News Reports for February 18, 2011

India: H5N1 in poultry

http://web.oie.int/wahis/publi...

Location: State Duck & Poultry Farm, RK Nagar, Agartala, Agartala, TRIPURA

Affected population: A State duck and poultry farm

Epidemiological investigation is ongoing. Stamping out of all domestic birds is being applied in an approximately 3-km-radius zone around the outbreak followed by compensation of the owners. An intensive surveillance campaign has been launched in a 10-km-radius zone including:
- Closure of poultry markets and prohibition on sale and transportation of poultry products in the infected zone;
- Disinfection of premises after culling and sealing of premises where appropriate.
Restocking will be permitted in accordance with a protocol to be followed in this regard.

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 06:02:35 AM UTC

Japan: 3 H5N1 outbreaks in domestic birds in Miyazaki Prefecture

http://web.oie.int/wahis/publi...

Kadokawa-cho, Higashiusuki-gun, MIYAZAKI (Farm)
On 5 February 2011, poultry was tested positive for influenza A with rapid test at a farm in Kadokawa-cho. The virus was identified as H5 with RT-PCR on 6 February and as H5N1 on 10 February. Mandatory movement restriction has been enforced within 10 km around the affected farm since 5 February 2011. All of the poultry at the farm was destroyed by 6 February 2011.

Takaoka-cho, Miyazaki city, MIYAZAKI (Farm)
On 6 February 2011, poultry was tested positive for influenza A with rapid test at a farm in Takaoka-cho. The virus was identified as H5 with RT-PCR on 7 February and as H5N1 on 10 February. Mandatory movement restriction has been enforced within 10 km around the affected farm since 6 February 2011. All of the poultry at the farm was destroyed by 7 February.
The outbreak in Takachiho-cho reported in follow-up report No.7 was confirmed on 9 February 2011 as due to H5N1 virus.

Tsuno-cho, Koyu-gun, MIYAZAKI
On 5 February 2011, poultry was tested positive for influenza A with rapid test at a farm in Tsuno-cho. The virus was identified as H5 with RT-PCR on 5 February and as H5N1 on 10 February. Mandatory movement restriction has been enforced within 10 km around the affected farm since 5 February 2011. All of the poultry at the farm was destroyed by 6 February 2011.

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 06:07:38 AM UTC

Vietnam: Suspected fatal human H5N1 case

http://www.baovanhoa.vn/tintuc...

(Machine translation)

A patient with suspected H5N1 influenza deaths (02/18/2011)

VH-day 17.2, the Hospital of Hue Medical and Pharmaceutical University, said Dinh Thi Hue patients (15 years, in Nam Dong district, Thua Thien-Hue) suspected influenza A/H5N1, each hospital admission in this mortality.

Earlier, about 16 hours 30 minutes 14.2 days, patients given emergency Hue Hospital at Hue University of Medicine with symptoms of flu such as H5N1 flu, shortness of breath, acute respiratory failure, pneumonia ... To 17 hours with 30 days, the patient was transferred to Hue Central Hospital and died the same day as 20 hours.

After the patient died Dinh Thi Hue, 27 doctors, nurses, nurses, technicians of the University Hospital of Hue Medical and Pharmaceutical been exposed to this patient and four patients with Hue were roommates for medication tamiflu and quarantined to prevent influenza A/H5N1.

The local health sector has sent samples to be tested, and conduct disinfection area of residence of patients, for relatives of patients taking precautions.

(Synopsis:  A 15yo patient from Nam Dong district, Thua Thien-Hue province, died (on Feb. 14?) within hours of being hospitalized with suspected H5N1 symptoms, such as shortness of breath, respiratory failure and pneumonia.  27 healthcare professionals and 4 patients who were exposed to the 15yo are being treated with Tamiflu and are being quarantined.  Test results are pending.)

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 06:21:55 AM UTC

Another article on the case

http://vnexpress.net/gl/doi-so...

(Machine translation)

Teenager suspected death from influenza A/H5N1
15-year-old patient in the mountainous district of Nam Dong, Thua Thien - Hue province, was taken to the family at the Medical University Hospital, Hue, then move the Hue Central Hospital and died there.

Through diagnosis, doctors Hospital of Hue Medical University identified patient (hospitalized Feb 14) with signs of influenza A/H5N1 infection with symptoms such as fever, dyspnea, pneumonia, failure acute respiratory ... Health status is increasingly critical. The same day of admission, Hue University of Medicine decided to move patients to the Hue Central Hospital. However, only two half hours from when the referral, the patient died.

27 doctors, nurses, nurses and technicians of the University Hospital of Hue Medical and four patients share a room, contact with the sick, must be quarantined immediately and tamiflu medication within 10 days to prevent influenza A/H5N1 vaccine. On the same day, the University Hospital of Hue Medical and disinfection carried out the entire hospital.

Health Department of Thua Thien - Hue province has also sent its staff to the South East district conducted disinfection patient residence area, and isolation and to relatives of patients with preventive medication tamiflu.

Nguyen Dung, Director of Health Department of Thua Thien - Hue province, said the patient's samples were sent for testing and will result in 3 days.

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 06:24:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

India: Culling begins in Tripura firm with H5N1 virus detection

Agartala, Feb 18 : Mass culling has been started in R K Nagar poultry firm of Agartala since this morning following confirmation of Avian influenza strain among the birds (Snip) as many as 2,100 ducks died in the past two weeks and the initial report from Belgachhia Regional Animal Diseases Diagnostic Centre, Kolkata had confirmed the H5N1 virus in them yesterday. ''The sample was also sent to Bhopal Animal Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory for further testing and in the meantime about 250 ducks had been culled this morning,'' (Snip)

The authority had issued restrictions on the movement of poultry products in nearby villages as well as other domestic and international sector.
(Snip)
Earlier, the detection of Avian influenza in chickens at the small poultry farms in Moulabibazar district of Bangladesh had prompted the Tripura government to take measures to stop the movement of poultry products between the two countries. Preventive measures were also adopted to check the possible spread of the disease. http://www.newkerala.com/news/...  

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 07:36:47 AM UTC

Bird Flu Outbreak in India

NEW DELHI -The Indian government Friday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu (Snip) in the northeastern state of Tripura. The government has decided to immediately start culling birds and destroy eggs and feed material to control further spread of the disease, it said in a statement.
(Snip)
The statement added that the government has decided to cull the entire poultry population within a radius of 3 kilometers of the site where the disease has been confirmed. http://online.wsj.com/article/...  

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 12:49:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

China: H1N1 kills 12 in Hong Kong in less than a month

At least 12 people have died from swine flu in Hong Kong in less than a month, the territory's health authority said on Thursday, after the latest death from the disease. A spokeswoman for the health authority said one elderly person had died of confirmed swine flu, while another had died of influenza type A, of which swine flue is a sub-type. An increase in swine flu cases caused densely populated Hong Kong to step up surveillance for the virus on January 24.

Since then there have been at least 12 swine flu deaths, while another two people have died from type A flu, with the sub-type not yet confirmed (Snip) "We want to make the public alert to the seriousness" of the situation, she said.
(Snip)
The southern Chinese financial centre, home to seven million people, is particularly nervous about infectious diseases following the 2003 SARS outbreak, which killed 300 people in the city and a further 500 worldwide. Continued: http://www.bangkokpost.com/new...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 07:43:45 AM UTC

US: Flu Related Deaths Up In Oklahoma

More flu deaths in Oklahoma have people looking to protect themselves. There have been 12 confirmed deaths due to complications from the flu this year. (Snip) Don't let the warmer weather fool you.It's still flu season, the peak time for the flu is this month.
(Snip)
"We are seeing an increase in hospitalizations because of the flu, not just in Tulsa Co., but across the state." "Eighty-six percent of the hospitalizations we've seen from the flu are people who did not get the flu shot." Continued: http://www.fox23.com/news/loca...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 12:54:41 PM UTC

6th WHO Meeting on Evaluation of Pandemic Influenza Vaccines

in Clinical Trials, 18-19 February 2010, Geneva

On February 17-18, 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened the 6th meeting on the "Evaluation of pandemic influenza vaccines in clinical trials" to review the progress made on new A (H1N1) 2009 vaccines and prototype H5N1 vaccines and their evaluation in clinical trials. A number of vaccine types were reviewed, including classical egg-derived and cell culture-derived inactivated vaccines, including split virus or whole-virion vaccines, live-attenuated vaccines (LAIV) and vaccines developed using new technologies. The amount of antigen needed, the effect of adjuvants and the number of doses required to induce adequate antibody responses in various populations, together with the issue of safety of the vaccines, were major topics of the meeting. The effectiveness of H1N1 vaccines and the need for standardization of vaccine potency tests were also discussed.[snip]

[There were 29 papers presented on the 2 days.  PDFs linked on page 2 of the report.  Seven papers are on H5 vaccines.]

http://www.who.int/vaccine_res...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 16:34:01 PM UTC

Sample report: H5 vaccine produced in plants

The good:
This vaccine requires only 4 weeks to produce!

The bad:
Requires adjuvant (aluminum hydroxide) to be effective.

The ugly:
Bleeding at injection site.  Other adverse effects reports haven't been published yet.

http://www.who.int/entity/vacc...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 16:41:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Protein Sciences' FluBlok presentation

Production of FluBlok would be much faster than vaccines made with eggs.  
Their best result used inulin as an adjuvant.  
http://www.who.int/entity/vacc...

Comment: Protein Sciences is a small company in my home state, so I'm always pleased to see them making progress.  Inulin is some kind of sugar (polysaccharide) that's found in Jerusalem artichokes, for example.

Inulin-derived adjuvants efficiently promote both Th1 and Th2 immune responses
http://www.nature.com/icb/jour...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 17:20:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bronco Bill, it's Friday joke time!

Your giggles are here: http://www.newfluwiki2.com/dia...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Sat Feb 19, 2011 at 01:51:31 AM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

 
News Reports for February 19, 2011

Thank you!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Sat Feb 19, 2011 at 06:14:48 AM UTC