News Reports for February 6, 2009

Bird flu hits two more provinces of Vietnam

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

HANOI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Bird flu hit two more provinces of Vietnam, southern Soc Trang and central Nghe An, apart from the previously-reported infected southern province of Ca Mau, an official at the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed with Xinhua on Friday.

According to Friday's People's Army newspaper in Vietnam, more than 500 ducks raised at a farm in Soc Trang Province died early this week. Samples of dead ducks have been found positive to the H5N1 virus.

The nearby province, Bac Lieu, is now in the high risk of bird flu outbreak, said the newspaper.

In Nghe An province, nearly 200 ducks bred at a local farm died recently. (snip)

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 23:14:55 PM CST

Efforts on to contain bird flu in Coochbehar district of WB

India - (Snip) Containment operations are on in the area with the Central Rapid Response Team of the Health Ministry assisting the State health authorities. Till now no human case of avian influenza has been reported.

So far 4064 birds have been culled. 239 workers involved in culling activity have been medically examined and they are on chemoprophylaxis.

Active house-to-house human surveillance is continuing. In 0-3 Km area the total population is about 40,000. Till February 3 a population of 7930 has been covered. No case of URI with fever has been identified. In the 3-10 km area, the population is covered in phases. The total population is about 71,168 and till February 3 a population of 19,336 was covered. No case of fever with URI has been detected.

In the identified health facility, 3 cases with URI and fever have been detected and none of them had exposure or history to infected poultry. The State Government has adequate stock of Oseltamivir, personal protective equipment etc. http://www.newkerala.com/topst...

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 @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 23:41:37 PM CST

Bird flu reported in three regions

VietNamNet Bridge - The Veterinary Agency (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) has said that as of February 5, bird flu has appeared in the southern provinces of Ca Mau and Soc Trang, the central provinces of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa, and the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

The epidemic was discovered in Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Ca Mau provinces during the lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, resulted in 16,000 fowls culled. Soc Trang and Nghe An are the two latest localities which were hit by the epidemic (February 3).

The Veterinary Agency also says that foot-and-mouth disease in cattle and green ear in pigs has been recorded in the northern provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Yen Bai, the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum and the southern province of Long An. In the central province of Ha Tinh, from January 30 to February 5, 275 pigs died of cholera, (Snip)

(Snip) Cao Duc Phat, sent an urgent note to all provinces, cities and related agencies asking them to take drastic measures to prevent epidemics in cattle and poultry. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/s...
 

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 @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 23:47:53 PM CST

Specific locations, per OIE report

According to the Feb. 6 OIE report (in pdf format), the latest outbreaks were:

Feb. 3, 2009
Soc Trang province, My Xuyen district, Vien Binh subdistrict

Feb. 3, 2009
Nghe An province, Do Luong district, Minh Son subdistrict

Feb. 3, 2009
Ca Mau province, Thoi Binh district, Tan Loc Bac subdistrict

---------------
(Note: This OIE report does not include information on the outbreaks in Thanh Hoa or Thai Nguyen provinces.)

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 22:46:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

France - Bird flu

http://www.farminguk.com/news/...

06/02/2009

FRANCE - The veterinary authorities have sent a report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) regarding a first outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). The French veterinary authority sent an Immediate Notification to the OIE in a report dated 4 February 2009.

The outbreak was in La Garnache in Vendée (Pays-de-Loire region in central western France). The outbreak started on 29 January, and was resolved on 1 February. The affected farm has only one closed premises with 5,022 breeding ducks in late moult (no lay) and aged 12 months. In total, 90 birds died and the remainder of the flock were destroyed.

The presence of the low pathogenic H5N3 virus sub-type was confirmed. The last outbreak of avian flu in France was in 2006.

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 23:54:01 PM CST

Oops! Sorry AlohaOR

I didn't see that you had posted this and I posted it below.

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 06, 2009 at 00:24:21 AM CST

[ Parent ]

My fault

I should have kept the original headline, so it would be easier to spot.

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 00:30:24 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Fresh avian flu outbreaks hit Vietnam, Egypt

Feb 5, 2009 (CIDRAP News) - Veterinary officials in Vietnam and Egypt have found more H5N1 avian influenza in poultry, and officials in Hong Kong are investigating the source of infected poultry that have washed up on island beaches.

In Vietnam, animal health officials confirmed the virus in sick ducks in Soc Trang province, in the Mekong Delta region, Voice of Vietnam (VOV), the country's national radio station, reported today.
(Snip)
Elsewhere, authorities in Egypt reported an H5N1 outbreak in backyard birds in the country's Sharkiya governorate, according to a Feb 3 report posted on the Web site of Egypt-based Strengthening Avian Influenza Detection and Response (SAIDR). The project, funded by the US Agency for International Development with assistance from Johns Hopkins University, is designed to help Egypt coordinate avian flu efforts with its international partners.
(Snip)
In other developments, agriculture officials in Hong Kong yesterday confirmed that samples from a dead goose and two ducks that washed up on a Lantau Island beach were positive for the H5N1 virus, The birds were found at the same location on Jan 29 and Jan 31.

Two dead chickens were found on another part of the island's coast yesterday and will undergo avian flu testing. (Snip)

Lantau Island, Hong Kong's largest island, is located at the mouth of the Pearl River. In November 2008, authorities detected the H5N1 virus in poultry feces in some live poultry markets in urban areas but did not determine the source of the virus. One month later they reported an H5N1 outbreak at a commercial farm in Hong Kong. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

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 06, 2009 at 00:04:21 AM CST

SAIDR Report

is here.

Date of report: 3 February 2009
Governorate: Sharkiya
District: El Kenayat
Type of unit: Backyard
Type and number of birds: 150 chickens, 15 ducks and 12 geese
Vaccine status: Information not available
Purpose of sampling: PDS surveillance

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 23:01:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

HK sanctuary closed after bird dies of avian flu

Feb 6, 12:40 AM EST
By DIKKY SINN
Associated Press Writer http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/s...

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong authorities closed a popular bird sanctuary to the public for three weeks starting Friday after a dead bird discovered there tested positive for avian flu.

The closure of Mai Po Nature Reserve comes amid a recent outbreak of bird flu in Hong Kong. Authorities are trying to determine whether infected dead birds found in the territory were linked to mainland China, where five people have died from a virulent strain of the virus this year.

The government said late Thursday it decided to shutter the reserve as a precautionary measure after officials discovered a dead gray heron on its grounds Monday.

The bird tested positive for avian flu, though further tests were needed to determine if it was carrying the deadliest strain of the virus, known as H5N1.

Meanwhile, the government said that dead ducks discovered elsewhere in Hong Kong had tested positive for H5N1, raising the total number of recent cases to four.

Hong Kong's health chief York Chow said late Thursday that he suspects many of the dead birds drifted into Hong Kong waters from the nearby Pearl River Delta in mainland China.

The deadly H5N1 strain has killed at least 254 people worldwide since 2003, most through contact with sick birds. Scientists are monitoring the virus because of its potential to mutate into a new human influenza virus, which could infect millions.

Several other strains of avian flu circulate in bird populations, but pose little danger to humans.

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 00:05:37 AM CST

France-Bird flu.

FRANCE - The veterinary authorities have sent a report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) regarding a first outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI).

The French veterinary authority sent an Immediate Notification to the OIE in a report dated 4 February 2009.

The outbreak was in La Garnache in Vendée (Pays-de-Loire region in central western France). The outbreak started on 29 January, and was resolved on 1 February. The affected farm has only one closed premises with 5,022 breeding ducks (Snip)
The presence of the low pathogenic H5N3 virus sub-type was confirmed. (Snip) http://www.farminguk.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 06, 2009 at 00:08:43 AM CST

China: Scientists develop ways producing anti-bird flu drug Zanamivir

www.chinaview.cn  2009-02-06 09:45:24    
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

   SHANGHAI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Scientists in Shanghai and two pharmaceutical companies in Jiangsu province have successfully developed ways to produce the anti-bird flu drug Zanamivir, based on a licensing agreement with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline(GSK), China Daily reported Friday, citing local media report.

   Zanamivir is an antiviral medication that can block the action of influenza A and influenza B, the two most common types of flu. The drug, marketed by UK-based GSK under the trade name Relenza, is said to be on par with Oseltamivir, a drug produced by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche under the trade name Tamiflu, in battling bird flu in humans.

   GSK reportedly licensed Chinese companies to produce Zanamivir in 2006 but it did not offer related techniques to make the drug. It also needs to be approved by Chinese authorities for sale in the country.

   The drug has received approval from the State Food and Drug Administration for clinical tests, the Shanghai-based Orient Morning Post said on Tuesday.

   Roche has reportedly granted sub-licenses for the production of the generic drug Oseltamivir to the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group and the Shenzhen-based HEC Group in 2005, while Zanamivir was not manufactured and sold in China until 2006 when GSK signed a licensing agreement with the Nanjing Simcere Pharmaceutical Group.

   The agreement grants Simcere the right to make generic copies of its influenza drug Relenza for developing countries and is intended to expand supplies of Zanamivir in areas worldwide that may be on the frontline of a possible influenza pandemic, according to GSK.

   "At that time, we invited the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nanjing Effact Pharm Drug Development Corp to join efforts to make the generic Zanamivir, because GSK provided limited technical support in synthesizing such drugs," Cao Song, a spokesman for Simcere said.

   The deal may help reduce the price of Zanamivir in China and other countries covered by it, Cao said.

   Approval for clinical tests was issued on Nov 7, but the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica announced the breakthrough only recently.

   The final form of the drug will be a powder that is inhaled, earlier reports had said.

   "Test procedures for the drug Zanamivir are still being decided. It would take a long time to complete the clinical trials," said Xu Xiaoping, a member of the institute.
 

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 00:14:41 AM CST

China Denies Bird Flu Outbreaks Among Poultry, China Daily Says

By William Bi
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- China denied there have been outbreaks of bird flu among poultry since January in the provinces where eight human infections were reported, the official China Daily said, citing the Ministry of Agriculture.

Human infection with the avian-influenza virus doesn't necessarily indicate an outbreak among poultry, according to the newspaper, which cited a statement from the ministry. The ministry was replying to remarks by international organizations that suggested possible outbreaks among poultry in China, the newspaper said.

Of the 37 human bird-flu cases in China since 2005, only 4 were linked to outbreaks in poultry, the newspaper said, citing the ministry. The government also denied outbreaks among poultry occurred in Guangdong province, which boarders Hong Kong, China Daily said.

Human avian-influenza cases will continue to rise, the newspaper said, citing Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center of the Ministry of Health.

Calls by Bloomberg News to the Ministry of Agriculture weren't returned.

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 00:21:02 AM CST

Sounds like a promise!

This is a very "matter of fact" type statement, especially considering who made it!!!

Human avian-influenza cases will continue to rise, the newspaper said, citing Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center of the Ministry of Health.

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 06, 2009 at 05:33:17 AM CST

[ Parent ]

no longer "business as usual"?

And there isn't any "business as usual" attached to the statement.

He's not saying "We'll have more cases because...

...we always see more cases in the winter
...dry weather means an increase in cases
...cold weather means an increase in cases

I think the fact that they aren't cushioning the statement with "but this is why it isn't important" is significant.  

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by: aurora @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:53:27 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Chinese expert issues new bird flu warning

www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-06 17:59:50
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

GUANGZHOU, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A leading Chinese expert on respiratory diseases has warned the public to be aware that poultry can be infected with the bird flu virus but show no symptoms.

"Special attention should be paid to such animals, including those that have been vaccinated," said Zhong Nanshan.

"The existing vaccines can only reduce the amount of virus, rather than totally inactivating it," he said.

Zhong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is one of the scientists who helped control the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in China in 2003.

His warning comes after eight human cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza have been reported across the country since January.

Zhong said he had noticed that more than half of those infected had no direct contact with birds and nor did they live in the areas where infected fowl with symptoms were reported.

He urged people to minimize contact with all domestic fowl and birds.

"Have the chicken butchered in the market, not in your home," he said.

A study led by Zhong on a low-cost treatment for chronic respiratory disease has been voted the people's choice for last year's paper of the year in The Lancet, the United Kingdom-based general medical journal.  

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 05:17:23 AM CST

This is yet

This is yet another expert issuing another warning, again in the offiical Chinese state media, but this time the expert is Zhong Nanshan, the hero of the SARS episode.  

More on Zhong Nanshan:  http://www.newsgd.com/english/...

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 05:18:33 AM CST

[ Parent ]

China: Deadly tide of birds fuels fears of bird flu cover-up

Posted : Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:29:59 GMT
Author : DPA
http://www.earthtimes.org/arti...

Hong Kong - For more than a week now a deadly tide has been washing out of China into the sea surrounding Hong Kong, bringing with it growing fears that China is in the grip of a covered-up bird-flu outbreak. With each day that passes, more dead birds, ducks and chickens washed up on the beaches of Hong Kong, suggesting that H5N1-infected birds may have been dumped into the China's polluted Pearl River and carried by the tide to Hong Kong waters.

China has insisted there are no bird-flu outbreaks in China, despite eight human cases in January alone this year.

But experts fear the tide of death washing out of southern China shows that China is once again covering up another major public health catastrophe.

It happened before in 2003, when Beijing denied the existence of the deadly condition that became known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - or SARS - until it had crossed the border into Hong Kong where it went on to spread worldwide infecting thousands and killing hundreds.

It happened again last year when state newspapers were initially ordered to keep quiet about a scandal which lead to many thousands of young children falling sick and seven dying after drinking baby milk tainted with the chemical melamine.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), China has recorded a total of 38 bird-flu cases since the disease resurfaced in 2003, including 25 deaths. Five people died in China of bird flu in January alone, two more than in the whole of 2008. Three other people were infected.

So far more than 20 dead birds have been found on Hong Kong beaches within the last week. Six of the birds have so far tested positive for the H5N1 virus strain.

However, there are no current outbreaks in Hong Kong nor are there any farms close to the sites where the infected birds were discovered.

Together, these facts are causing concern in Hong Kong which boasts arguably the world's most stringent bird flu detection and prevention measures, introduced after 1997 when the former British colony witnessed the first modern incident of the virus crossing the species barrier when it infected 18 people of which six died.

Hong Kong Secretary of Health Dr York Chow confirmed Thursday the birds are most likely to have drifted down from the Pearl River in southern China sometime over the last week. He also said that tests on the dead birds detected a strain of H5N1 previously found in southern China and not Hong Kong.

Leading Hong Kong bird-flu expert and chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association, Lo Wing-Lok said all these facts indicated that "something very terrible" could be happening in China.

"In China they are repeatedly denying any outbreak among birds but how come we have these dead birds turning up in Hong Kong?" Lo said.

"I don't believe the source of these dead birds is Hong Kong. They are from the mainland. Possibly, they were dumped in the river or sea by farmers who have farms close to the Pearl River or sea."

Lo said the birds was especially worrying in the light of the high number of human cases in China this year. Taken together this could indicate the virus had changed into a form more easily transmitted from birds to humans or that the vaccine used on poultry was suppressing symptoms but not the transmission so outbreaks were going unnoticed.

The WHO's Western Pacific spokesman Peter Cordingley said their area of concern was that many of the recent human infections in China seemed to be occurring in the absence of any infection among birds.

"Usually we have birds serving as sentinels, telling us there is something going on in the environment. But in China, people are falling sick before any reports of sick birds. That is the wrong way round and is quite worrying," Cordingley said.

"Quite clearly there seems to be gaps in the surveillance of wild birds and poultry in China. We don't know what these gaps are and it may not be sloppy surveillance. But from a human health point of view, we are concerned.

"If people are to stay safe and healthy we need to know where the virus is and the evidence is that in China at the moment, people don't know where it is."

That uncertainty is especially worrying for Hong Kong which shares its waters and border with China and imports millions of chickens from the mainland every year.

"We often ask where this virus is coming from and we get no answers, Lo said. "Seeing dead birds floating towards Hong Kong shows the virus is not being controlled at its source.

"The only thing we can do is progressively step up our controls. But controls have their limit and we are approaching that limit. We have to now rely on China to do its part."

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 05:30:41 AM CST

How much surveillance does the government do, and how much do they miss?

For more than a week now a deadly tide has been washing out of China into the sea surrounding Hong Kong, bringing with it growing fears that China is in the grip of a covered-up bird-flu outbreak. With each day that passes, more dead birds, ducks and chickens washed up on the beaches of Hong Kong, suggesting that H5N1-infected birds may have been dumped into the China's polluted Pearl River and carried by the tide to Hong Kong waters.

Farmers don't want to report dead and dying birds, because then all their birds would be culled.  Have we heard reports of culling and compensation in China?  It appears that some farmers (at least one, anyway) has hidden an outbreak that is lethal to birds.  How can the government say for sure that there haven't been cases where humans have contracted bird flu?


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

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by: Jane @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:28:29 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Sorry, change "cases" to "outbreaks"

How can the government say for sure that there haven't been outbreaks among birds, where humans have contracted bird flu?  

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

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by: Jane @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:30:49 AM CST

[ Parent ]

One way they could say it

would be if they are aware that there don't have to be outbreaks among birds in order for there to be human cases and/or outbreaks.

I know it's PC in many circles to believe that one must have infected birds before having infected humans, but I don't buy into that theory.  

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by: Clawdia @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 15:32:16 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Clawdia,

You wrote, "I know it's PC in many circles to believe that one must have infected birds before having infected humans, but I don't buy into that theory."

You may not be "PC" correct but you are factually correct. Numerous cases in Indonesia and now China is proof of that. Being politically correct isn't keeping people from contracting H5N1 and it isn't preventing their deaths.

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 06, 2009 at 18:14:12 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Canada - Pandemic practice

If a pandemic were to hit the Pincher Creek area, participants in a mock exercise proved we would be ready for it.

The Chinook Health Joint Agency Pandemic Exercise on Jan. 29 had various community members set up as an emergency centre in the town council chambers playing the roles that might be assigned to them if there was a real pandemic. Representatives were there from emergency services, RCMP, the Municipal District and Town of Pincher Creek, Cowley and a few others.

The scenario given was that avian flu had broken out in Southeast Asia in December, about a month ago. One family in Toronto, who had recently travelled to Indonesia, had an influenza-type illness and was being kept under surveillance.

The alert level for Alberta was at 5-1-0 corresponding to cases in the world-Canada-Alberta.

One observer of the exercise asked why Alberta would have to be on alert if there were no cases yet reported in the province.

The answer was that with the quickness and availability of travel these days, a person from Ontario could be in Lethbridge in four hours.

Source
http://tinyurl.com/cxjffn

*personal opinion: this is all academic in my eyes as citizens where not involved.  It is just like the fire cheif holding a fire drill and not inviting the firemen who will do most of the work, suffering and dying"

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by: Kobie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 05:48:03 AM CST

Hong Kong reserve closed amid bird flu tests

HONG KONG - A Hong Kong bird sanctuary has been closed for three weeks after a dead grey heron found there tested positive for the H5 bird flu virus, authorities said Friday. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said further tests would determine if it was the deadly H5N1 strain, but that the Mai Po reserve would be closed to visitors as a precautionary measure. "We will monitor the situation closely and review the closure period as necessary," a departmental spokeswoman added.

The reserve is located in the northwestern corner of Hong Kong and has been known as a haven for migratory birds for decades. The department said it inspected a chicken farm near the reserve but found no abnormal mortality or symptoms of avian influenza.

The carcasses of a bird and a chicken found in different locations in the city two days ago were also found to have the H5 virus and are being examined further.

The department said earlier it had found the H5N1 strain in four other dead birds collected from Lantau island since January 29. Continued:  http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/wor...

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 06, 2009 at 05:52:03 AM CST

China - Chinese expert issues new bird flu warning

 A leading Chinese expert on respiratory diseases has warned the public to be aware that poultry can be infected with the bird flu virus but show no symptoms.

   "Special attention should be paid to such animals, including those that have been vaccinated," said Zhong Nanshan.

   "The existing vaccines can only reduce the amount of virus, rather than totally inactivating it," he said.

   Zhong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is one of the scientists who helped control the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in China in 2003.

   His warning comes after eight human cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza have been reported across the country since January.

Source
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

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by: Kobie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 05:53:52 AM CST

Kobie

I posted this story above. No need to work so hard!

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 06:35:29 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Pixie - 'Douhhhh" - Homer Simpson

Pixie,

 Sorry - thanks for noticing as I did not ;-)

Kobie

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by: Kobie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 07:02:03 AM CST

[ Parent ]

H5N1 virus killer "Trading Statement "

PuriCore (LSE: PURI), the life sciences company focused on developing and commercialising proprietary, green solutions that safely, effectively, and naturally kill infectious pathogens without causing harm to human health or the environment, announces its pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 December 2008

The Company's products are used in a broad range of markets that depend upon controlling contamination, including retail and foodservice, medical device disinfection, and wound care. Hypochlorous acid is proven to be safe, environmentally friendly, and fast acting against a broad range of infectious pathogens, including major public health threats of M. tuberculosis, MRSA, E.coli, Norovirus, H5N1 Avian Influenza, HIV, Salmonella, Polio Virus, Helicobater pylori, and Legionella. PuriCore is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with offices in Stafford, UK. To receive additional information on PuriCore, please visit our website at www.puricore.com

Source
http://pr-usa.net/index.php?op...

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by: Kobie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 06:00:10 AM CST

China: Bird flu patient discharged from hospital

www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-06 19:42:24
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

GUIYANG, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A 29-year-old man who contracted bird flu last month in southwest China's Guizhou Province has recovered and was released from the hospital Friday after 22 days of treatment.

The patient, surnamed Zhou, no longer exhibits any symptoms and has remained in stable condition for a couple of days, said Sun Zhaolin, head of the hospital where Zhou was treated.

Zhou was hospitalized for fever on Jan. 15. Before that, he purchased and killed a duck from a farm product market.

He began to show symptoms of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) including coughing, phlegm and skin discoloration. X-rays and CT scans showed he suffered rapid development of pneumonia.

The hospital started emergency treatment and quarantined the patient before he tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on Jan. 25.

"The disease can be prevented and cured if it is discovered at an early stage," said Gao Zhancheng, a senior doctor of Beijing sent by the Ministry of Health to treat Zhou.  ;-)

China reported eight bird flu cases this year that resulted in five deaths. The eight cases included a 19-year-old woman in Beijing on Jan. 5, a 27-year-old woman in Shandong on Jan. 17, a 16-year-old male student from Guizhou Province on Jan. 19, a 31-year-old woman in Xinjiang on Jan. 23 and an 18-year-old man in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Jan. 26.

In addition to Zhou, a 3-year-old girl from Shanxi Province was discharged from hospital Tuesday and a 21-year-old woman in Hunan Province was in a stable condition.

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by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 06:33:53 AM CST

Key discovery made in fight against bird flu

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH...

(CNN) -- Two teams of scientists say they have found a key area of the H5N1 bird flu virus which seems to be vital to its ability to copy itself, and hope the discovery could lead to new drugs to fight the infection.

The discovery is generating excitement among scientists who are looking for a new weapon against the bird flu virus that typically kills more than half its human victims.

Two separate groups of scientists -- one in China, one in France -- used a highly technical process to identify protein that seems to be involved in its ability to replicate itself.

That gives researchers a new target, as they try and develop new medications.

The announcements, detailed in the British-based journal Nature, come at an uneasy time for those who follow the bird flu strain called H5N1.

So far this disease is mainly affecting birds in some countries and the number of human cases remains small, but the virus has shown no sign of growing milder since it first infected people back in 1997.

It continues to decimate bird flocks in sporadic outbreaks, mostly in Asia, and occasionally breaks into the human population. China's Ministry of Health reported eight human cases last month, including four deaths.

Since 2003, the World Health Organization has confirmed 404 human cases worldwide. Nearly two-thirds of the victims have died. While H5N1 doesn't make headlines the way it did in 2005, health officials say the continuing severity of the infections means the alarm is still on.

Influenza viruses, in general, spread easily. If H5N1 were to acquire the genetic ability to pass easily from person to person, it could turn into a major catastrophe.

Many countries have stockpiled both vaccines and antiviral medications, for such a scenario. The same medications that are used to treat regular flu, oseltamivir (Tamiful) and zanamivir (Relenza), also seem to be effective against H5N1. But that's no reason to rest easy.

All flu viruses tend to mutate rapidly, which is why the flu vaccine one year, won't protect you against the next year's flu. Those rapid mutations mean the virus tends to develop a resistance to any widely used medication.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told CNN, "It always happens that eventually, sooner or later, the [flu] virus will develop varying degrees of resistance. You just hope that it's kept to a minimum."

The findings in Nature may lead to another option to fight bird flu, but an actual new drug is years away. A vaccine could be effective, but they first have to know what strain of flu they're fighting.

The current strategy of health officials around the world is to try to contain isolated cases before they spread. The best case scenario would be, that this H5N1 killer remains primarily a disease for the birds.  

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by: VirginiaMom @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 07:07:36 AM CST

H5N1 Clade 7 Cases in China Raise Concerns

Recombinomics Commentary February 5, 2009

it is related to a similar type of virus that happened in the southern part of China in the last two years, which is clade 2.3.2.

But it is slightly different from what we have discovered last year in our market and the outbreak in our local farm in December, which is clade 2.3.4.

On the eight human infections of avian flu in the Mainland, we do not have the full report yet. But according to the preliminary information that is given to us, it is similar to the various virus that was isolated in northern China in the last one or two years.

The above comments from today's press conference on the H5N1 confirmed birds in Hong Kong strongly suggest that the human cases in China are due to clade 7.

Hong Kong regularly has wild bird outbreaks at this time of the year, and this year, like last year is clade 2.3.2.  This sub-clade was also in long range migratory birds in Japan and related sequences were also reported in Korea and southeastern Russia last spring.

Human cases in China have been almost exclusively linked to clade 2.3.4, which is closely related to clade 2.3.2 and both are derivatives of the Fujian strain, which is widespread in southern China.

The only other reported human case in China was clade 7, which was the first confirmed case in the mainland from a fatal infection in Beijing in 2003.  Clade 7 was also involved in a series of poultry outbreaks in northern China in the 2005/2006.  These outbreaks were difficult to control and required use of multiple vaccines.

(Snip) the outbreak in Jiangsu in December was also hard to control and was also clade 7.  New vaccinations followed that outbreak, which China reported as asymptomatic. (Snip) some media reports indicated poultry had died, but was still shipped to market.  Shortly after these reports the fatal infection in Beijing developed symptoms, as did the mother of the child (3F) who recovered from an H5N1 confirmed infection.

Clade 7 has been reported in areas adjacent to Beijing, although last year it was also found in Vietnam, and the WHO clade 7 vaccine target is a 2008 isolate from Vietnam.

Published sequences from clade 7 from Shanxi or Hunan has a number of receptor binding domain changes flanking position 190, which is also true of the Tamiflu resistant H1N1 spreading through Asia and the northern hemisphere.  These changes allow for escape of the virus from host immune responses as well as vaccines.  Thus, both H1N1 and clade 7 H5N1 have created vaccine resistance issues.

(Snip) This clade will have limited cross reactivity with current pandemic vaccines directed against clade 1 or clade 2.

Release of sequences from the outbreaks in Jiangsu, as well as the recent human cases in China and Vietnam would be useful. 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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 07:15:48 AM CST

China's Drought May Make Birds More Susceptible to Avian Flu

I wonder how the clade distribution relates to the drought locations.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...

China's Drought May Make Birds More Susceptible to Avian Flu
By William Bi and John Liu

...

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A drought in northern China that has limited drinking water to almost 4 million people may also be making birds more susceptible to the deadly H5N1 avian-flu strain.

The lack of rainfall in Shandong, Shaanxi and other northern provinces since October causes stress for local fowl, said Hong Kong Veterinary Association President Veronica Leong, who specializes in birds. "Any sort of stress would make birds more susceptible to disease," she said by e-mail today.

Bird flu killed five people in China last month, three of whom were from regions experiencing drought. Lo Wing-Lok, a health adviser to the Hong Kong government, said yesterday China has an outbreak of bird flu among poultry that its government hasn't reported.

"As drinking water becomes more scarce for wild birds, they may come into closer contact with domestic fowl, increasing chances of cross-infection," said Nie Ben, agricultural commodities manager at Shanghai Continent Futures Co. in Dalian.

...

For more info on this historic level of drought in China (which I had not previously heard of until this morning) here are a couple of articles:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/s...

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

---

by: Into The Woods @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 17:45:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Let's look at

just a few of the quotes on this page (so far), today out of China and see which way the arrows are pointing:

Human avian-influenza cases will continue to rise, the newspaper said, citing Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center of the Ministry of Health.  

Zhong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is one of the scientists who helped control the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in China in 2003....

Zhong said he had noticed that more than half of those infected had no direct contact with birds and nor did they live in the areas where infected fowl with symptoms were reported.  

Leading Hong Kong bird-flu expert and chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association, Lo Wing-Lok said all these facts indicated that "something very terrible" could be happening in China.

The WHO's Western Pacific spokesman Peter Cordingley said their area of concern was that many of the recent human infections in China seemed to be occurring in the absence of any infection among birds.

"Usually we have birds serving as sentinels, telling us there is something going on in the environment. But in China, people are falling sick before any reports of sick birds. That is the wrong way round and is quite worrying," Cordingley said.  

"The disease can be prevented and cured if it is discovered at an early stage," said Gao Zhancheng, a senior doctor of Beijing sent by the Ministry of Health to treat Zhou.

Which way are the arrows pointing?

And these are all, to a man, very official - and respected - officials.

---

by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 07:52:07 AM CST

A flurry of statements all at once....

All these statements at once is setting off alarm bells in my head. The key here is that Beijing is allowing most of the statements made so far to be published.

I am wondering if the Chinese government has come to the conclusion that the bird flu situation can't be contained and/or hidden any longer.

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 08:36:21 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Allowed..

Most of these guys report to Beijing or consult with them closely.  They're authorized.  They're mouthpieces for the current policy or what they are saying wouldn't be published in places like Xinhau and People's Daily.  

---

by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:12:58 PM CST

[ Parent ]

what I'm detecting, reading between the lines

is some dissonance between the health side and the agricultural side.  


All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

---

by: SusanC @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 07:17:55 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Bird flu scare spreads

Hong Kong - A nature reserve popular with schoolchildren near Hong Kong's border with China was shut down on Friday after a dead bird found there tested positive for the H5N1 avian flu virus.

The decision to close the Mai Po reserve came after the discovery of more than 20 dead ducks, chickens and wild birds believed to have been washed ashore from neighbouring mainland China.(Snip) Experts warn the sudden appearance of the dead birds on beaches and coastal areas indicates that there may be a widespread, unreported outbreak of avian flu in China.

The bird found at Mai Po, which is on the coast near Hong Kong's border with China, was a grey heron discovered on February 2, a government spokesperson said. "As a precautionary measure, the Mai Po Nature Reserve will be temporarily closed to visitors for 21 days," (Snip) The Mai Po reserve is visited daily by school parties from the city of 6.9 million and has been temporarily closed down during regional avian flu outbreaks in recent years.

China has in the past hushed up outbreaks of bird flu and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which was rampant in southern China before it spread to Hong Kong and other countries in 2003, killing hundreds of people. (Snip) http://www.news24.com/News24/W...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 09:47:04 AM CST

Good that they shut down the reserve, but scary anyway.

Being a teacher, I know how school kids on a field trip tend to run around and touch things, throw rocks, etc. Then they sit down for a picnic lunch without washing their hands. Hopefully this heron was an isolated case and not an indicator of a much wider outbreak in the reserve.

Also worrisome is the article posted a little earlier in this days news diary stating that a couple of dead fowl in Hong Kong were just confirmed positive for H5N1 (these not related to the ones washing up on the beach.) This indicates a wider spread in the city itself, not just refuse from China's (non)outbreaks.

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 12:11:50 PM CST

[ Parent ]

China defends bird flu vaccination plan despite deaths

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Agriculture on Friday defended its bird flu vaccination program, stating there had been no outbreaks since last June despite a number of human cases, some fatal, this year.

Human cases and the appearance of dead wild birds in Hong Kong have caused some experts and media reports to question whether the virus is widespread but undetected in China. (Snip) Apart from the discovery of a case during routine sampling in eastern China's Jiangsu province in December, Chinese testing has not detected any bird flu since June.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in a report on its website that the strain found in Jiangsu was a variant, requiring the modification of the vaccine program in the surrounding provinces of Zhejiang, Shanghai, Anhui and Shandong.

Meanwhile, two ducks and a goose found in Hong Kong have tested positive for H5N1, the strain of bird flu that can infect humans. Hong Kong closed its Mai Po nature preserve as a precaution for 21 days from Friday, after a dead grey heron found there also tested positive for bird flu. Hong Kong authorities are still testing 14 other dead birds found last week on Lantau Island. "We're checking water currents" to see if the birds were washed ashore from mainland China, a government spokeswoman said. Continued: http://www.reuters.com/article...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 09:52:12 AM CST

Avian Flu Cases In Humans Worldwide Decreased By 55 %

Avian Flu Cases In Humans Worldwide Decreased By 55 % From 2007 To 2008 According To Gideon Online

Article Date: 06 Feb 2009 - 1:00 PST
Despite the recent fatal case of avian flu in Beijing, overall avian flu cases in humans worldwide have decreased 55%, from 88 to 40, from 2007 to 2008, according to GIDEON Online (www.gideononline.com), the largest online database of infectious disease information for medical professionals. Human deaths from avian flu worldwide declined from 59 to 30 (49%), from 2007 to 2008.

Over the last five years (2003-2008), human avian flu cases increased 900%, from 4 to 40; and deaths increased 650%, from four to 30. A total of 391 cases and 247 deaths from avian flu were reported in humans from Nov. 26, 2003 to December 15, 2008.
more at link
http://www.medicalnewstoday.co...


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

---

by: mojo @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:15:21 AM CST

I asked that question directly of Keiji Fukuda

from the WHO last Monday at the IDSA conference, and he said that even acknowledging the lab and testing issues (cases never tested), reporting issues from Indonesia and surveillance issues in places like Africa, on the whole he was comfortable that that's how it looks.

---

by: DemFromCT @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 12:56:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

With respect

imo he is clearly out of his mind.  Indo regularly doses large groups of people with Tamiflu blankets now (symptomatic individuals included). Fukuda should also know that many index cases are misdiagnosed and thus never are (conveniently) included in the official tally (such as Peng's mother).  Fukuda would also be aware, if he is watching the situation, that most cases, more than 50% of them now I believe, are happening within clusters (with, again, the index case and/or initially symptomatic carry-on cases dosed with Tamiflu so they never become "official"). Many likely cases such as those in Cilendek, Indonesia, where there was likely H2H reported between two sisters just never make it to anywhere near official lists. That's three, just in the last week, and there are more in the same likely potential category.

Surely Fukuda knows this, but he is making a conscious decision to hew to the official WHO standard - which is actually no surprise since the man works for them and needs to continue to do so probably for everyone's benefit. I'm surely not comfortable, however, with Fukuda's level of comfort since I do believe it is misplaced.  If one counts cases a bit more accurately than the WHO "official" case totals as reflected in the terse, pithy, WHO AI Situation Updates (the WHO AI Situation Updates that are so very different in their usefulness than those the WHO produced two years ago and prior) one simply reaches a potential likely case total that does not indicate a 55% drop in human cases.  Far from it.  

---

by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:26:11 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Wonder what will Happen when tamiflu no longer works

Pixie,

 Hmm, I wonder what plan 'B' is when H5N1 becomes tamiflu tamiflu resistant?

Kobie

---

by: Kobie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:43:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Plan B is to

"lock your doors and start praying".....cause shit has hit the fan!!!

If none of the goverments have a solid A plan that will actually work then you don't expect them to have a B plan, do you?

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 14:42:54 PM CST

[ Parent ]

HAH!! I'm aghast!! You said a BAD BAD word!!!

Government

---

by: Bronco Bill @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 15:06:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

B.B.

I just said that to see if you were paying attention. It worked too! LOL

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 06, 2009 at 19:06:26 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I guess it's nice he's comfortable . . .

But I'm certainly not.  Then again, he does say that's how it "looks", and we all know appearances can be deceiving.

The only way I can see there being fewer cases is if there were a lot more cases in the past that he knew about and we didn't, and he's taking that into consideration instead of only the cases that the public is aware of.

I'm afraid that what Pixie says makes more sense.

---

by: Clawdia @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:34:36 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I am reporting, not defending

and felt the question needed to be asked (full mic, in the meetings). His comfort was based on seroprevalence data as well as reported cases, and he was not assuming every case gets picked up.

---

by: DemFromCT @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 15:47:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yeah, we don't mean to

kill the messenger!  Thanks for the inside view, Dem.  

(I still think the man - Fukuda - needs to keep up to date on cluster formation. I doubt they are doing seroprevalence studies in those areas, in the right areas.  Supari won't even announce "official" cases - they're not doing seroprevalence studies on all the nearby symptomatic people in the vicinity of those cases).

---

by: Pixie @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 03:34:56 AM CST

[ Parent ]

When working with such tiny numbers, is that purported decline really significant?

I think we are looking at the early stages of a growth curve, a largely flat line of population growth while the pathogen mutates and becomes entrenched. Will it mutate itself out of existence, at least as a threat to humankind? Will other factors cause it to die out? We don't know. We only know it hasn't died so far, and these little blips at the bottom of the graph are - at this point - meaningless.

I wonder if they have computed similar figures for its spread in the avian population over the same time period? That would be far more telling, for as long as it is still able to cause some human infections B2H, then the more it spreads in birds the more opportunity for infections in humans and subsequent adaptive mutations.

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 12:20:25 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Vietnam bird flu outbreak widens

Vietnam bird flu outbreak widens
Posted: 06 February 2009 1215 hrs

HANOI - The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been reported in more localities across Vietnam, raising fears of a possible epidemic, official and media reports said Friday.

The latest outbreak occurred on a farm in Mekong delta's Ca Mau province, where 300 unvaccinated ducklings died of the virus, said the national animal health department.

The Hanoi-based office in its earlier reports said avian influenza had been found in ducks in nearby Soc Trang province and Nghe An province in the country's central.

The state-run Thanh Nien newspaper said Friday that southern Bac Lieu has been added to the list of bird-flu hit provinces.

"Epidemics could spread easily because of cold weather and local residents' habit of letting the ducks run around in rice fields," Thanh Nien said, adding thousands of infected poultry have died or been culled this year.
more at link
http://www.channelnewsasia.com...

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

---

by: mojo @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:18:07 AM CST

China defends bird flu vaccination plan despite deaths

China defends bird flu vaccination plan despite deaths
06 Feb 2009 14:38:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Lucy Hornby

BEIJING, Feb 6 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Agriculture on Friday defended its bird flu vaccination programme, stating there had been no outbreaks since last June despite a number of human cases, some fatal, this year.

Human cases and the appearance of dead wild birds in Hong Kong have caused some experts and media reports to question whether the virus is widespread but undetected in China.

Five people died of bird flu in China in January, in regions far removed from each other and in which there were no reported cases of bird flu in birds. Three others have become ill, of which two have recovered, a toddler infected in Hunan and a young man in Guizhou.

Apart from the discovery of a case during routine sampling in eastern China's Jiangsu province in December, Chinese testing has not detected any bird flu since June.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in a report on its website that the strain found in Jiangsu was a variant, requiring the modification of the vaccine programme in the surrounding provinces of Zhejiang, Shanghai, Anhui and Shandong.
more at link
http://www.alertnet.org/thenew...

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

---

by: mojo @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:22:52 AM CST

Oh Bronco Bill, it's Friday joke time! LOL

B.B., todays joke theme is relationships. Have a great weekend!

Slip of the tongue

A guy with a black eye boards his plane bound for Pittsburgh and sits down in his seat. He notices immediately that the guy next to him has a black eye, too.

He says to him, "Hey, this is a coincidence, we both have black eyes; mind if I ask how you got yours?"

The other guy says, "Well, it just happened, it was a tongue twister accident.

See, I was at the ticket counter and this gorgeous blonde with the most massive breasts in the world was there. So, instead of saying, 'I'd like two tickets to Pittsburgh,' I accidentally said, 'I'd like two pickets to Tittsburgh'....so she socked me a good one."

The first guy replied, "Wow! This is unbelievable. Mine was a tongue-twister too.

I was at the breakfast table and I wanted to say to my
wife, "Please pour me a bowl of Frosties, honey.'

But I accidentally said, 'You have ruined my life you evil, self-centered, fat-assed bitch.'

Love Thy Husband

A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor's office. After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone.

He said, "Your husband is suffering from a very severe disease, combined with horrible stress. If you don't do the following, your husband will surely die."

"Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant, and make sure he is in a good mood. For lunch make him a nutritious meal he can take to work. And for dinner, prepare an especially nice meal for him."

"Don't burden him with chores, as this could further his stress. Don't discuss your problems with him; it will only make his stress worse. Try to relax your husband in the evening by wearing lingerie and giving him plenty of backrubs."

"Encourage him to watch some type of team sporting event on television. And most importantly, make love with your husband several times a week and satisfy his every whim. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health."

On the way home, the husband asked his wife, "What did the doctor say?"

"You're going to die," she replied.  

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 12:14:26 PM CST

OMG, Carol...those are the best!!! LMAO...and sent to my married sons! n/t

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 12:26:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I've been to that airline counter...

...but learned quickly to keep my mouth shut!!! LOL!!

---

by: Bronco Bill @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 12:49:28 PM CST

[ Parent ]

H5N1 Clade 7 Vaccine Failures Raise China Concerns

Commentary

Recombinomics Commentary 18:02
February 6, 2009
http://www.recombinomics.com/N...

The Ministry of Agriculture said in a report on its website that the strain found in Jiangsu was a variant, requiring the modification of the vaccine program in the surrounding provinces of Zhejiang, Shanghai, Anhui and Shandong.
====================

The above comments describe the Jiangsu December outbreaks which involved H5N1 closely related to clade 7 isolates from a 2006 outbreak in Shanxi. As noted above, the outbreak in Jiangsu led to additional vaccination of flocks in adjacent provinces.

However, shortly after the Jiangsu outbreak, human cases were reported throughout China (see updated map), and comments from the news conference in Hong Kong strongly suggested that the human cases were a "northern strain" which would almost certainly be clade 7, which has been reported in multiple northern provinces. The news conference also strong suggested the human cases were not caused by 2 Fujian sub-clades, 2.3.2 and 2.3.4, which had previously been linked to the vast majority of prior human cases in China.

Previously, the only reported human clade 7 case was in Beijing in 2003, so 9-12 cases in China and Beijing in the brief period following the Jiangsu outbreak would represent a dramatic rise in clade 7 cases, and the location of the cases would suggest that clade 7 has spread throughout China and not limited to the re-vaccinated provinces adjacent to Jiangsu.

Reports of clade 7 in northern Vietnam also support the spread of clade 7 this season, further supporting widespread clade 7 in poultry.

However, as noted above, the clade 7 was detected during routine surveillance and the OIE report indicated the poultry was asymptomatic, raising detection / reporting issues. Indeed there have been no reports from China on additional H5N1 outbreaks and sequences from the Jiangsu poultry outbreaks or the confirmed human cases have not been released. Comments on A/Beijing/1/2009 only stated that there had been no reassortment with human flu genes and the variations in the sequence were minor.

Prior clade 7 sequences from Shanxi and Hunan had a large number of receptor binding domain changes, and minor changes in these sequences can have major effects of virulence and transmissibility. Therefore, release of the sequences from China, as well as sequences from human and poultry cases would be useful. Similarly, WHO has withheld the sequence of its clade 7 vaccine target, which was from a 2008 poultry isolate in Vietnam.

The lack of transparency on clade 7 sequences remains a concern. And the withholding of the sequence of the WHO vaccine target sets a poor example of transparency, which is of significant concern due to the number of clade 7 cases and clusters coupled with the vaccine failures noted above.

---

by: Pixie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:07:31 PM CST

USA - HHS - Web cast #9 now available

Archive of January 28, 2009 Webcast on medical countermeasures and the status of Pandemic preparedness.

Duration: 60 minutes (Captioned Video)
You will need Flash (http://www.adobe.com) installed on your computer in order to view the video.

 Next webcast next week - Feb 18th.

 Subject and guest list to follow.

source:
http://pandemicflu.gov/news/pa...

General wecast info
http://pandemicflu.gov/news/pa...

---

by: Kobie @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:45:30 PM CST

Strep, Not Flu - in 1918

This is "yesterday's news" but in in all my news searches today.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0...

But notice that their reason for assuming strep is that there was:
"Some research has shown that on average it took a week to 11 days for people to die - which fits in more with the known pattern of a bacterial infection than a viral infection, Klugman's group wrote in a letter to the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. "We observed a similar 10-day median time to death among soldiers dying of influenza in 1918," they wrote.

But isn't the 10 day period between cases fatalities about what we see with this H5N1?

What am I missing?


Be Prepared

---

by: DennisC @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 15:51:24 PM CST

In 1918 there were people who died suddenly, falling ill and dying the same day.

Was that a tiny proportion?  Has there been any explanation (for those people who died on a bus, for example)?

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

---

by: Jane @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 17:10:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

"Median" vs "Average"

I apologize, I don't know how to post an image at FW, but the graph that goes with the letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases shows something other than "an average of 7-11 days"

Image here --> http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content...

We Won't Know Until We Know.

---

by: SophiaZoe @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 20:09:50 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Here it is

Time from Illness Onset to Death, 1918 Influenza and Pneumococcal Pneumonia

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content...

---

by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 20:23:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Thank You AOR! N/T

We Won't Know Until We Know.

---

by: SophiaZoe @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 20:35:10 PM CST

[ Parent ]

the graph shows

10% or so died same day.

---

by: DemFromCT @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 20:39:11 PM CST

[ Parent ]

50% dead by day 7

Yep.  The graph does not seem to support the news article.  I was actually quite amazed because I respect Maggie Fox as a reporter versed in health and science.

50% dead by day seven supports what we have seen in reports on human H5N1.  Again, I state: it was said at the IDSA conference this year (and last for that matter), there is no evidence thus far that bacterial pneumonia is a factor in the fatalities.

Now, I willingly grant that we have a distressing dearth of autopsies to hang our hats on, but what is happening in the here and now with H5N1 is not what these retrospective assessments of H1N1 in 1918 are concluding.

However, looking up Fauci's original paper from Oct 2008 he made this qualifying statement:

The viral etiology of and timing of the next influenza pandemic cannot be predicted. If, as some fear, a future pandemic is caused by a derivative of the current highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus, lessons from previous pandemics may not be strictly applicable. Although histopathologic information concerning current human H5N1 infections is sparse, its pathogenic mechanisms may be atypical because the virus is poorly adapted to humans and because, in certain experimental animal models, some strains have induced severe pathology that differs from the findings associated with circulating human influenza viruses (which, in these models, cause disease resembling self?limited seasonal influenza in humans). However, if an H5N1 virus were to fully adapt to humans, the clinicopathologic spectrum of associated disease could become more like that of previous pandemics.[Emphasis added]

Prudent qualifiers... cos... We won't know until we know ;)

We Won't Know Until We Know.

---

by: SophiaZoe @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 21:05:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

That should have been "by day 10"

NOT day 7.

Trying to blog and post at the same time is never a good idea.

We Won't Know Until We Know.

---

by: SophiaZoe @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 21:35:03 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Global Avian influenza Panzootic Continues; Some Preparedness Gains Made, but Hospitals Remain Vulnerable

http://www.upmc-cbn.org/
Clinicians' Biosecurity Network
By Eric Toner, M.D., February 6, 2009

New Outbreaks of H5N1 in Birds and Humans

Although "bird flu" has not been featured prominently on the evening news of late, the influenza A/H5N1 panzootic continues. And, as has been true since this global outbreak erupted in Thailand and Vietnam almost exactly 5 years ago, it remains distinctly seasonal in nature. Following a relatively quiescent period from May to October, outbreaks in poultry, wild birds, and people have occurred in a number of countries over the last several months. Since November 2008, poultry outbreaks have occurred in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. Human cases have occurred in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Egypt, and Vietnam. This week infected wild birds were found washed up on shore in Hong Kong.

(snip) In most patients, the clinical syndrome remains one of fulminant viral pneumonia. Case studies indicate that oseltamivir is effective in reducing viral load; however, reduction in mortality has been harder to demonstrate. This is likely due to the fact that antiviral therapy has been started late in most patients. (snip)

H5N1 Has Evolved and Limited Antiviral Resistance Has Emerged

Like all influenza viruses, the H5N1 lineage continues to evolve. There are now 8 recognized clades and many subclades. Different clades predominate in different geographic regions; Clade 2.1 in Indonesia, Clade 2.2 in Northern China, Africa and Europe, and Clade 2.3 in Southern China. Clade 2.3 has replaced Clade 1 in Thailand and Vietnam. Most Clade 1 and Clade 2.1 viruses are resistant to the amantadine; while most Clade 2.2 viruses are sensitive to amantadine.

To date, nearly all H5N1 isolates have been sensitive to oseltamivir. However, there have been several isolated cases of oseltamivir resistance that emerged during oseltamivir treatment, and at least 2 girls in Egypt seem to have been infected with a resistant virus. The sudden, as yet unexplained, global emergence of oseltamivir resistance among H1N1 viruses has heightened fears of widespread oseltamivir resistance among H5N1 viruses. (snip)

The Healthcare System Remains Especially Vulnerable

Despite much progress in pandemic preparedness, there is still much work to be done. This is especially true of our overtaxed healthcare system. While all states and nearly all hospitals have pandemic plans, surge capacity continues to decline, and staffing shortages continue to worsen. In addition, the number of chronically and severally ill patients being cared for at home or in outpatient centers has dramatically increased in recent years. This is a population that is very likely to need hospitalization during a pandemic, and few plans have addressed this issue. Since hospitals are already overcrowded and understaffed, even a moderate pandemic is likely to severely disrupt our ability to deliver normal medical care. Therefore, continued progress in healthcare preparedness will require serious planning for alternative approaches to medical care, such as the rational use of non-hospital facilities and the ethical, legal, and coordinated adjustment of patient care standards during a pandemic. This kind of planning cannot be accomplished by any individual hospital working alone and will require close collaboration among healthcare organizations, public health agencies, and other community-based groups.

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 20:09:32 PM CST

Please post new news stories to ...

News Reports for February 7, 2009

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 23:02:06 PM CST