News Reports for July 5, 2012

New study maps hotspots of human-animal infectious diseases and emerging disease outbreaks

The report, which was conducted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Institute of Zoology (UK) and the Hanoi School of Public Health in Vietnam, maps poverty, livestock-keeping and the diseases humans get from animals, and presents a "top 20" list of geographical hotspots.

"From cyst-causing tapeworms to avian flu, zoonoses present a major threat to human and animal health," said Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert with ILRI in Kenya and lead author of the study. "Targeting the diseases in the hardest hit countries is crucial to protecting global health as well as to reducing severe levels of poverty and illness among the world's one billion poor livestock keepers."

"Exploding global demand for livestock products is likely to fuel the spread of a wide range of human-animal infectious diseases," Grace added.

According to the study, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania in Africa, as well as India in Asia, have the highest zoonotic disease burdens, with widespread illness and death. Meanwhile, the northeastern United States, Western Europe (especially the United Kingdom), Brazil and parts of Southeast Asia may be hotspots of "emerging zoonoses"-those that are newly infecting humans, are newly virulent, or have newly become drug resistant. The study examined the likely impacts of livestock intensification and climate change on the 13 zoonotic diseases currently causing the greatest harm to the world's poor.

The report, Mapping of Poverty and Likely Zoonoses Hotspots, was developed with support from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). The goal of the research was to identify areas where better control of zoonotic diseases would most benefit poor people. It also updates a map of emerging disease events published in the science journal Nature in 2008 by Jones et al.i  Continued: http://medicalxpress.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 @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 06:44:43 AM UTC

Chickens quarantined during bird flu outbreak in Mexico

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com...

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

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 06:54:00 AM UTC

Add 2.7 million birds infected with AH7N3 virus

Translated

Tepatitlán, Jalisco - Two weeks after being detected, the AH7N3 avian influenza virus has infected 2.7 million birds killed in Tepatitlán 987.701 and Acatic farms, which so far has (been the) focus of the outbreak.

The National Health Service, Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASICA) confirmed that the number of farms affected by avian flu is 24, out of 129 sampled within a radius of 40 kilometers (Snip)

Based on the National Emergency Animal Health (Snip) (there are) 14.4 million birds, of which there are 2.7 million affected, so it keeps a tight control around the quarantined area, including the presence of elements (of the) Federal Preventive Police (PFP) in checkpoints to prevent movement of sick animals, meat, eggs, offal and poultry.

SUFFICIENT SUPPLY
The head of the agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Enrique Sánchez Cruz, reiterated that it guaranteed the supply of chicken and eggs for domestic consumption.

Mexico is a country that has about 500 million birds as a whole, of these, about 200 million are in position.

Jalisco has 90 million laying hens and identified the problem area as having a population of between 8 and 10 million laying hens "he said.

He said the virus has been detected only in laying hens and broiler or chicken production and reiterated that "there is no shortage of eggs or meat."

REQUESTS OPEN BORDERS SAGARPA
Cruz Sanchez said that the closure of borders Jalisco poultry products is not justified, so SAGARPA asked governors across the country and their respective secretaries of Agricultural Development does not restrict the movement of pasteurized egg, dehydrated and processed product poultry, since they are subject to thermal processes that eliminate the virus.

He said that in the eight points are in operation monitoring and control, so that the products leaving poultry farms, both domestically and for export, are suitable and safe for consumption, the official said. He said the proof is the resumption of exports to Japan industrialized egg is produced in Los Altos.

The federal official made a new tour of the affected area, checkpoints and surveillance as well as regional diagnostic laboratories for emerging diseases, located in the municipalities of El Salto and Zapotlanejo, and the mobile unit for animal diagnosis. Continued: http://eleconomista.com.mx/est...

(Note: The H7N3 virus appears to be spreading to more and more of the poultry in the Jalisco area instead of being brought under control.)

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 07:33:06 AM UTC

This is Mexico

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 07:33:59 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

this is double-speak

He said the virus has been detected only in laying hens and broiler or chicken production...

Um - what else is there, chicken-wise? This is the kind of governmental doublespeak that sounds good but when you think about it means nothing... unless they're trying to say it's not in other kinds of poultry - but then they need to be clear about that.  

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by: Cathy M @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 14:00:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

China: Hong Kong closes bird market over H5N1 virus

The agriculture, fisheries and conservation department said it was closing the Yuen Po Street bird market in the city's bustling Mongkok district for 21 days. There are about 70 bird stalls in the market.

The move came after the virus was found in a swab sample collected from a cage holding an oriental magpie robin during a routine avian influenza surveillance operation. All the stall's birds would be killed

(Snip) they were still investigating the cause of the virus as the bird itself was not infected.

The risk of transmission between pet birds and humans is "relatively low", the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection head Thomas Tsang told a news conference after the closure was announced.

The southern Chinese city occasionally finds bird flu in poultry but there have been no major outbreaks since 1997, when six people died from a mutated form of the virus. Millions of birds were then culled.

In June, Hong Kong reported its first human case of the H5N1 in 18 months when a two year-old boy from the neighbouring province of Guangdong who traveled to the city for medical treatment came down with the illness.
The virus has killed more than 330 people around the world, with Indonesia the worst-hit country, suffering eight fatal cases this year. Continued: http://medicalxpress.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 @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 15:52:19 PM UTC

China: Avian flu closes Mongkok bird market (Hong Kong)

The Mongkok Bird Market has been closed for three weeks, after tests confirmed that an Oriental magpie robin died there of H5N1 avian flu last month. Birds at the market have been culled and everyone working there placed under medical surveillance.

(Snip)

In a seperate case, authorities also confirmed that a dead house crow found in Yau Yat Chuen last week was infected with H5N1. The government said local poultry farms and wholesale markets would be inspected frequently. http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/engli...

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 15:55:26 PM UTC

Indonesian Girl Dies of Bird Flu

July 5, 2012
http://www.upi.com/Health_News...
Jakarta, Indonesia:  An 8-year-old Indonesian girl has died from the H5N1 bird flu virus, health officials said Thursday.  The girl, identified as K.K., fell ill June 18, six days after carrying home five recently butchered chickens from the Karawang Market in West Java, Indonesia's Antara news agency reported.  Tjandra Yoga Aditama, director general of disease control and environmental health at the Indonesian Health Ministry, said it's likely she contracted the disease at the market.

"She was in contact with live poultry," Tjandra said.  "She went to the market with her father and sibling and bought five live animals.  She chose to hold the chickens after they have been killed."

The girl first became ill during a trip to Singapore.  A doctor there diagnosed her with laryngitis, Tjandra said.  By June 24 she was admitted to a hospital in Jakarta with a high fever, persistent cough and nausea.  Doctors believed she had pneumonia, Antara reported.  K.K. tested positive for the H5N1 virus June 29.  

"Her condition got worse and on July 3, 2012 at 22.45 she died," Tjandra said.
(more)


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

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by: History Lover @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 17:43:17 PM UTC

Twin Bird Flu Scares Strike Asia

July 5, 2012
http://www.radioaustralia.net....
Jakarta, Indonesia:  The girl from Karawang district in western Java died on July 3, three weeks after visiting a market and helping to carry slaughtered birds home, according to the Indonesian Health Ministry's website.
(snip)

Meanwhile, on Thursday Hong Kong closed a popular tourist spot where hundreds of caged birds are on display after the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus was detected at one of the stalls.  The agriculture, fisheries and conservation department said it was closing the Yuen Po Street bird market in the city's bustling Mongkok district for 21 days. There are about 70 bird stalls in the market.  The move came after the virus was found in a swab sample collected from a cage holding an oriental magpie robin during a routine avian influenza surveillance operation.
All the stall's birds would be killed, the department said in a statement. A spokeswoman said they were still investigating the cause of the virus as the bird itself was not infected.

The risk of transmission between pet birds and humans is "relatively low", the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection head Thomas Tsang told a news conference after the closure was announced.  The southern Chinese city occasionally finds bird flu in poultry but there have been no major outbreaks since 1997, when six people died from a mutated form of the virus. Millions of birds were then culled.  In June, Hong Kong reported its first human case of the H5N1 in 18 months when a two year-old boy from the neighbouring province of Guangdong who traveled to the city for medical treatment came down with the illness.
(more)


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

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by: History Lover @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 17:50:16 PM UTC

Avian influenza outbreaks continue to rise

Mexican officials dealing with an outbreak of avian influenza have declared a state of national emergency.

The news comes as the World Organisation for Animal Health has confirmed China is dealing with a fresh outbreak of the disease. H5N1 was identified in a remote part of north-west China, in the province of Xinjiang on 2 July. It is the latest in a string of outbreaks in the country. The previous case was reported in Gansu, north-west China on 1 June (Snip)

Approximately 5,500 birds tested positive for the strain, and 1,600 died at the farm in Xinjiang, which is believed to be run by a semi-military government organisation. Around 155,000 birds have been culled at the farm (Snip)

(Snip) in Jalisco, western Mexico, officials say they have localised the disease, but have declared a state of emergency as they prepare to start vaccinations to contain the spread. (Snip) over one million birds are believed to be susceptible across three farms in the state and over 200,000 have already died from the outbreak. (Snip) http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/...  

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 19:16:36 PM UTC

Situation in Mexico

The strain affecting the poultry there is H7N3, not H5N1. However, it does appear to me to be a high pathogenic strain of H7N3.

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 19:21:09 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Cambodia Mystery Disease Kills 61 Kids

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- A World Health Organization expert says it's too early to know whether a mixture of known diseases or something new is responsible for the deaths of more than 60 children (Snip).

The mystery disease has killed 61 of the 62 children hospitalized since April, but there's no indication it is spreading from person to person. Patients suffer a high fever, followed by severe respiratory problems that progress quickly. Some also experience neurological symptoms.

(Snip)

Most patients reported were under 7 years old and were spread across several provinces in southern and central Cambodia. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

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

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 19:47:13 PM UTC

Cambodia Outbreak Is Unlikely to Be Influenza

International health officials investigating the outbreak of an unidentified disease in Cambodia that has killed more than 60 children since early April say it is unlikely to be a form of influenza, but they still face a long struggle to identify the precise nature of the illness.

Describing the initial finding as "positive," World Health Organization physician and public-health specialist Nima Asgari said the mystery illness "doesn't look like any kind of influenza."

"There doesn't seem to be any kind of transmission taking place between patients who were placed next to each other in hospitals, nor has there been any ...

Continued (subscription required): http://online.wsj.com/article/...

(Note: I will wait to see if it is influenza or not until they actually discover what it is. The 12 new novel H3N2v cases that popped up in the US earlier this year affected 11 children and only 1 adult. Most or all were under the age of 10 years old.)

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 20:13:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Australia: Health workers spread flu

HEALTHCARE workers who do not have an annual flu jab are contributing to a spike in flu cases in South Australia, experts warn.

At June 30 this year SA Health recorded 1331 cases of influenza, up 35 per cent on the 980 cases experienced to the same time last year.

Experts said the recent icy weather and lower vaccination rates were likely contributors to the increase. Director of the Influenza Specialist Group, Adelaide GP Dr Rod Pearce said that vaccination rates were low among both children and healthcare workers. Only about half of healthcare workers are vaccinated.

"Healthcare workers can put patient lives at risk if they give them influenza," Dr Pearce said. He added: "There is no excuse for any healthcare worker not to be vaccinated. "If you had a surgeon who didn't wash his hands before an operation you wouldn't let him in theatre. For the same reason of preventing the spread of infection, our healthcare workers have a duty to be vaccinated."

In SA, vaccinations for flu are not mandatory for doctors or nurses, but they are encouraged to have them. SA Health data shows the vaccination rate in the healthcare worker program had increased from 53.5 per cent in June 2010 to 54.22 per cent in June 2011. Continued: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/...

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 Jul 05, 2012 at 20:47:05 PM UTC

Indonesia to Produce Locally-Made Bird Flu Vaccine in 2013

July 5, 2012
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/a...
Jakarta, Indonesia:  Indonesia's Research and Technology Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said on Thursday the country's state-run medicine firm PT Bio Farma will commence mass production of prophylactic vaccine for the bird flu virus by 2013, local media reported.

"We are glad for this breakthrough. The bird flu vaccine will soon be produced on a large scale," he said in Makassar South Sulawesi.

Gusti said tests on the bird flu vaccine for infants and elementary school-aged children have been carried out.

"We know that every year a minimum of 5-7 million vaccines for infants and school-age children are purchased from abroad, which costs the country a lot. Therefore, we have been constantly making efforts for the vaccine to be produced in the country," he said, quoted by the Antara news agency.

The ministry has also established a consortium of research centers, which are focusing on developing vaccines against hepatitis B and C, he added.  The production of the locally-made bird flu vaccine resulted from good coordination between seven agencies under the ministry's supervision, the minister said, adding that the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the National Nuclear Energy Agency were also provided much assistance towards the production of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, a senior official at the health ministry said on Thursday that an eight-year-old girl died from bird flu on Tuesday.  The girl from Karawang, West Java, often walked past the market 's live stock and bird pens on her way to school, said Tjandra Yoga Aditama, director general of disease control and environmental health at 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 @ Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 20:48:45 PM UTC

Victims of bird flu in Indonesia increased again.

Latest July 5, 2012

An eight-year-old girl from Karachi, West Java, died of bird flu (H5N1).

The death of a child named KK had been confirmed by the Directorate General of Disease Control and Environmental Health Ministry of Health through a press release posted on their official website

Based on data from the Ministry of Health, KK died at a hospital in West Jakarta on July 3, 2012.

On June 18 he had a fever while in Singapore. Doctor's diagnosis when it is strep throat. But after returning to the village home in Karachi, fever and even worse on June 26 he was brought to Jakarta for further treatment.

The results showed it was likely infected with bird flu and H5N1 positive confirmed by the results of the sample by the Research and Development (BTDK).
His condition deteriorated and died on July 3, 2012 at 22:45 pm.

KK suspected bird flu infected through contact with poultry.

According to the family, on June 12 he went to the market with his father and brother, bought 5 chickens alive. KK voted later and cut the chicken in the poultry abattoir (TPU). He also briefly held the chickens that have been cut.

With the increase of these cases, the cumulative number of bird flu in Indonesia since 2005 until this news was broadcast on 190 cases with 158 deaths.

These cases have been reported to the World Health Organization, WHO, the Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health Prof. dr. Tjandra Yoga Aditama as the focal point of the International Health Regulations (IHR).

WHO puts Indonesia as the country with the highest number of H5N1 victims in the world. The Government has yet to lift the Extraordinary conditions or outbreaks of bird flu for.

The virus is spread from birds to humans through direct contact, but health experts worry about the possibility of a virus mutation that can be transmitted from human to human.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/indonesia...

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by: cottontop @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 01:44:47 AM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for July 6, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 04:49:49 AM UTC