News Reports for September 19, 2012

Not news, but...

...I wanted to make sure that FluWikians saw Cottontop's Sept. 18th post in the Community Open Forum diary about helping to pick the winner of American Fever Video Contest.

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 04:27:08 AM UTC

Thanks, AlohaOR

I gave her my vote on the best video and I hope everyone will check them out and vote too.

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 04:56:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks ladies. I would like to get some

to Mr. Hall as soom as possible. Thanks for your vote Carol.

cottontop

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

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by: cottontop @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 10:03:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

US: Montco health officials issue alert on new milder swine flu (Pennsylvania)

Montgomery County health officials Tuesday warned residents to be on the lookout for a new flu virus that is infecting both pigs and humans in the United States.

(Snip)

Humans can be infected when they come into contact with infected pigs, said DiMino, noting that the county fair season in Pennsylvania extends into early October.

To date, there have been 11 confirmed cases in the state and an additional 30 "probable" cases, with 93 percent of these 41 cases involving children under the age of 18. There have been no deaths or hospitalizations (Snip).

The two major Pennsylvania clusters of this new flu virus have been linked to the Huntingdon County Fair and the Somerset County Fair. There have been no confirmed cases of this flu in Montgomery County although a handful of residents who attended those fairs were tested and health officials are waiting for those test results, according to DiMino.

Nationally, a total of 288 cases of the new swine flu have been reported this year, with some 15 hospitalizations and one death (Snip). These cases have been reported in 10 states including the neighboring states of Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia as well as Pennsylvania.

The symptoms of this flu are similar to the regular flu: a fever of 100 degrees or more, cough and/or sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headaches and/or body aches, chills, fatigue and nausea. Continued: http://www.phillyburbs.com/new...

(Note: This article states there have been 288 cases but I don't think that's correct. I think there have been 305 laboratory confirmed cases and I'm pretty sure not everyone who had symptoms ended up being tested.)

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 05:43:13 AM UTC

India: Pregnant woman dies of swine flu (Maharashtra)

NAGPUR: A pregnant woman who passed away on Sunday after being admitted (Snip) was found to be suffering from swine flu. Another man, who is still in hospital, has also tested positive for the disease. The results of both blood samples reached the hospital on Tuesday, along with those of eight others, who were suspected to have the infection but tested negative.

(Snip) Twenty-two-year-old Ujwala Ramteke became the third person to succumb to the disease since April. The Bhandara resident was admitted to the hospital on Friday and was undergoing treatment. She passed away on Sunday morning.

The other person who tested positive is a 45-year-old man (Snip) Currently, the swine flu ward of GMCH has six patients (Snip) http://timesofindia.indiatimes...

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 05:59:03 AM UTC

Virulent bird flu strain emerges

HA NOI (VNS)- A highly-virulent, newly-mutated bird flu H5N1 strain is feared to spreading from North Viet Nam to the South at a menacing pace, warned deputy head of Animal Health Department Pham Van Dong.

Speaking in Ha Noi yesterday, Dong, whose department comes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the outbreak of this strain started in July and has so far attacked seven northern provinces plus the central province of Quang Ngai.

To prevent further spreading south, the ministry has ordered provinces to strengthen inspection and control activities. (Snip) live poultry due to be carried from North to South will not pass through the central provinces of Quang Ngai or Kon Tum until the outbreak is completely under control.

The ministry also asked local authorities to clamp down on illegal poultry imports and to tighten inspections of trans-border poultry loads destined for Viet Nam.

At the same time, vaccination and disinfection activities should be strengthened in affected areas. Continued: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.co...

(Note: The problem with strengthening the vaccination program for poultry is that I don't think they have an effective vaccine for this new strain of H5N1. If it is spreading this fast in Vietnam, can you imagine what the situation is like in China? That's where the new strain originated and that is where it is spreading out from to Vietnam and probably Cambodia and Laos too.)

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 06:12:23 AM UTC

Further Outbreak of Bird Flu in Viet Nam

VIET NAM - A further 400 birds have been culled after an outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in the north of the country.

The birds were found in the Hop Hoa village in Luong Son, Hoa Binh region.

(Snip) Birds in the local vicinity will be vaccinated (Snip) http://www.thepoultrysite.com/...

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 19:44:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

China: Bird flu hits Guangdong

The H5N1 avian flu virus has been detected in the city of Zhanjiang in south China's Guangdong province, experts confirmed yesterday. The virus has infected 14,050 ducks and killed 6,300 of them since September 11 (Snip).

(Snip) local authorities cordoned off an infected area in the city and killed all poultry in the area before starting to decontaminate it (Snip).

China is particularly prone to bird flu epidemics, as it has the world's largest poultry population and many rural farmers live in close proximity to their poultry. http://www.china.org.cn/china/...

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 06:31:59 AM UTC

Korea H1N2v Ferret Transmission

Recombinomics Commentary

Although most of the TRSw viruses were moderately pathogenic, one [A/Swine/Korea/1204/2009; Sw/1204 (H1N2)] was virulent in ferrets, causing death within 10 d of inoculation, and was efficiently transmitted to naive contact ferrets via respiratory droplets.

the Sw/1204 virus acquired mutations in hemagglutinin (HA) (Asp-225-Gly) and neuraminidase (NA) (Ser-315-Asn) proteins during the single ferret passage.

The above comments from a recent paper entitled "Virulence and transmissibility of H1N2 influenza virus in ferrets imply the continuing threat of triple-reassortant swine viruses" describe the results of a transmission study using H1N2v.  Like recent H5N1 studies, the virus under investigation was passed in ferrets and assayed for droplet transmission and pathological effects.  The isolate of interest acquired non-synonymous changes in HA (D225G) and NA (S315N).

Prior studies in H1N1pdm09 have identified the association of HA D225G with severe and fatal human cases, which appears to also apply to the above H1N2v isolate from Korea.  Although this isolate had genes found in North American swine, the virus has been transmitting in Korea for multiple years and the HA is most closely related to Korean H1N2v isolates.

Korea has not reported any human H1N2v cases.  In contrast, the United States has reported six cases including four recent cases linked to the Minnesota State Fair.  The first US case was in 2007, but last year there was a Minnesota case A/Minnesota/19/2011 which had no swine linkage.  That isolates, like the first US H3N2v case, A/Kansas/13/2009, and all six cases in 2010, had an PB1 gene with E618D, which is present in all H1N1pdm09 cases (human and swine). Continued: http://www.recombinomics.com/N...

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 07:23:44 AM UTC

ProMED: Influenza (87): USA, H3N2, H1N2, H1N1, human cases

The number of swine-origin H3N2 (variant H3N2, or H3N2v) influenza cases in the United States has climbed by 9 in the past week, to 305, and another rare swine-origin variant, H1N1v, has cropped up in Missouri, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today [14 Sep 2012].

The case in Missouri involves an H1N1v virus carrying the M (matrix) gene from the pandemic 2009 H1N1 (pH1N1) virus, marking only the 2nd finding of such an isolate, the CDC reported. The previous case was reported in Wisconsin in December 2011; 12 other H1N1v cases (without the pH1N1 M gene) have been reported since 2005, CDC reports show. The Missouri case was found because of increased surveillance for H3N2v cases, the CDC said in its weekly flu update. The patient got sick after contact with pigs and has since recovered. The agency gave no further details about the case.

(Snip)

The CDC said the total number of variant flu cases detected since July 2012 has now reached 309. That includes the 305 H3N2v cases, the Missouri H1N1v case, and 3 H1N2v cases that were recently reported in Minnesota. All 3 strains contain the pH1N1 M gene.

Continued with much more: http://www.promedmail.org/dire...

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 07:32:39 AM UTC

CIDRAP: China and Vietnam battle H5N1 outbreaks

Sep 18, 2012 (CIDRAP News) - China today reported a large H5N1 outbreak at a duck farm in Guangdong province, a day after veterinary officials in Vietnam reported the virus struck poultry in Hoa Binh province, according to reports from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The H5N1 outbreak in China started on Sep 11 at the farm in the city of Zhanjiang, which is a large urban area in the southwestern part of the south China province. The virus sickened 14,050 of 73,800 susceptible ducks, killing 6,300 of them. The remaining birds were culled to curb the spread of the disease.

The source of the virus is unknown, and authorities have limited poultry movement in the area, are screening birds, and have sprayed and disinfected the affected area, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese officials yesterday reported that the H5N1 virus struck poultry in a village in Hoa Binh province, a mountainous area located in the northwestern part of the country.

The OIE report said the virus killed all 400 of the susceptible birds and that so far the source of the virus has not been determined. Disinfection and limiting poultry transport are among the measures deployed to control disease spread.

H7N3 in Mexico
In other avian flu developments, Mexican officials are still battling outbreaks of highly pathogenic H7N3 in Jalisco state, an area that is one of the country's biggest egg producers, according to an OIE report yesterday. It detailed three recent outbreaks that struck farms in the middle of August, one that started on Aug 13 and two others that began on Aug 20.

Of 1,090,260 birds that were susceptible at the three locations, the virus sickened 86,569 and killed almost the same number. The report said authorities destroyed 477,930 more to keep the virus from spreading.

The report described a massive surveillance operation that has so far sampled birds at 537 production units. So far 44 H7N3 isolates have been detected at the commercial layer farms, and 1 isolate has been found in wild birds. Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

Sep 18 OIE report on H5N1 in China http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/pub...

Sep 17 OIE report on H5N1 in Vietnam http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/pub...

Sep 17 OIE report on H7N3 in Mexico http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/pub...


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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 08:05:07 AM UTC

97 Wonosobo Residents Suffer Bird Flu

http://www.suaramerdeka.com/v1...
September 19, 2012
WONOSOBO, Indonesia:  A total of  of 97 villagers in Plobangan, District Selomerto Wonosobo had bird flu on Wednesday (19/9).  Residents that were attacked were from three hamlets namely Hamlet Depok, Wonosobo, and Hamlet Plobangan Wetan.  All the victims were gradually examined by the medical teams at local village health centers.  Dozens of victims of that number are children of elementary schools and the rest are parents.  The Plobangan village head Ismail said this is the first time that cases of bird flu hitting some residents has happened.  He said more than 250 poultry breeds of chickens and ducks suddenly died suddenly in a week.  

"Handling is done every day. Village health centers are open 24 hours for service," he said.


"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 18:11:42 PM UTC

Flutrackers has a great map relating to this story.

http://www.flutrackers.com/for...

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 19:06:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bird Flu Attacks Poultry, Citizens Have Health Checks

http://krjogja.com/read/143685...
September 19, 2012
WONOSOBO, Indonesia:  As many as 97 people in three hamlets in Plobangan, District Selomerto, Wonosobo who suffer from the symptoms of bird flu have been checked at the village health post (PKD), Wednesday (19/9).  The inspection was carried out after the discovery of hundreds of birds, either chicken, duck, and stuck belonging to several residents, died suddenly.

"In recent days there were a lot of birds that died suddenly. Then a lot of people were suffering from the flu, with fever, heat, and coughing.  Residents immediately went to the PKD," Ismail told KRjogja.com Plobangan Kadesh on the sidelines culling, Wednesday (19/9).

After the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (Disnakan) Wonosobo ensured that the hundreds of birds that died suddenly were positive for bird flu, said Ismail, they immediately killed hundreds of other birds.  They also sprayed disinfectant in poultry cages.  

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 18:33:10 PM UTC

Am I reading this correctly?

Even taking into account translations and possible mis-characterization of strains of flu, we have:
- Hundreds of birds dying suddenly, confirmed positive for "bird flu"
- 97 village residents of 3 hamlets having symptoms of flu at the same time

Thanks for posting this, History Lover.  This is worth keeping an eye on.

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Sep 20, 2012 at 05:19:36 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The newshounds are checking constantly through the day . . .

for more articles on this story.  We'll keep you posted (no pun intended!)

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Thu Sep 20, 2012 at 10:44:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

China: Guangdong emergency deployment of major animal disease prevention and control of avian influenza

Translated

Guangdong Provincial Agriculture Office (Sept.) 19, urgent deployment of avian flu and other major animal disease prevention and control of animal health supervision, to ensure that China's National Day, the eighteen major CPC to New Year's Day, the Spring Festival during major animal epidemic outbreak and major animal product quality and safety event.

Zhanjiang, Guangdong has occurred along with the the duck H5N1 highly pathogenic avian flu, the incidence duck 14050 6300 subsequently died, 67,500 ducks were culled (Snip). The epidemic has been effectively controlled.

Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture farms (households), livestock and poultry market, water network area and other key aspects of the epidemic investigation and carry out the differential diagnosis of an epidemic disease, timely elimination of epidemic risks, to prevent the spread of the disease; comprehensive disinfection off source, focused around disinfection of livestock and poultry farms, livestock market, live bird markets, strengthen the supervision and guidance of each scale farms, slaughterhouses and livestock products business units disinfection to destroy the source.

About to enter fall, major animal diseases in the current period (are) of high incidence. (Snip)

Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture said, that the positive livestock must be promptly disposed of in accordance with the regulations, strict implementation of the outbreaks have been reported and the reporting of verification regime, not fulfill the duties of the outbreaks have been reported, concealment, misrepresentation, late omission (of) epidemic, shall be investigated for responsibility; improperly discarded (poultry) dies and the cause of death unknown, (will) crack down on improperly discarded (poultry), trafficking and illegal acquisition diseases of animals and animal products; to improve major animal epidemic emergency supplies reserve system in the event of a sudden outbreak (Snip)

Guangdong over the agricultural sector is stepping up its investigation of an animal epidemic, and strengthen disease control and strengthen emergency duty to ensure that the animal disease prevention and control measures put in place. Did not receive any new outbreaks have been reported in Guangdong. http://news.dayoo.com/china/20...

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 @ Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 20:04:58 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for September 20, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Sep 20, 2012 at 05:09:19 AM UTC