Latest Avian Influenza Outbreaks & Updates

[kyselak]

India: New cull planned after authorities find H5 bird flu

in 14 more Indian villages

BOMBAY, India (AP) _ About 200,000 chickens will be

slaughtered in and around 14 villages in western India

where poultry has tested positive for the H5 bird flu

virus, authorities said Friday. It was not yet clear

whether the birds had the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus,

but authorities will still cull all the chickens in a a

10-kilometer (6-mile) radius around each of the 14

villages, said Maharashtra state animal husbandry official

S.M. Ali. The positive samples were mostly from small,

backyard chicken farms in the Jalgaon district in western

Maharashtra state, where an outbreak was detected last

month, said Bijay Kumar, the state's chief of animal

husbandry. Jalgaon is about 500 kilometers (310 miles)

north of Bombay, India's financial hub, and more than 170

kilometers (105 miles) east of Nandurbar, the center of

India's first outbreak of H5N1, in February. Kumar said the

new positive results came from a batch of about 1,000

samples taken last month from 100 villages scattered across

Jalgaon. The samples were sent for testing to a federal

laboratory in the central city of Bhopal.

070733 apr 06GMT

[kyselak]

Myanmar fighting over 100 bird flu outbreaks - UN

By Ed Cropley

BANGKOK, April 10 (Reuters) - Bird flu is spreading fast in

secretive, military-ruled Myanmar, which is now battling more

than 100 outbreaks in poultry since the virus was first

reported a month ago, U.N. agriculture officials said on

Monday.

After visits by two teams from the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the situation in the former

Burma appeared to be "more serious than what we imagined", said

He Changchui, the Rome-based body's Asia-Pacific

representative.

"Up to now, there are over 100 outbreaks, mainly in two

districts, Mandalay and Sagaing," He told a news conference in

Bangkok.

A historic trading hub between India, China and Thailand,

Mandalay lies in the centre of the country and Sagaing in the

north.

Public awareness of bird flu in a nation ruled by military

diktat for the past 44 years was an issue, He said, as was

getting hold of accurate data from one of the most reclusive

regimes in the world.

"The issue there is that awareness is rather poor. The

information is not that comprehensive," He said.

Myanmar reported its first outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on

March 13 and within a week the number of outbreaks had climbed

to five. Even then, FAO experts said the authorities were

struggling to cope.

David Nabarro, the U.N.'s bird flu coordinator who is on a

five-nation swing through Asia, described Myanmar as having

major problems.

"We're going to be focusing on Myanmar a lot in the next

few days and weeks, trying to make sure that the authorities

and civil society in that country are able to cope better," he

said.

Alongside FAO efforts to boost culling and provide vaccines

and protective gear for agricultural workers, the World Health

Organisation (WHO) is to send a team to Yangon at the end of

the month to assess human defences against the H5N1 virus.

Myanmar has proved a thorny issue for donors due to

Yangon's international isolation for its human rights record

and detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

However, the Asian Development Bank said in March it would

be eligible for funds from a $38 million programme to help poor

countries plug gaps in their health defences.

There have been no reported human cases in Myanmar of H5N1,

which scientists fear could mutate into a form that jumps

easily between people and starts a global flu pandemic.

While only 192 people are known to have been infected so

far worldwide, 109 have died.

However, scientists say millions of people could be

infected in a human pandemic but with a much lower mortality

rate.

REUTERS

100904 Apr 06

ENDOFMSG

[kyselak]

Bird flu could kill 100,000 British children-report

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - A bird flu pandemic among humans

could kill 100,000 children in Britain, said a government health

adviser who recommended schools draw up plans to close in the

event of an outbreak, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Sunday Times quoted government health adviser Liam

Donaldson as saying in a confidential letter to the schools

minister that if the virus was particularly severe, deaths among

school-age children "could be as high as 100,000".

"This would mean that potentially 50,000 deaths might be

prevented by school closures," Donaldson was quoted as saying.

"For this reason, I would recommend that schools should be

planning on the basis that they may have to close for part or

all of the pandemic," he said.

The overall death toll in Britain in a severe outbreak of

the disease could be as high as 700,000, the Sunday Times quoted

Donaldson as writing.

Britain reported its first case of the lethal H5N1 strain in

a wild bird when a mute swan was found dead in Cellardyke

harbour in eastern Scotland last week.

While mainly affecting animals, scientists fear the disease

could mutate into a form that could pass between humans, causing

a pandemic.

British government advisers say the chances of that

happening are very low, although the government is preparing for

the possibility.

According to the World Health Organisation, the virus has

killed 109 people, almost all of them in Asia and involving

people who had close contact with infected birds.

Scotland's First Minister Jack McConnell confirmed in a

television interview on Sunday that schools in Scotland could be

closed if a pupil caught the virus.

"The closure of schools would only happen if there were

cases being identified in those schools but clearly if that was

the case, the closure ... would be an immediate and urgent

priority," he told Sky news.

He did not specify if closure would come in a bird to human

transmission of the disease or only in the case of a pandemic.

A report in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper said the

government was drawing up emergency plans to tackle widespread

food shortages in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

Officials fear many truck drivers could be unwilling to

enter infected areas if there was a pandemic, leading to supply

problems, the report said.

Off-duty firemen and retired truck drivers would be pressed

into service to deliver essential food supplies, according to

"secret" cabinet documents seen by the Sunday Telegraph.

REUTERS

091840 Apr 06

ENDOFMSG

[kyselak]

Malaysia bans import of birds, eggs from Britain

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9, 2006 (AFP) - Malaysia Sunday banned

imports of birds and eggs from Britain after a wild swan found dead

in a Scottish coastal village tested positive for the feared H5N1

strain of bird flu.

Mustapa Abdul Jalil, veterinary services department acting

director-general said the ban would remain in place until British

authorities declared the country free of the disease.

Malaysia mainly imported exotic birds from Britain, he said.

Britain became the 13th European Union country to report the

deadliest form of avian flu in a wild bird following confirmation

that the swan had been carrying H5N1, which has killed more than 100

people, mostly in Asia.

The swan -- the only infected bird found so far in Britain --

was discovered floating dead in the harbour of a Scottish village in

early April.

Mustapa said there had been no new cases of bird flu in

Malaysia.

"The Gombak district (just north of Kuala Lumpur) is no longer

considered an H5N1 virus threat area," he said.

"But we will wait until May when we will do the third

surveillance. If it is negative, we will declare the area free of

the disease."

In the first outbreak in Malaysia in more than a year, H5N1

virus was detected in February in 40 free-range chickens in four

villages in Gombak.

Nearly 60,000 birds were slaughtered while authorities launched

a campaign to boost plummeting poultry sales.

Health officials believe that fighting cocks smuggled in from

neighbouring countries could have been the source of the Kuala

Lumpur outbreak.

Since then, the country has suffered five other outbreaks of the

H5N1 virus among poultry in the northern states of Perak and

Penang.

Neighbouring Singapore, the biggest market for Malaysian

poultry, has suspended poultry and egg imports from central Selangor

state, which surrounds the capital.

There have been no human deaths in Malaysia.

AFP 090600 GMT APR 06

[kyselak]

UN bird flu expert says Cambodia needs more incentive to

report sick birds

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ A top U.N. bird flu expert said

Monday that Cambodian villagers have failed to report sick

birds because they have little or no incentive to do so. A

12-year-old boy, from the southeastern province of Prey

Veng, died from bird flu last Wednesday, two weeks after a

3-year-old girl succumbed in a village southwest of the

capital, Phnom Penh. Both died after coming in contact with

sick fowl. «In both cases, the village knew about the

dangers of these diseased birds, but somehow that knowledge

wasn't turned and put into practice,» David Nabarro, the

U.N.'s chief coordinator for avian influenza. «In both

cases, the diseased birds shouldn't really have been

there.» Throughout the region, villagers who report their

sick birds to authorities for culling are meant to be

compensated for the market price of the bird.

100838 apr 06GMT

[kyselak]

A swan in Croatian capital of Zagreb died of H5N1 bird flu

strain

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) _ A swan found dead last week in a

Zagreb suburb was infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of

bird flu _ the first case of the illness recorded in the

Croatian capital, authorities said Monday. The 3-kilometer

(2-mile) area around the site _ near the Sava river in a

Zagreb southwest area _ was declared a «high risk» zone,

and a poultry farm, located within the 10-kilometer

(6.5-mile) radius, was put under special protection

measures, said Mladen Pavic, agriculture ministry

spokesman. Croatia recorded its first bird flu case in

October in several swans found dead in central Croatia. It

had two more outbreaks since, in two swans in southern and

another one in eastern Croatia. The one found in Zagreb is

the first in the capital, home to a quarter of Croatia's

4.5 million people.

101036 apr 06GMT

[kyselak]

WHO confirms Indonesian man has bird flu: health official

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) _ A chicken farmer on Indonesia's

Sumatra Island has contracted bird flu, the health ministry

said Tuesday, citing World Health Organization-sanctioned

laboratory tests. The 28-year-old was admitted to hospital

in Padang city in western Sumatra in late March and is now

in a stable condition, said Hariadi Wibisono, a senior

health ministry official. «We received results from a WHO

test this morning that showed he was infected with bird

flu,» Wibisono said. Indonesia's case load from bird flu

now stands at 30, with 23 fatalities, the second highest of

any country, according to the WHO. The H5N1 virus has

killed 109 people in nine countries, mostly in Asia,

according to the WHO, and has killed or prompted

authorities to destroy 200 million birds.

110941 apr 06GMT

[kyselak]

Unpredictability Worries Doctors

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Apr 11 (IPS) - When a 12-year-old boy became

Cambodia's latest victim of bird flu, at the beginning of this

month, it only added to the uncertainties surrounding this

lethal virus that worry scientists and doctors struggling to

head off a possible pandemic.

Health workers who conducted investigations in the boy's

village in the south-eastern province of Pre Veng discovered

that over 20 people who had close contacts with the victim had

shown no sign of being ill from the H5N1 virus. They, like the

boy, lived in a neighbourhood where ''numerous chicken deaths

and some duck deaths were noted to have occurred,'' states the

World Health Organisation (WHO).

On the other hand, the case of the boy -- who died after

gathering dead chickens for consumption in his village --

showed just how potent the avian flu virus can be when it

strikes. All six people known to have been infected in

Cambodia, over the last year, died.

None of the nine countries, where bird flu has killed humans

since the beginning of 2004, has Cambodia's 100 percent

fatality rate. But in six of them the fatality rate has been

90 percent. In Indonesia, 12 of the 13 people infected died,

followed by China, where there have been six fatalities among

eight cases, and Azerbaijan, where five of seven cases turned

fatal.

In October last year, 20 months after bird flu outbreaks were

first reported in South-east Asia, the fatality rates were

hovering around 50 percent, with 62 people having died out of

121 reported cases.

The current human toll is 109 people out of 192 reported

infections. The worst hit is Vietnam, where 42 people have died

out of 93 cases, followed by Indonesia, where there were 23

human fatalities out of 30 cases, and Thailand, where 14 of 22

cases ended in death.

This erratic pattern of the virus, though, is prompting U.N.

experts to conclude that the H5NI strain of avian influenza is

still weak and far from mutating into a strain that could be

passed among humans and possibly triggering a pandemic.

''This virus when it infects humans is doing so sporadically,''

Dr David Nabarro, the senior U.N. system coordinator for avian

and human influenza, told reporters here Monday. ''It is very

very infrequent that humans do get infected. And we can't

always explain why one person gets it and another person

doesn't.''

The unpredictable quality demonstrated by this lethal virus is

part of its nature, added Dr. Somchai Peerapakorn, an

epidemiologist at the WHO's Thailand office. ''We are dealing

with the influenza A virus that changes with every generation,

because it undergoes mutation all the time and randomly.''

''We know that the virus is mutating but we don't know when the

virus will mutate to give an offspring that is lethal to humans

with transmissibility characteristics that will give the human

to human transmission,'' he said. ''At the moment it is still a

bird virus and not a human virus.''

But there is little room for comfort, he cautions, given that

the WHO has warned that a human-to-human transmission of the

virus could kill millions across the world since humans lack

natural immune defence to fight a mutated form of the H5N1

strain. The flu pandemic of 1918, which crossed the species

barrier from birds to humans, killed close to 50 million

people.

The prospect of such a threat will remain due to another

quality of the H5N1 strain of the virus, according to the

global health agency. It has the properties to ''acquire genes

from viruses infecting other animals.''

According to animal health experts, human activity holds the

key to preventing this lethal virus from remaining in

circulation and jumping species. ''Human activity (through the

trade and marketing of poultry) is the main spreader of the

virus,'' said He Changchui, head of the Asia-Pacific regional

office of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

And the successes in Thailand and Vietnam to bring avian flu

under control through concerted effort are being singled out as

examples for other developing countries to follow. ''There have

been no new outbreaks of animal or human influenza in Thailand

over the past five months,'' said He. ''The disease is well

controlled. The last outbreak was in October.''

Thailand's achievement comes after nearly half of the country's

76 provinces were hit by the lethal virus during its height two

years ago. A combination of government and private sector

initiatives, including the use of an army of health volunteers

to make regular checks on homes, have contributed to this

effort.

Vietnam's success, according to the U.N. agriculture agency,

lies in its countrywide poultry vaccination campaign.

''(Poultry) owner compensation schemes have not only helped

alleviate economic hardship (but) has also encouraged timely

reporting of new avian influenza outbreaks,'' adds the FAO.

Cambodia, on the other hand, is a reason for concern, since

villagers are still reluctant to report new outbreaks of bird

flu, as was the case in the village where the 12-year-old boy

died. A similar situation prevails in another bird flu-infected

country, the secretive, military-ruled Burma.

''We are concerned that any weak link could affect the whole

system (to control the spread of bird flu),'' says Somchai.

[kyselak]

Seven poultry farmers commit suicide over Indian bird flu crisis

MUMBAI, April 11, 2006 (AFP) - Seven Indian poultry farmers have

committed suicide after their businesses were destroyed by tumbling

prices due to the bird flu scare, a farmer's organisation reported

Tuesday.

The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), which represents

25,000 farmers in India, said seven people had killed themselves

after the drop in prices since the first outbreak of H5N1 in western

India in February.

Chicken prices had fallen from 30 rupees (67 US cents) a kilo to

a low-point of 2 rupees. Rates have risen slightly since then, but

still are still well below normal at 6.5 rupees, the group said.

"Small farmers are wiped out due to the unprecedented fall in

the farm gate price of chicken and eggs and large farmers unsure of

the industry's future do no know whether to continue in poultry

farming or not," the group said in a statement.

The crisis has cost the industry 80 billion rupees (1.8 billion

dollars) in just one month and a half, the group said.

None of the farmers, from five different states, had chickens

infected with bird flu, the group said.

The western state of Maharashtra, which includes India's

economic hub Mumbai, is a key poultry-producing area. No human cases

have yet been reported.

The state government announced last week plans to provide 20

rupees per bird outside of bird flu affected areas because of the

falling prices.

It said it would also ask hospitals, hotels and prisons to put

eggs on their menus to help the farmers.

O.P. Singh, chief executive of Venkateshwara Hatcheries, one of

Asia's largest poultry groups, said: "Poultry farmers are not being

listened to. They have financial burdens and pressure from the

banks."

The suicides come against a backdrop of general farming suicides

in India with nearly 9,000 people in four states killing themselves

over the last five years owing to rising costs, debt and repeated

crop failures, according to reports.

AFP 110905 GMT APR 06

[Jai Dee]

Government draws up five-point strategy to keep Thailand free from bird flu

The Cabinet yesterday approved in principle guidelines on birdflu prevention and vaccine management aimed at keeping the number of H5N1-infected animals as lowest as possible.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Sansani Nakpong (ศันสนีย์ นาคพงศ์) said that the measures will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives with a budgetary support from the current fiscal year. The measures are divided into five strategies. They include development of disease-free livestock, surveillance and control at the time of an outbreak, educating the public on the disease, strengthening the capability of related organizations and personnel and, lastly, promoting people's participation particularly the business sector.

Miss Sansani said that those measures are expected to keep the ministry abreast with the genetic change of avian influenza in Thailand. Data earned from the move will be a decisive factor whether to permit the use of anti-birdflu vaccines and their format.

According to the Deputy Government Spokesperson, since the last batch of birdflu-infected poultry in Thailand was destroyed on November 9, 2005, no new outbreaks have been found in this country.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 12 April 2006

[Jai Dee]

UN is confident on Thailand's bird-flu preventive measures

United Nations (UN) is confident on Thailand’s bird-flu preventive measures, while planning to set Thailand as a model country on eradicating the deadly virus.

Director-general of the Department of Livestock Development Yukol Limlamthong (ยุคล ลิ้มแหลมทอง) revealed that after the spread of bird flu, Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has assigned his department to take care of the matter including issuing measures to control and eradicate the deadly virus. He said that UN officials also observed Thailand’s bird flu eradication and are satisfied with Thailand measures.

He informed that the cabinet has supported his department’s controlling the spread of bird flu by allocating additional budget worth 196 million baht to use for prevent Thais from contracting the avian influenza.

According to Thailand’s effective preventive measures, other countries still import chicken products from Thailand. He added that the last year, Thailand can export 276 million kg. of boiled chicken meat which is worth 33,086 million baht.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 18 April 2006

[Jai Dee]

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to adjust the measures for preventing avian influenza

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is adjusting the bird flu preventive measures so the general public to be more alert.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan (สุดารัตน์ เกยุราพันธ์) spoke about the measures to prevent the outbreak of avian influenza during this rainy season. She said her ministry has adjusted the plans to be tighter and that farmers have been advised to clean their poultry farms.

She said all risky areas will be X-rayed this month. No bird flu virus has been detected during the inspection of the areas over the last 6 months.

The minister added the ministry would like to ask for cooperation from the media to publicize the information, so the public would be more aware. They are urged to follow the advices of the ministry. She said it would take about two to three years to monitor and contain the virus.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 06 June 2006

[Jai Dee]

Studies of herbal extracts for treatment of bird flu and some other diseases are to be conducted

The Medical Science Department and Silpakorn University will jointly study some herbal extracts to find out if they can kill viruses or bacteria causing diseases such as bird flu, influenza and dengue fever.

Department chief Paijit Warachit (ไพจิตร วราชิต) said the herbal substances used in the studies have been extracted from herbs commonly found in Thailand but have not yet been used in any research before.

Dr. Paijit said the department will finance the studies which will take about two years to complete.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 24 June 2006

[John K]

WHO says bird flu virus mutated in family cluster

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The H5N1 bird flu virus mutated somewhat among Indonesians in the largest known human cluster, but did not evolve into a more transmissible form, the World Health Organization has said.

A spokeswoman for the UN agency, Maria Cheng, said the result came from its investigation into a cluster of cases in North Sumatra, where the virus killed seven members of a single family in May.

"There was a mutation found," she told Reuters in Geneva on Friday, in response to a query. "But it did not mutate into a form that is more transmissible because it didn't seem to go beyond the cluster."

Malik Peiris, a leading H5N1 expert from Hong Kong, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of bird flu experts in Jakarta that it was common for influenza viruses to mutate.

"Influenza viruses always mutate. That's of course the reason why people are concerned that as we go on longer and longer the virus may change to become more transmissible. But that has not happened so far."

The mutated virus was detected in samples taken from the last two victims in the cluster -- a son who transmitted it to his father -- providing the clearest proof yet of human-to-human transmission, Cheng said.

"In the past we haven't had such definitive laboratory evidence to prove human-to-human transmission but in this case we do," she said.

But three weeks later, the man's wife has not shown any signs of the disease, Cheng added. "We did not detect any transmission so it was a dead-end chain of transmission."

Indonesian and WHO officials closely monitored more than 50 contacts of the victims in the North Sumatra case, keeping them in voluntary home quarantine following the outbreak, but none developed symptoms, according to the Geneva-based agency.

Avian influenza almost exclusively infects birds but has killed 130 people since 2003, mostly in Asia.

Indonesia has seen a steady rise in bird flu human infections and deaths. The virus has infected 51 people here, killing 39, and is endemic in poultry in nearly all of the country's 33 provinces.

In Jakarta on Sunday, the government received a pledged grant of A$10 million (Rp 68.5 billion) from Australia to help combat bird flu.

The money will be used to finance a two-year emergency avian influenza program that will focus on animal and human health through December 2007.

Under an agreement signed by Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott and Indonesian chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, the grant will include $250,000 to support the work of Indonesia's newly created National Avian Influenza Commission.

Australia already allocated $5.5 million in 2005 to help fight bird flu in Indonesia.

Aburizal said the government would need US$900 million over the next three years to tackle avian influenza. "The government has allotted $50 million from the state budget for each of the next three years," he said.

The government plans to host a meeting of donors in Jakarta to raise additional funds for the country's battle against bird flu. (05)

[Jai Dee]

Bird flu precautions vital, seminar told

Thousands sick and dying in the streets, power and water barely functioning, even martial law; this bleak picture of the future is one the business community is becoming more willing to accept as a possibility if the H5N1 avian flu virus, commonly known as bird flu, mutates into a form easily transmitted among people.

“It is not a matter of if, just of when, where and how severe,” said Dr Somrat Yindepit, safety, health and environment advisor to Esso (Thailand).

While some are already making preparations, companies in Thailand need to devote more attention, and more resources, to planning for a potential avian flu pandemic, said government agencies and international organizations. Yesterday, government health officials, bird flu experts and hundreds of private sector representatives gathered for a seminar sponsored by the Thailand Center for Excellence in Life Sciences (TCELS), the Public Health Ministry, the World Health Organization and Assumption University to discuss ways companies can prepare for a worst-case scenario.

Experts at yesterday’s seminar told attendees to expect, and prepare for, serious business disruptions, absenteeism of up to 50 percent of the work force, travel restrictions, quarantines, loss of infrastructure and even civil unrest – all of which could last for more than a year – should bird flu become a human pandemic.

“An ill-prepared firm could be easily wiped out of business when a pandemic strikes,” said a TCELS spokesman.

The latest series of bird flu outbreaks began in Vietnam in December 2003 and has since spread throughout the globe. While infected birds have been found as far away as Britain, so far, most human victims have been in Asia. At least 22 people have been infected in Thailand, of whom 14 have died.

The disease remains difficult for humans to catch. Although millions of birds have been infected, worldwide, only 228 people have been infected in the nearly three years it has been circulating. But viruses can mutate easily, and many have theorized that if bird flu does change into a virus transmissible between humans it will spark a global pandemic that could infect up to 40 percent of the world’s population and kill four percent, or more.

Not all are as alarmist as Dr Somrat on whether bird flu will mutate. Many scientists, including those at the World Health Organization, instead characterize a bird flu pandemic as low probability but extremely high risk because of the virus’ high mortality rate.

While the human toll would be catastrophic, the World Bank has estimated the possible toll on the global economy at US$1 trillion. The Asian Development Bank says the cost to the region could hit $282.7 billion in lost consumption, trade and investment.

None of the experts at yesterday’s conference offered a silver bullet that would allow companies to manage such a disaster, but all agreed that the private sector needs to do more to mitigate potential harm. Most preparation, according to companies such as Bangkok Bank and Thai Airways International, which made presentations at the seminar, involves crafting a plan of action and being prepared to implement it if necessary.

Suraphon Israngura Na Ayutthaya, director of THAI’s crisis management department, said the airline has even compiled an emergency operations manual, which he said the company is fully prepared to put into action.

Source: The Manager - 30 มิถุนายน 2549

[Evangeline]

In order for a disease to be considered a pandemic (rampant or uncontrollable disease), three conditions must be met. 1. A new form of a virus subtype must emerge for which there is little or no human immunity. 2. The virus must be able to infect humans and cause illness. 3. It must spread easily and without interruption among humans.

Evangeline Siri, B.Sc

<snip>

/Mod Edit - link deleted - please see the Forum Rules.

[Jai Dee]

After a respite, specter of bird flu looms

As the country celebrates more than six months without a single bird flu case and basks in the praise received from international agencies on the surveillance and prevention projects in place, a series of unreported poultry deaths in the Central Plains province of Phichit is worrying public health officials, who say that people have become too complacent about the deadly disease.

In a village between Phichit and Kamphaeng Phet provinces, hundreds of domestic poultry have fallen ill and died in the last few days, according to the Health Ministry.

Villagers had been informed by public health officials to report suspicious illnesses in domestic poultry immediately, and not handle the birds themselves.

However, local medical officials reported that some residents cooked and ate some of the birds without telling the authorities, and with apparent disregard for any risk of bird flu.

“After not having had any cases for so long, the awareness level has dropped,” said Dr Paijit Warachit, director-general of the Health Ministry’s medical science department.

Samples of the dead birds were taken to laboratories for testing, but officials could not say yesterday whether the poultry died of bird flu or something else.

Last year, birds infected with the deadly H5N1 virus were found in the area, prompting widespread culling and education campaigns.

In the past two years, Thailand has put comprehensive measures in place to keep avian flu at bay, including widespread education and information campaigns, the creation of provincial level “Mr Bird Flu” officials responsible for outreaching to villages, and community volunteers trained by public health officials to spot suspicious illnesses in people and birds and report them to authorities.

There have been 14 bird flu deaths out of 22 confirmed cases of avian flu in humans in the kingdom since the disease was first detected here in 2003. The last, a five-year-old boy in Nakhon Nayok province, occurred in December 2005. Worldwide, there have been more than 200 reported human cases of avian flu, with at least 110 fatalities.

So far this year, Thailand has not had any reported incident of bird flu, leading Dr David Nabarro, the United Nations chief avian flu coordinator, to recently call the country a worldwide role model in the fight against the disease.

Despite the comprehensive campaigns and the outbreaks in Phichit just a year ago, villagers last week in the same area did not follow the guidelines put in place by the Health and Agriculture ministries, the two bodies responsible for monitoring and combatting the disease.

“We have preparedness plans and surveillance plans. But people are not on the alert,” said Dr Paijit.

Yesterday, provincial health officials said they had stepped up awareness campaigns in the region.

“At least, after they have had some [possible] cases, they should be paying more attention,” he said.

Source: ThaiDay - 5 July 2006

[John K]

200 chickens in Phichit culled to prevent bird flu

PHICHIT, July 5 (TNA) - Almost 200 chickens in the northern Thai province of Phichit were culled and buried Wednesday morning in a bid to prevent the possible spread of the avian influenza (bird flu) virus.

The culling of the poultry was carried out at Mab Krapao village, Sano subdistrict, Sam Ngam district which was declared an animal disease infection area last week after more than one thousand local domestic chickens died from unknown causes and a child was hospitalised with a suspicious illness a few days later.

A seven-year-old girl having had contact with dead chicken developed flu-like symptoms, prompting the fear of another round of the bird flu.

However, public health officials said Tuesday she tested negative for the H5N1 avian flu virus and she was released from isolation in hospital.

After the culling, district livestock officials slaughtered and buried some 200 chickens after covering them with lime and disinfectant.

Meanwhile, officials took some poultry semen samples for lab testing for bird flu. The testing will be carried out in nearby Phitsanulok province and its results will be released next week.

[Jai Dee]

Govt vows to stamp out bird flu in 3 years

With no reported cases of human H5N1 bird flu for almost six months, the government yesterday said it is confident it can completely eradicate the disease in the next few years, “I am confident that Thailand will be free from bird flu within three years,” said Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan yesterday.

Khunying Sudarat’s comments followed a special bird flu meeting at Government House.

The meeting came just days after thousands of birds in the Central Plains provinces of Phichit and Kamphaeng Phet were culled following reports that hundreds of poultry had died in mysterious circumstances and that a seven-year-old girl in the area had been admitted to the hospital with severe flu-like symptoms. The girl was later diagnosed as suffering from human influenza. The Agriculture Ministry also concluded that the poultry had not died of bird flu.

Source: ThaiDay - 7 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Poultry found dead in Ratchaburi

The Department of Livestock in Ratchaburi (ราชบุรี) province said it has taken blood samples from chickens from 30 districts in 8 provinces to the laboratory after a number of chickens have been found dead.

However, the department said that the lab results show no sign of the H5N1 strain. The department also explained that the avian flu and other diseases manifest most during the rainy season where high temperatures stimulate the growth.

During such time, animals such as pigs, goats, chickens and ducks are vulnerable to such diseases. The department suggests that farmers should check their animals’ health regularly and report to the department should they find any suspicious death on their farms.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 13 July 2006

[John K]

Wildfowl hunter, son-in-law suspected bird flu cases in Uttaradit

UTTARADIT, July 23 (TNA) - A hunter in a rural area of Thailand's northern Uttaradit province and a man who feasted on wildfowl with him are in hospital here, suspected of having contracted bird flu.

Medical authorities at Uttaradit Provincial Hospital admiited both men for tests as the two are suspected of having contracted avian influenza.

Provincial Chief Medical Officer Dr. Boonriang Chuchaisaengrat said further test results from a medical science laboratory in Phitsanulok by Monday will be able to establish whether a 67-year-old hunter and

his 35-year old son-in-law from Ruamjit subdistrict of Thapla district contracted bird flu or not.

The two were admitted to hospital for flu-like symptoms. Both had contact with a bird from the wild, as the father-in-law, a hunter, shot an unidentified species of wild bird and cooked it to share with his son-in-law. Afterwards both fell ill. (TNA)-E007

[Jai Dee]

Mr. Prawit: Thailand and Vietnam will discuss measures to control the spread of avian influenza

Science and Technology Minister Prawit Rattanapian (ประวิช รัตนเพียร) said that Thailand and Vietnam will jointly discuss measures to prevent and combat avian influenza.

Mr Prawit will join the Science and Technology exhibition held in celebration of a 30 year relationship between Thailand and Vietnam. The purpose of the exhibition is to exchange scientific know-how between the two countries.

The meeting will also concern on measures used to curb the spread of bird flu.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 26 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

ACM Kongsak: no conflict in the cooperation on curbing the spread of the bird flu

The Interior Minister, Air Chief Marshal Kongsak Wanthana, confirmed that there is no conflict in the cooperation on curbing the spread of the avian influenza between the Interior Ministry and relevant units.

As for the news referring to the cooperation between units on solving the spread of the bird flu, he said that the news is groundless. He, however, the cooperation have to be toughened up by setting a clear framework.

He said that the bird flu is hard to prevent; therefore, every unit must put more efforts to solve this problem.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 July 2006

[John K]

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Bird-flu patient numbers soar

Minister asks panel to study use of anti-viral drugs over concerns misuse could lead to resistant strains of H5N1

The health minister is demanding definitive answers on the general prescription of anti-viral drugs

to fight bird flu.

Pinij Charusombat asked a special medical committee to report on the prescription of anti-viral oseltamivir, after an escalation in the number of people exhibiting symptoms similar to those caused by bird flu.

He is worried the uncontrolled use of the drug could lead to resistant strains of the killer virus.

The anti-viral oseltamivir is commonly known by one of its trade names, Tamiflu. It is the only drug that successfully treats people infected with the virus.

A 17-year-old in Phichit on Wednesday became the country's first victim of the virus this year. Since then, the number of people in hospital with suspected bird flu has increased.

In Phichit, there were 11 cases on Thursday but that had doubled to 22 yesterday.

Nationwide there are 55 suspected sufferers waiting on test results. There are 10 cases in Sukhothai and seven in Suphan Buri, with the rest scattered.

Hospitals in bird-flu red zones are receiving doses of Tamiflu and influenza test kits.

Medical Science Department director-general Dr Paijit Warachit said there were now more suspected cases because awareness was higher.

Pinij said his committee comprised infectious-disease experts from leading hospitals. They will standardise flu treatment.

Public Health permanent secretary Dr Pratch Boonya-wongsaviroj said the committee started work yesterday.

It had visited hospitals in Phitsanulok and was advising doctors on treatment.

Today the team will go to Phichit, Sukhothai, Phetchabun and Kamphaeng Phet.

Fears of new outbreaks have seen reports of unexplained bird deaths flooding in from many provinces. In Nakhon Panom, more than 12,000 chicken were culled yesterday after the death of chickens on several farms. Specimens have been sent for lab tests.

The Livestock Development Department of the Agriculture Ministry confirmed chickens from a Phichit farm had died of the H5N1 virus.

Director-general Yukol Limlaemthong visited the farm yesterday.

Source: The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/07/29...al_30009865.php

[John K]

113 suspected with bird flu

Test results awaited, condition 'not worrying'

The number of patients suspected to have bird flu has reached 113 across the country and all are being kept under strict surveillance, the Public Health Ministry said. The results of laboratory tests are still awaited and until then health workers cannot say for sure how many, if any, have picked up the disease.

The ministry said 75 suspected patients were in Phichit, 14 in Sukhothai, five in Kanchanaburi, three in Nakhon Sawan, three in Suphan Buri, two each in Bangkok, Phitsanulok, and Phetchabun and one each in Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Maha Sarakham, Uthai Thani and Uttaradit.

All were under close supervision pending test results from the Department of Medical Sciences.

The ministry played down the report, however, saying the patients' condition was not worrisome.

Uttaradit was the latest province to be put on red alert after a patient was hospitalised.

The patient, an employee at Tha Pla Hospital, developed bird flu-like symptoms. The patient had close contact with fighting cocks.

Livestock Development Department deputy chief Sakchai Sriboonsue said the agency has distributed disinfectants, gloves, and face masks to anti-bird flu volunteers in Uttaradit as a precautionary measure.

During his field trip, Mr Sakchai found several villagers were not keeping domestic chickens in enclosed areas.

That posed the threat of a pandemic breaking out in the neighbourhood.

He also inspected fowl-quarantine checkpoints to keep an eye on the movement of poultry across provinces.

Public Health Ministry inspectors-general and health officials in 19 zones were urged to tighten control measures to prevent a possible spread.

Siriporn Katchana, an inspector-general in zone 3, urged all local health stations to keep monitoring patients who suffered from colds, developed irregular breathing and had come into contact with poultry.

She also encouraged the public to cooperate with health officials, and not to conceal health-related information.

Ms Siriporn said 20% of patients, mostly adults, failed to disclose such information about having close contact with fowl carcasses.

If the patients failed to do so, they run the risk of contracting the deadly disease, she said

Source: Bangkok post

http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/30Jul2006_news04.php

[Jai Dee]

Satun insists that it is free from avian influenza

Satun (สตูล) Livestock Department has insisted that the province is free from avian influenza, while related units is proactively x-raying risky areas so the local people will feel more assured.

Satun Livestock Officer Chaiporn Aengchuan (ชัยพร เอ่งฉ้วน) has revealed that his department has inspected about 700,000 fowls in the province. They have confirmed that no poultry has contracted the deadly virus.

As for the fighting cocks, he said that Satun Province has issued passports for them. The province is cooperating with related units to help monitor the transfer of poultry, and no abnormal sign has been reported yet. He said that the province will x-ray areas in the province again today.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 10 August 2006

[Jai Dee]

Mr. Pinij admits that the bird flu assessment is now more difficult

Public Health Minister Pinij Jarusombat has admitted that it is more difficult to inspect the bird flu epidemic in Thailand, but he has insisted that the country is not the place where the virus has mutated.

Mr. Pinij said the bird flu assessment on humans has been more arduous due to the outbreaks of dengue hemorrhagic fever and influenza. Furthermore, the containment of the pathogen and the usage of anti-bird flu vaccine for poultry may need to be improved. In regard to an academic’s allegation that Thailand could be the source of the virus mutation, the minister firmly responded that the country is not the place of mutation and there has not been any mutation yet.

In Bangkok, 11 patients have been suspected to contract bird flu virus. Nine of them have been reported to contract normal influenza, and they have now returned home. As for the other three patients, the doctors are waiting for the results of their assessments.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 11 August 2006

[Jai Dee]

Suphan Buri intensively works on bird flu problems

The province of Suphan Buri is intensively implementing bird flu preventive and monitoring measures, while assigning relevant units to work this issue immediately.

Suphan Buri Governor Songphon Timasart (ทรงพล ทิมาศาสตร์) said the province is speedily keeping a close watch of the bird flu epidemic in the areas. A meeting was held between various agencies, an integrated plan was set, while the personnel, equipment and budget procurements have been prepared to solve this problem. The bird flu x-ray operation will be performed in all households, and officers are also searching for poultries that died from illnesses. If the dead poultry is suspected to die from avian influenza, the Agriculture and Cooperative Ministry’s bird flu restraining measures will be implemented immediately.

The provincial authority is now publicizing bird flu education to the local people. The transfer and smuggling of poultries are strictly being controlled. Officials are also inspecting for illegal cock fighting activities.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 18 August 2006

[Jai Dee]

No sign of bird-flu patients in the Si Sa Ket Province

The Si Sa Ket (ศรีสะเกษ) Provincial Public Health Office insisted that no contracted bird-flu patient has been found in the province.

Md. Prawit Aumpan (ประวิ อ่ำพันธุ์), a Si Sa Ket Public Health officer, informed that signs of the deadly virus have not been reported in the province yet. Nevertheless, people have been warned not to get in direct contact with dead poultry.

Md. Prawit also reminded the local residents to immediately notify relevant units if they come across signs of possible contraction of bird flu.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 21 August 2006

[Jai Dee]

Phitsanulok is evaluating bird-flu situation in the province

Phitsanulok (พิษณุโลก) Livestock Department is evaluating the bird-flu situation in the province.

Mrs. Wannee Santamanus (วรรณี สันตมนัส), a livestock officer in Phitsanulok, has revealed that the department is inspecting and evaluating the bird flu situation. The department is also setting checkpoints to observe the poultry transfers in different areas.

She informed that the department has initiated the implementation in nine districts since July 4th and found that 3,085 out of 20,749 birds have died from avian influenza.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 25 August 2006