealt with immediately, there is now a real chance that the virus could become transmissible among humans, leading to the possibility of a pandemic.

Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Nigeria Helder Muteia says surveillance is being stepped up to get a clearer picture of the current outbreak.

"We have designed an active surveillance program, because we have to know. Until this moment, we had a very passive surveillance strategy," Muteia says. "So, let us have an active surveillance. That means to go to the field and to find out what is going on there, instead of waiting for people to announce any outbreak. So, we are starting very soon an active surveillance to know exactly what is going on."

Nigerian veterinarians are pushing for radical changes in efforts to stem the bird flu outbreak as Dr. Mohammed explains.

"A whole lot of problems that I feel will have to be sorted out. Until the issue of surveillance, compensation, decontamination ... until things are done properly, until regulatory agencies collaborate, until we get either remotely or actively get the farmers to report cases, we would not get out of the problem," Mohammed says.

The World Health Organization says bird flu has infected 223 people since December 2003, killing more than 130 worldwide, primarily in Southeast Asia.
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