News Reports for April 13

FEMA - Still learning

Though this is not H5N1 news, it is a telling story about how determinative logistics can be, what FEMA is learning the hard way, and how fast our food will spoil if it isn't stored out of summer heat.  The article is long, and I've posted two short excerpts below, but it's worth a close read in its entirety.  I'm moving a root cellar way up on my priority list.

Tons of Food Spoiled As FEMA Ran Out Of Storage Space  (link)

By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 13, 2007; Page A01

As many as 6 million prepared meals stockpiled near potential victims of the 2006 hurricane season spoiled in the Gulf Coast heat last summer when the Federal Emergency Management Agency ran short of warehouse and refrigeration space, according to agency officials.

In all, hundreds of truckloads of food worth more than $40 million are being thrown away or scavenged for unspoiled contents to be offered to domestic hunger-relief groups, FEMA officials said. Most of the meals were commercial versions of the military's Meals Ready to Eat, which were ruined despite being engineered to withstand the demands of desert and jungle climates....

Meals Ready to Eat are designed to have a storage life of three years at 80 degrees, to withstand being dropped from aircraft and to survive 30 minutes when crushed by a 200-pound load, according to the U.S. Army center in Natick, Mass., that develops troops' food.

But when MREs are stored at 120 degrees, their shelf life dwindles to one month, said James Lecollier, the unofficial MRE guru at the Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency. "In some cases, we stored those containers full of MREs in a condition where it was not temperature controlled," Johnson said. "We've lost a volume of [them]."

In total, FEMA discarded 279 truckloads of food worth about $43 million, leaving it with 586 truckloads stored for the coming hurricane season, it said. The agency will eliminate all 2,055 loads of ice pending further review, and it has cut its overall inventory of food, water and ice.

This year, FEMA will expand its reliance on the military, which has supplies in huge cold-storage facilities in Albany, Ga., and Kansas City, Mo. By doing so, it expects to cut by half the amount of food and by three-fourths the amount of water it will position in Gulf Coast states. In the event of a hurricane or other disaster, the agency said, it is better able than in 2005 to move supplies quickly to the Gulf in coordination with the military and private contractors.

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by: InKy @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 11:03:27 AM UTC

More on FEMA: Post and Re-post

I'm replying to Edna Mode's post this morning. She noted that, during the Katrina emergency, FEMA appropriated the inventory of a well-known supplier of emergency preparedness products, such as MREs.  She's been told that a FEMA source indicated that the same thing would happen in the days just before the public was informed of an impending pandemic. She pulled the post because she had mentioned the company by name and thought better of doing so.  I'm replying to her disappeared post because I think the general information about government strategy to be very important, and I have revised the first version of my reply to respect her wishes that the company not be mentioned by name.

I had thought of supplies being hard to get because demand would rise sharply in the wake of an announcement.  I had not thought of FEMA and other entities cleaning out the supply chain immediately in advance of a public announcement, but I should have.

If that's the strategy - and no doubt it is - just before a pandemic and to the extent that governments can muzzle the media, news will dry up like the tide receding just before a tsunami - because that's when essential sectors in the know will be tapping every available resource to gear up.  What we'll have to depend on, besides our wonderful news sleuths, is a network of sources with knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes.

Please see also PFI's Rumors thread, pp. 34 and following for Dr. Dave's post and ensuing discussion.  Dr. Dave works, as many of us know, for a company that sells PPE.

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by: InKy @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:16:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

MRE's for New Orleans was one thing

Hmmm,

  MRE's for New Orleans was one thing. For 301 million for any real length of time is another.

  After the cat food scare and Peanut butter I have started stocking more. This way I can find out if the food is bad or not.

  I fear that during a pandemic food safety practices will fall.

  I fear that geneticly modified grain that is for cattle only will get into our food supply. It does already but it will be more of a problem.

Kobie

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by: Kobie @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:55:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Harvard avian flu drill preps for possible scenario

...Planners at Harvard have worked for two years to develop a systematic reaction to an influenza pandemic that would be swift, comprehensive, science-based, and humane...

...Harvard's response to a flu pandemic is built on its existing emergency management structure...

http://www.news.harv...

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by: banshee @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 13:05:30 PM UTC

Kuwait chicken sales down 40%

...Sales of chicken in Kuwait have dropped by around 40 percent since an outbreak of bird flu was announced in February, the official KUNA news agency said Friday...

...Since the outbreak, 22 people have been admitted to hospital on suspicion of being infected, but all have been discharged after tests for the virus proved negative...

http://www.metimes.c...

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by: banshee @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 13:12:03 PM UTC

Banshee, my apologies.

I should have posted my article under yours as it was on the same topic.

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

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by: History Lover @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:27:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bird flu scare returns in India

...One of the reasons for the alarming spread of Bird flu, according to Bangladesh government sources is that authorities in Dhaka couldn't initially identify the H5N1 virus when it hit the country three weeks ago. Left unchecked, avian influenza has a capacity to spread rapidly, finally taking a deadly human toll. ...

  http://www.timesnow....

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by: banshee @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 13:16:07 PM UTC

India to Implement Massive Bird Flu Programme

April 13, 2007 - www.theindiancatholic.com/newsread.ap?nid=7065

NEW DELHI (ICNS): Alarmed at the increasing number of cases of Bird Flu particularly in neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh, the government has given the nod to a massive allocation to implement a full-scale programme to prepare, control and contain Avian Influenza.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Thursday gave its approval to implement the scheme "Preparedness, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza (AI) (Animal Health Component)" with the allocation of Rs.134.78 crores during three years of implementation starting from March this year.

The programme implementation would include the following activities: pre-outbreak preparedness, planning and coordination, supporting an Outbreak Containment Plan and having a Bird Flu Cell in the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries.

The project will be funded substantially by the World Bank where Rs.126.00 crore will be re-imbursed by the World Bank and the remaining amount of Rs.8.78 crore will be met from the domestic resources.
(more)

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

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by: History Lover @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:28:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Maladies by the dozen

In recent years, the masses seem to have lost confidence in the government's declarations about disease outbreaks and other health issues. And they have had many opportunities to test their suspicions with the outbreak of bird flu early last year, rubella (German measles) infections in recent weeks, the spread of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and cancer. Conventional wisdom among Egyptians states that if the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) issues a statement about an illness, be cautious and expect the worst...

... A few weeks ago, a health official stated that the bird flu virus is contained, despite continued human infections which reached 34 this week. "Bird flu is under control and vaccination campaigns are trying to cover the entire poultry population in Egypt," stated Abdel-Rahman Shaheen, MOHP official spokesman, and soon Egypt will be free of the deadly H5N1 virus...

...There are international fears that the bird flu virus has mutated into several strains, thus leading to a human-to- human infection. "It's going to stay in the country for at least three years until all fowl are vaccinated, which is almost impossible to happen in a short time. It will take some time," according to Hassan El-Bushra, a WHO regional advisor. El-Bushra added that Egypt is considered the biggest site of Avian Flu infections outside Asia...

http://weekly.ahram....

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by: banshee @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 13:21:23 PM UTC

Europe's bio-threat readiness questioned

While Washington is pushing ahead with high levels of government spending and close public-private coordination to protect the US population against bio-attacks, policy in Europe still lacks focus and is splintered into separate national policies, despite universal concern among EU and national experts that their continent is highly vulnerable to attack. Pan-European research is just as fragmented, though current and forthcoming EU-funded projects aim to pull researchers in the same direction...

...naturally occurring bio-threats to human health should not be overlooked, John Oxford told the group...even without a deliberate "perversion" of science "there is a high likelihood we'll have an influenza outbreak in the 21st century...

...There is no policy coherence in bio-preparedness in general across Europe, whether the issue is one of vaccine production, security at bio- and virological laboratories or national immunization policies.For example, the German government aims to have on hand enough vaccines to cover virtually all of its population in the event of a virulent influenza outbreak, while next door in Belgium, the figure is less than 20 percent."It's better to stock a lot of low-effective vaccines that than a smaller number of high-effective ones. Some member states have grasped this; others not," Oxford said. Above all, there is no intra-EU solidarity mechanism in place regarding vaccine stockpiles. In the event of a massive virological attack, government and industry officials alike admit in private that panic and chaos will ensue. "We all know this but no one dares to say it openly," a Dutch public health researcher previously told ISN Security Watch. "Too many heads would fall..." [more]

http://www.speroforu...

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by: banshee @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 13:30:41 PM UTC

Suriname Authorities Prepare Bird Flu Policy

April 13, 2007 -
www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-917--36-36--.html

By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: The Ministry of Health in Suriname is preparing a policy to address any possible outbreak of bird flu in the country.

The ministry said in a press release that it is time for all stakeholders to draft a policy on this issue. The country is ready to formulate an action plan on its own, the Health Ministry stated.

Until now Suriname relied on assistance from the regional and international community. "If this disease occurs in Suriname or its neighboring countries, this could have far-reaching ramifications for, in particularly, the poultry industry and food supply," said the ministry.

(more)


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

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by: History Lover @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 15:38:57 PM UTC

Dutch Agriculture Ministry to Allow Outdoor Poultry as Bird Flu Threat Recedes

April 13, 2007 - www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/13/europe/
EU-GEN-Netherlands-Bird-Flu.php

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: The Dutch Agriculture Ministry said Friday it plans to lift a ban on allowing commercial poultry outdoors that has been in effect since March 7 due to fears migratory birds could expose them to bird flu.

In a statement, the ministry said that the ban would be lifted starting Sunday, "since monitoring of wild birds has revealed no infections in the Netherlands or the European Union and the (spring) migration is past its peak."

The Netherlands, a low-lying country with marshy shorelines and internal lakes, is particularly vulnerable to disease carried by wild birds, and has often acted quickest to impose restrictions on free-range poultry in response to bird flu scares.

(snip)

But "since the summer of 2006, no cases of H5N1 have been found in wild birds in Europe," the statement said.
The worst outbreak of bird flu in the Netherlands was four years ago, although it was a different strain, H7N7, which infected at least 89 people and killed one. More than 30 million chickens were slaughtered then, hitting one of the country's biggest export industries.


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

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by: History Lover @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 15:44:13 PM UTC

Kuwaiti Chicken Sales Decline By 40%

April 13, 2007 - www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2007/April/middleeast_April215.xml
§ion=middleeast&col=

KUWAIT CITY - Sales of chicken in Kuwait have dropped by around 40 percent since an outbreak of bird flu was announced in February, the official KUNA news agency said on Friday.  The Gulf state has culled about 1.7 million birds since confirming the outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu that is dangerous to humans. A total of 106 cases of the strain have so far been confirmed in birds.
(more)


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

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by: History Lover @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 15:49:52 PM UTC

While doing a search on new.google, I

came across an article listed as 4 hours ago that H5N1 found in poultry in Germany. The link is dead, and it's the only article I have found on this. Has anybody come across anything for Germany?

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

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by: cottontop @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 15:53:57 PM UTC

cottontop, here's the Google Alert I received...

but the address won't display the page...
I hope the url is shortened when I post!

H5N1 found on poultry in Germany
Baku Sun - Azerbaijan
BERLIN (AP) - German authorities on Wednesday confirmed the nation's first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in domestic fowl, saying the virus was ...
See all stories on this topic

>>> http://www.bakusun.a...

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by: bird-dog @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:02:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's the same one I had. Still won't load. n/t

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

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by: cottontop @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:08:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This must have been old...

as Germany had infected poultry last Spring. Whew.

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by: bird-dog @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:09:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

from Medical News Today last April...

Germany Completes Cull Of 30,000 Birds In H5N1 Infected Poultry Farm

Article Date: 09 Apr 2006 - 17:00 PDT

http://www.medicalne...

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by: bird-dog @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:13:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's what I thought too after doing

some searches, and the articles that came up were from last year. although that one didn't. Hmmm.

Recycled news! Don'tcha just love it?!

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

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by: cottontop @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 16:18:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Figures on Indo chart: deaths 2007 don't add up

There were 17 deaths June-December 2006 and 17 deaths January-April 2007, according the the monthly numbers, but the total for 2007 is given as 16.

Apart from the error, the speed-up is disquieting.

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

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by: Jane @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 17:05:09 PM UTC

India's Government Heightens Preventive Measures

April 13, 2007 - www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=3..140407.apr07

Imphal, April 13: In addition to sustained campaign to create awareness on outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu) with particular focus on checking crossborder trade of poultry products from Myanmar side, the State Government has intensified its effort to curb spread of the disease with the formation of a State Level Monitoring Cell under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. Reports of bird flu outbreak in Bangladesh is said to be another factor for the heightened preventive measures undertaken by the Government.
(snip)
similarly, the Health Department has been advised to conduct regular health check-up and to ensure provision of anti-viral drugs to members of Rapid Action Teams, formed under the vety&AH Services, before and after the control and containment operations.
The department is also entrusted to arrange atleast 10,000 tablets of anti-viral drug (Tamiflu) for the Team members.
(more)


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

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by: History Lover @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 20:07:20 PM UTC

Eleven People Tested for Suspected Bird Flu in Lagos

http://www.voanews.c...

This ia a rather puzzling article from The Voice of America.  Contact are sick two months after a woman dies of bird flu?

By Chinedu Offor
Washington
12 April 2007

Offor report on bird flu mp3 audio clip
Listen to Offor report on bird flu mp3 audio clip
Offor report on bird flu ra audio clip

Nigerian health authorities say they are testing nearly a dozen people in Lagos for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. This after they developed what experts say may be symptoms of the disease. VOA English to Africa Service reporter Chinedu Offor has the story:

"According to the director of special duties in the Nigerian Ministry of Health?tissues obtained from 11 people in the commercial city of Lagos are being tested for the H5N1strain of bird flu. He says the samples were collected from persons who had contact with a 22-year old woman who died of the disease two months ago. The unidentified woman, who was confirmed the country's first human case of the disease, died after slaughtering a chicken without (wearing) gloves or a mask."

Offor reports the ministry says it expects more cases of the disease and warns "people to take special precautions while handling or slaughtering birds.

"Meanwhile, the United Nations coordinator for the Global Fight against Avian Influenza, Dr. David Nabarro, says Nigeria will likely experience more bird flu outbreaks because of migrating birds. The Nigerian Medical Association says the country is not prepared to handle an outbreak of the disease. The organization says more efforts should be made to education the public on the dangers of the H5N1 strain."

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by: bgw in MT @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 21:42:14 PM UTC

Lengthy discussion in Apr. 12 news diary about this. n/t

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by: Edna Mode @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 22:52:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

News gone quiet 14 April NZ

No google alerts overnight and nothing on google news under bird flu of much note - it has gone very quiet -anyone else found this?

Its sat April 14th 10.59 NZST (GMT plus 12)

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by: The Pilot @ Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 23:01:19 PM UTC

It is down right "scarey" quiet!

It seems that all of a sudden all news on bird flu was shut down completely. Can't get any info off the Indonesian site because toggletext has been down for 2 days. I know the translators are about to go crazy over this because they really count on it. It's going to be bad for them because once it comes back up they will have a lot to translate and be worked to death.

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 Apr 14, 2007 at 00:30:36 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Has it really been 2 days?

I thought it was  just today.
I was reading something at PFI last night on the rumors thread, that the news would go quiet before TSHTF, and TPTB would make some sort of announcement.
Now this was in a general discussion, not a posted rumor.
Please don't ask me where on rumors I read it. I was so p.oed last night because I was locked out, and had typed this long post....

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

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by: cottontop @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 00:44:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I don't know

I've been lurking the flu sites for about a year and half now in what little time I've had available.  I'm convinced a pandemic will come at some point and have been preparing. I haven't gotten too stirred up during that time, but something about the last few days has the hair on the back of my neck at attention.

Seems like every time I look, there is another red flag or a subtle warning from someone.  I went out this afternoon and bought some more preps, and seriously scoped out the last minute top-off run.  I came back to the news about the anthrax situation in Indonesia.

My instincts have always been pretty reliable.  They're not telling me to go to red alert yet, but they are definitely telling me to pay closer attention.

I hear the train a comin'
It's rolling round the bend
~The Man in Black

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by: SouthernBlueNeck @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 01:23:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

5 BF stories on Newsnow all day Friday the 13. Five!!!

The reporters all took a collective spring break and decided not to write anything for Friday. 

I haven't been able to get toggletext to work for a couple of days now, so I can't translate any of the flu burung stories from my Indo news sites, which add to the relative lack of news coming out of the hotspots.

Maybe Toggletext will work on Saturday and bring a sudden downpour...a scary thought. 

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by: Kelly Phan @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 06:07:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I found this on Nigeria today/2 Cases?

(Note: The media is saying they can find nothing on Nigeria since those 11 cases were reported, so I went on the peck and hunt.  I found this in a paper dated 4-14-07.  For those of you that can do Arabic translations, please go to link and see if you can verify the date and translation, or tease any more info out of it.  Thanx. Remember I think they have only had one confirmed case 2 months ago, that lady in Lagos. Usuually when they say "two goals by Burundian authorities", they are talking about 2 humans.)

This: ????? 14 ????? (?????) 1375 ?.? / 2007 ?
Translates to:  Saturday, 14 birds (in April) and in 1375. T / P 2007

http://www.jananews....

Cases of "mankind" new avian influenza in Nigeria 

Abuja 1375 and five birds.  Nigerian authorities announced the discovery of new human infection cases of avian flu in the state of Lagos is the third region in a single year.
An official coordination in the Nigerian national program to address the pandemic influenza Alatiorfi press statements today that the results of the examination of the patient samples confirmed illness.
The Nigerian health authorities executed after the discovery of the injury (750) bird suspected of being infected with the virus.
He had announced the emergence of two goals by Burundian authorities H5N1 avian influenza in Lagos.
 

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by: pugmom @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 00:14:04 AM UTC

Pugmom...

When I follow the link you posted, it takes me to the news site. There is an option to select English, Arabic (I'm assuming), or French. I clicked English and lots of articles displayed, but I could not find the one to which you are referring. Were you aware of the English option? Can you find the article again using the English view?

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by: Edna Mode @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 01:57:45 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Edna

never thought of trying the English option.  Will try now.

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by: pugmom @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:01:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Can't bring it up in English

even when you put bird flu into the search function.  I have no idea what this means now, except that the article that you bring up on that link that is in Arabic is the article I translated, but the date is going to be hard to authenticate.  This is the problem often with Arabic news articles, they don't have the dates buried in the body of the article--so frustrating, but it may mean something in that they have only had one positive case this year.  Just don't know.

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by: pugmom @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:06:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks for trying.

This Nigeria thing is puzzling. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

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by: Edna Mode @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:09:49 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Here is an article

from yesterday but it does not mention any new cases
http://www.thetidene...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: mojo @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 03:10:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Interesting article, pugmom!

The source is the Jamahiriya News Agency [JANA] -- the official Libyan news agency.  From their website:

"Jana has close ties with the Pan-African News Agency 'PANA' which has a regional office in Tripoli where PANA's Arabic language service is produced."
http://www.jananews....

The date at the top of the page is one of those automatically generated, "real time" date-stamp thingies -- so the article is not from April 14 (today).

However, the date at the lead of the article shows that it is a recent story -- from April 5:

1375 and five birds

"bird" = April in Libyan Arabic, so April 5, 1375 [2007]

Funny -- I thought I remembered that there were 2 confirmed cases of H5N1 in Nigeria from back in January, but I was remembering incorrectly.  It was just the one 22 year old girl.  But -- her mother had died earlier in the month having had (I believe) bf symptoms -- she was never confirmed because, of course, she was dead & buried long before anyone thought of doing any tests on her:
http://www.recombino...

Here's a sakhr translation of the JANA article.  Good find!  I wonder what the heck is going on in Nigeria...?

Machine-translated from Arabic:

Injury condition "human" and new by the bird flu in Nigeria
Abuja - 5 "the birds" [April], 1375 [2007]

The Nigerian authorities declared the discovery of a new human injury by the bird flu disease in Lagos State she is the third in the region through a single year.

And official of the coordination in the national Nigerian program for the resistance to the epidemic of the influenza of press statements Al Tiorfi today mentioned that the results of the examination of the patient samples confirmed his injury by the disease.  [??]

And the Nigerian health authorities destroyed after the discovery of this injury (750) one thousand [750,000?] bird suspect of their injury by the virus.

And he has declared the appearance of two human injuries by the bird flu virus in Lagos.

http://www.jananews....

Proud FAF-er.

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by: Theresa42 @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 08:08:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Theresa42

What do you make of the fact that this story is available in Arabic but not English? Technical glitch? Something more?

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by: Edna Mode @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 13:10:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Edna Mode

I'm actually going to guess that the Libyan news agency (JANA) published the story in Arabic for the benefit of folks in Libya -- and maybe that the English stories are usually stories from/about Libya for English readers?  I dunno -- I'm just guessing here.  ??

I don't think there's anything nefarious about it [and that's coming from me -- someone who does actually own and don a tin-foil hat now and again!  ;-) ]

Proud FAF-er.

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by: Theresa42 @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 17:28:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks, Theresa42

And great use of the word "nefarious."

And haven't you heard? Tin is this year's black.

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by: Edna Mode @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 22:23:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanx Theresa42/Nigeria

for adding your very careful and time-consuming (Sakhr) translating abilities to this article. If birds means April, I, at least, will be able to authenticate the articles through the end of April (tongue in cheek)--but seriously, do you happen to know what May is??  Also I suppose it is a long-shot to do any Nigerian translating in their own language.  I only have two good sources, well now I guess 3, for the happenings there, and they are all in Arabic. 

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by: pugmom @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 16:10:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

'May' in Libyan Arabic

Hey pugmom!

No -- afraid I don't know what May is in Libyan Arabic -- I just got lucky with the time-stamp at the top of the JANA page -- it looks like they list the month in both standard Arabic and in Libyan Arabic -- that's why we see 14 birds (in April) -- "birds" is the translation of "April" in Libyan Arabic -- while the April in parentheses is how it's written in standard Arabic (or whatever you call it):

This: ????? 14 ????? (?????) 1375 ?.? / 2007 ?
Translates to:  Saturday, 14 birds (in April) and in 1375. T / P 2007

I guess we'll see what May is in Libyan Arabic when May rolls around.  ;-)

The thing is, I know that sakhr.com is an Egyptian website and so the translator is very good for stuff from Egypt -- but it starts producing some kind-of strange translations for news from, for instance, Iraq.  The local Iraqi Arabic is just different from what is spoken in Egypt.  I'm not sure what Google is basing their translator on -- but that's still a BETA program anyway, so still some kinks to be worked out there.

Nigerian translations?!  Wow -- now there's something I haven't even contemplated....  ;-)  There are quite a few papers from Nigeria in English -- but they don't seem to be reporting much on bf....  :-|

Proud FAF-er.

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by: Theresa42 @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 17:21:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

On suspected case in Nigeria

Ah ha!  I'm guessing by the date of this JANA article (April 5) that the story is about the suspected case in Nigeria reported by the (oddly) Chinese & Nigerian press last week:

http://www.newfluwik...

Prolly not a confirmed case, then (I hope!).

Proud FAF-er.

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by: Theresa42 @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 08:35:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bengal, NE on Bird Flu Alert

April 13, 2007 - http://timesofindia....

KOLKATA/GUWAHATI: With cases of bird flu on the rise in neighbouring Bangladesh, West Bengal and all the seven North-Eastern state governments have stepped up vigilance in the bordering areas. A team from National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), which visited the bordering villages in North 24-Parganas, has issued the relevant guidelines.

The West Bengal government has identified North 24-Parganas, Murshidabad and Nadia among nine bordering districts for surveillance. Director, health services, Sanchita Bakshi, said no confirmed bird flu case has been reported in the state so far.

"The last report of poultry deaths came from from Gaighata in North 24-Parganas about six weeks back. The samples have been collected and sent to Bhopal's high security animal diseases laboratory. The report is still awaited," Bakshi said.
(more)

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

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by: History Lover @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:10:48 AM UTC

Bird Flu Turns Up in Cambodia

April 13, 2007 -
http://www.worldpoul...

Sen Sovann, deputy director of the animal health department of the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture in Phnom Penh has reported the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in a chicken flock.  The chickens were found ill on April 6 and H5N1 was confirmed on April 12. Bird flu was not reported in Cambodia since September 2006.

The outbreak was reported in the Cham area in a flock of 1,086 birds of which suddenly 300 birds died. The rest of the flock has been destroyed.
(more)

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

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by: History Lover @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:47:19 AM UTC

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News Reports for April 14

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by: AlohaOR @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 07:41:36 AM UTC