Bird Flu Fears For Woman In Germany

[george]

Bird flu fears for woman in Germany

HAMBURG: Doctors in Hamburg are examining a woman suspected of contracting bird flu during a recent trip to Thailand.

The woman was taken by ambulance to a Hamburg institute for tropical medicine for tests, said fire department spokesman Peter Braun.

Another woman who had travelled with her to Thailand also was taken to the institute, but was not suspected of having contracted the disease.

Further details were not immediately available.

Health officials in Hamburg were not able to confirm the suspected case.

There have been 18 suspected human cases of bird flu in Thailand, 10 of whom have died.

The human cases have been traced to direct contact with sick birds.

--Agencies 2004-02-02

[george]

Women being checked for bird flu symptoms in Germany

HAMBURG - A German tropical institute is examining two women for possible bird flu infection, authorities said on Monday.

The ambulance service in the northern port city of Hamburg said a female holidaymaker returning to Germany from a vacation in Thailand was being checked for bird flu symptoms at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine.

"We were called with a suspected case of bird flu and brought a woman to the tropical institute," said a spokesman for the ambulance service. A woman who had accompanied her was also being examined at the institute, the spokesman said.

The head of the city's infectious diseases department, Clara Schlaich, said: "It is very unlikely that a tourist has been infected with bird flu."

The institute declined to confirm the suspected cases. It said it would release a statement at 1600 GMT.

Shares in German national airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG fell slightly after the news.

So far 12 people have died from bird flu in an epidemic that is sweeping Asia and which scientists fear may now be transmitted from person to person.

The epidemic has hit stock markets and share indices fell in Hong Kong and Thailand as economists said on Monday the possibility of human transmission would have much more serious implications.

Ten countries in Asia have now reported cases of bird flu and millions of chickens and ducks across the region have died of the disease or been culled to prevent the virus spreading. But only two countries -- Thailand and Vietnam -- have recorded the virus in humans.

--Reuters 2004-02-02

[francois]

News this morning 8h45am European time

the so-clalled cases of bird-flu in Hamburg are not bird-flu, results of blood analysis do not show any sign of bird-flu.

so, no bird-flu in europe yet

francois

sorry george did not look at all threads before ...

news here are a little confusing ...

they also talk about 11 cases in Thailand, 11 persons dead,is this true?

[pal78]

So what did they have? It was probably the food they ate on the plane... bet they flew Lufthansa.

[george]

German bird flu suspect gets all clear

HAMBURG: A German woman who was Europe’s first suspected case of bird flu does not have the disease, doctors have said.

The woman was rushed to the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, northern Germany, after developing flu-like symptoms while on a visit to Thailand.

Her friend was also quarantined though she was not ill.

"We are nearly sure that this is human influenza virus," a spokeswoman for the institute said. "It is not bird flu."

Firefighters who transported the patient and a woman accompanying her to the institute wore protective clothing and were disinfected after the journey. The second woman was examined but had no symptoms.

The confirmed death toll from bird flu has now reached 13 after the Thai authorities confirmed that a seven-year-old boy died from the disease.

Thailand is investigating another 18 suspected cases of bird flu infections of which 11 have died, including a four-year-old boy who died earlier today.

The European Union has extended a ban on imports of Thai poultry and pet birds from Asia for six months, though there is no evidence to suggest that the disease is passed to humans through meat.

"Although the risk of importing the virus in meat or meat products is probably low, the EU wants to make sure that any possible transmission is avoided," an EU statement said after a meeting of EU food-safety experts.

The ban, which will now run until August 15, concerns imports of poultry from Thailand and pet birds from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

"It will be kept under constant review with a view to amending it earlier if the situation allows for it," the EU statement said.

--Agencies 2004-02-03