Indonesia: Bird flu confirmed in deaths of 2 children

A laboratory in Hong Kong has confirmed the H5N1 strain of bird flu killed two children from the same family this month, a senior official at the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The two children come from West Java province. Indonesia has now had 14 confirmed deaths from bird flu, said the official, Hariadi Wibisono, director of control of animal-borne diseases at the ministry, and five cases where patients have survived.


Reuters

USA: Law School Hosts Avian Flu Symposium

More than 250 scientists, lawyers, first-responders, and other individuals concerned about the possibilities of an influenza pandemic filled Westminster Hall on Jan. 13 for the School of Law's day-long symposium "Avian Flu: What Can We Do?" The symposium at the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) brought together more than 23 national avian flu experts to discuss problems related to the avian flu and create partnerships to fight the threat of a pandemic flu outbreak. Panel discussions included the basic science of influenza, vaccine development, quarantine and isolation, antivirals, the role of institutions, the role of government, and the role of practitioners. (Source: UMB News)

...

Some key points noted at the symposium are:

1) the challenge is to devise a test to predict whether a strain will shift or drift, and then to develop a vaccine that addresses the specific virus.

2) the need to bring 21st -century technology to vaccine manufacturing through the use of disposable plastic bags instead of eggs to grow the flu cells.

3) develop a computerized model of emergency service response to epidemics which can be used as a tool for planning and research.

4) the need to improve the immune response through mass immunzation sessions at schools and other educational institutions

5) availability of relief personnel at agencies for extended overload situations and communications systems with the ability to handle the load of an EMS pandemic response.

6) the need for a flexible and robust interface between EMS and public health officials withthe aim of educating each side about the other's capabilities, strategies, and limits as part of a county's infectious disease response plans

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Mercy Corps: Avian Influenza Task Force Formed

Mercy Corps has created an agency-wide Avian Influenza Task Force (AITF) in response to the growing threat of avian influenza around the world, and especially in developing nations where the agency works. Mercy Corps' task force has begun dialogue within the organization to help staff understand the nature of the threat, prepare for possible scenarios and protect themselves, their families and the communities the agency serves. The organization is formulating a strategy for the threat, including measures for program response, staff care and advocacy. Read More .....

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Source: Mercy Corps

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Antiviral Drugs Weak Defense Against Bird Flu, Study Suggests

Amids streams of 'pro Tamilflu' propaganda press releases in the news, this story
gives a different angle on pharmaceutical antiviral products

"If you're going to use these neuraminidase inhibitors, you shouldn't be using them as a single solution," says lead researcher Dr. Tom Jefferson, coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome. "You should also use public health measures."

Read story

Iraq: Suspected Bird Flu Case Ruled Out by WHO

The first suspected case of H5N1 avian flu in Iraq has been determined not to be a case, the World Health Organization said yesterday. The suspected case was a teenager who died Tuesday after an illness of a couple of weeks. The girl lived in a Kurdish area of northern Iraq near the border with Turkey. (Source: Edmonton Sun)

...

“We requested information from our eastern Mediterranean office, based in Cairo, which was following this up, and they’ve told us that it was mistakenly identified as a suspect bird flu case and they’ve ruled it out.” spokeswoman Maria Cheng said from Geneva.

When the suspected bird flu case in Iraq was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, it was mentioned that the samples from Northern Iraq had been sent to Jordan (a lab in Amman) for confirmation of the samples testing positive for H5N1. At the time we noted that there was no WHO H5N1 Reference Lab or National Influenza Centers based in Jordan to conduct these tests, however, there were 3 WHO Collaborating Centers in the country where the test might have been carried out at one of them. According to the report by the WHO today, confirming that there was no Bird Flu in Iraq, Maria Cheng mentions that the information that they receieved on the Iraqi test samples were requested from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean office, based in Cairo, which was following up the case.

This suggests that the tests were performed initially at a lab in Jordan and later sent to Cairo for futher confirmation, because as we found out, there exists a WHO National Influenza Center in Egypt run by Dr Mostafa Orkhan at the Egyptian Organisation for Biological Products and Vaccines. Additionally, when we queried the WHO Collaborating Centers Database, it was revealed that there is 1 lab in Cairo specific to testing H5N1 samples which is the U.S. Naval Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3) housed at the Research Sciences Directorate near the Abbassia Fever Hospital. he NAMRU-3 lab has been titled as the "WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases" that is headed by Capt. T.W. Sharp and some of the tasks they are responsible for are providing countries of the Region with technical expertise for early laboratory diagnosis of outbreaks associated with emerging or re-emerging bacterial, parasitic & viral infections with epidemic potential, acting as referral center for laboratory diagnosis of communicable diseases and to assist in outbreak investigation, whenever requested by WHO.

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Hong Kong: H5N1-Positive Wild Bird Carcass, But No Bird Flu

A dead wild bird in Hong Kong has been confirmed of positive to the virus of H5N1, announced the local authorities on Thursday, but they dismissed the fear that there is an outbreak of avian influenza in the city. However, "there's no cause of alarm," said the official, for patrol conducted in a five kilometer-radius circle had found no avian influenza on poultry farms.

Neither did further survey over Hong Kong's other poultry farms find bird flu

...

, caused by H5N1, or poultry abnormality, the official told a news conference broadcast live. The authorities therefore decided to keep open a wetland park, where the body of the wild bird was found. Laboratory tests had confirmed that the wild bird was positive to the virus of H5N1, which has caused the bird flu now epidemic around the world. Read More ....

Source: The People's Daily

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USA: Health Experts Prepare for Avian Flu

A panel of six Stanford health experts discussed preparation for a pandemic, offered advice for individuals hoping to minimize their risk and debated how great a threat avian flu could be after the screening of a PBS documentary in Fairchild Auditorium last night. The presentation took an alarmist tone at points.

“The general consensus among scientists who are studying this is that it is not a matter of if a pandemic will happen, but when,” said panel moderator Microbiology and Immunology Prof. Lucy Tompkins, after the documentary.

When asked to offer an estimate of how many could be infected, Tompkins told the audience that an outbreak could compare to the 1918 bird flu that killed more than 20 million people across the world, a number greater than total dead from shots fired in World War One. Read More ....



Source: The Stanford Daily

The Netherlands: Explanation of ST Score on 30 H5N1 Strain Set.

Here's a useful explanation of the 30 H5N1 strain set that was generated by Rudi Cilibrasi that was blogged earlier in the week where Dr. Paul Vitanyi, a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Amsterdam, clarifies what exactly Rudi meant by the 'overall S(T) score of 0.990241 when he mentioned -- 'the computer believed it had figured out the structure nearly perfectly.' and states in a comment

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left at Global Voices Online that:

the tree represents in a qualitative sense the relative distances between the virii genomes in the supplied distance matrix almost perfectly. This translates into true relatedness among the virii insofar as the distances have captured it. The used distance is NCD which has previously successfully determined phylogeny trees from the full mtDNA of species like mammals and fungi. So there is reason to believe its output is dependable but it is certainly not infallible. In that sense the NCD distance is comparable to allignment distance, but it is less sensitive to position of substring sequences in the sequence.

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Vietnam: H5N1 Resistance to Tamiflu

A small case series from Vietnam has highlighted oseltamivir resistance in Influenza A (H5N1) virus. With the inexorable march of avain flu westwards and the continuing deaths it is causing, the New England Journal of Medicine published this sobering case series recently.

The paper describes the outcomes of eight Veitnamese patients who were infected with Influenza A (H5N1) virus and who received oseltamivir as treatment. The surviving patients had rapid declines in the viral load to undetectable levels during treatment. The patients who died with oseltamivir resistant strains however showed increased viral RNA loads in throat swabs. Read More ....


Source: Fleming Forum

Call For Clinical Trials to Test Antiviral Properties of Essential Oils

The body of evidence regarding the effectiveness of natural botanicals against a great variety of viruses is growing. Over twenty years ago, German scientists found extracts of more than 100 species of the Lamiaceae family to have antiviral effects. This discovery lead to and increase in the examination of essential oils in Europe for the treatment of viral infections.

Essential oils from many plant families have now been demonstrated to have antiviral properties. Interestingly, different plant families exhibit varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the virus strain. This is due to the particular molecular structures found in each type of oil, which penetrate physical entities to varying degrees (different tissues, cell walls, mucous membranes, etc). The effect on each virus strain depends also on the virus structure (enveloped, non-enveloped, molecular symmetry, etc.)

...

Certainly, one of the reasons for oils' effectiveness en vivo is their lipophillic character - essential oils are easily absorbed into mammalian tissues, where they may produce the greatest results. In fact, when studying the anti-viral effects of essential oils, researchers found that normal cells seemed to acquire a special resistance to viral penetration, though the mechanism for this effect is not yet known.

Melissa and the Herpes Virus

One of the Lamiaceae plants studied, Melissa (Melissa officinalis - also known as Lemon Balm), was shown particularly efficacious against the herpes virus (HSV). Doctor Dietrich Wabner, a professor at the Technical University of Munich, has even reported that a one-time application of Melissa oil led to a complete remission of HSV lesions. A cream medication for Herpes outbreaks, who's active ingredient is an extract of Melissa, is now sold in Germany under the name Lomaherpan. Use of Melissa essential oil itself may be just as effective - the oil can be applied directly to the lesions (or diluted to 10% in carrier if sensitivity is noted) to speed healing. Further occurrences can be prevented by applying oil to the area when sensations signal an eminent outbreak - repeating this protocol 3 or 4 times may cause total remission.

Other essential oils found effective against the Herpes virus include bergamot, eucalyptus, lemongrass and tea tree.

Antiviral Components of Oils

The list of essential oils exhibiting antiviral effects is extensive: Melissa (as above), tea tree, juniper, eucalyptus, thyme, palmarosa, lavender, rosemary, clove, laurel, cinnamon bark, anise, rose, lemongrass, geranium, neroli, bergamot, clary sage, and dill. The antiviral effect of an essential oil is due to particular components of the oil - some oils will work just as effectively on a particular infection as another, because they contain similar amounts of a certain component. The components of essential oils showing antiviral activity, and the oils in which they can be found, are as follows (from K. Schnaubelt, Ph.D. - Advanced Aromatherapy, p. 36):

Anethol - found in Anise

Alpha-Sabines - found in Tea Tree, Laurel, and other oils

Beta-Caryophyllene - found in Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme Linalool, and other oils

Carvone - found in Dill

Cinnamic aldehyde - found in Cinnamon Bark

Citral - found in Melissa, Lemongrass and other oils

Citronellol - found in Rose and Geranium

Eugenol - found in Clove

Gamma-Terpinene - Found in Juniper, Eucalyptus, Niaouli, Tea Tree and other oils

Linalol - found in Lavender and Neroli

Linalyl acetate - found in Clary Sage, Lavender, Bergamot and other oils

Limited In-Vivo Data

Good studies of application of these essential oils in cases of illness are difficult to come by, as infecting people with viruses in the laboratory to subsequently be treated with aromatics would be a difficult process at best. The oils and components above have mostly shown effectivenessin-vitro, though tests also indicate that the anti-viral effect should occur in-vivo as well. As with Melissa, it has been HSV that has been most thoroughly examined, because of the relative simplicity of doing so. But there is nothing particularly special about the herpes virus, and proper oil/pathogen paring should prove as effective.

There are some noted case studies by professional aromatherapists. Of importance in these studies is the oil/symptom relationship. Essential oils from plants of the Myrtaceae family - notably Eucalyptus Radiata and Tea Tree - and Ravensara (also high in Eucalyptol) seem to have helped in cases with respiratory symptoms. For the lower respiratory tract, Hyssop decumbens (from the same plant family as Melissa) has been of interest. Essential oils for such cases may be used either in a diffuser, being taken at regular intervals, or through massage, diluted in a carrier oil.

Conclusion

Because of the difficulty in many cases of illness in determining the exact virus type involved, more specific application cannot be given. Certainly, in cases of HSV, Melissa has been shown effective in a number of studies. For respiratory infections, Eucalyptus and Ravensara have been used with success, and can be safely used as an adjunct to regular medical care. These oils may support one's recovery on a physiologic level - essential oils also play a part in uplifting emotions, which may also speed healing, or at least improve mental outlook during the healing process. For such instances, one may simply find the essential oil or combination that one finds pleasant, calming, and/or uplifting. PLEASE NOTE: In no cases, however, should self-treatment with essential oils be used in place of professional medical care where signs/symptoms of infectious illness are present.
EzineArticles Expert Author Misty Cech

Misty Rae Cech, ND, is a Naturopath and Yoga Teacher practicing in Boulder, Colorado. She regularly employs pure wildcrafted and organic essential oils, such as lavender oil, with her clients.

About Oils

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The Beijing Conference

Funds promised to fight bird flu

By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - International donors pledged $1.9 billion on Wednesday for a global fund to combat bird flu, while Iraq tested a dead teenage girl for the virus.

The funding promised at the end of an international conference in Beijing was well in excess of an initial target set by the World Bank to raise at least $1.2 billion.

Conference host China reported that a 35-year-old woman in the southwest of the country had died of bird flu. The woman, a poultry slaughterer, would be the country's sixth human death from the virus if the case is confirmed.

The World Bank has estimated that a pandemic lasting a year could cost the global economy up to $800 billion. Across the globe, millions could die if the H5N1 avian flu virus mutates just enough to pass easily among people.

"This is not charity. This is not just solidarity. This is self-defense," EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told a news conference in Beijing.

Of the $1.9 billion pledged, about $900 million would be in the form of loans, and the rest in grants, he added.

...

The US pledged over $300 million, the EU $250 million.

Europe saw its first deaths last week, as Turkey reported four children dead in an outbreak of 21 cases in the country. Coming on the heels of the reported outbreak in Romania, we can see that eastern and southern Europe will be a place to keep an eye on in February, traditionally the worst month for flu outbreaks. Similarly, Iraq reported a possible death from the virus.

But what's scary about the Iraqi death is that it didn't occur on a farm, but near a lake known as a refuge for migratory birds from Turkey, lending credence to the theory that Africa and South Asia will be another target of the virus, unlike past avian flu pandemics.

(Cross-posted to: Simply Left Behind)

Avian Flu, Bird Flu, Iraq, China, Turkey

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Elderberries extract effects positive against Birdflu

Elderberries could combat bird flu
1.42PM, Wed Jan 18 2006

A extract from black elderberries could be used to combat the bird flu virus, according to research.

A study looked at whether the food supplement Sambucol could combat the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu when added to canine cells in laboratory tests.

The team, from research institute Retroscreen Virology, found that the elderberry-based product was at least 99 per cent effective at reducing the virus in the cells.

...

But experts warned that many more studies were needed to find out whether the formula was effective in combating H5N1 in humans.

The virulent H5N1 strain of avian flu has already killed more than 80 people, mainly in Asia, after they contracted it from close contact with birds.

But there are fears that the virus could mutate into a form that is easily passed from human to human, leading to a flu pandemic which could potentially kill millions worldwide.

The main medical solutions in case of a pandemic include a vaccine, but this could take up to six months to develop once the strain emerges.

Countries around the world are stockpiling antiviral drugs which can reduce the length and severity of flu symptoms

ITV

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The environmental dimension behind the avian flu pandemic

UNEP complementing the human medical and research front

The emergence of avian flu as a challenge to human health is clearly a reflection of major changes taking place in the environment, underlined by Shafqat Kakakhel, Deputy-Executive-Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the occasion of the International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Influenza in Beijing (17-18.1.2006).

Avian flu is not the only one disease with an environmental health background - a startling number of similar vector-born diseases have emerged in recent years - Lassa, SARS, Ebola, Marburg and recently the threat of an avian flu pandemic. A common factor is that such diseases evolve when humans intensively interact with the natural environment.

...

We know that migratory birds may be one vector, but they are not the cause of avian flu. Nor are they likely to be the only vector”, underlined Shafqat Kakakhel.

Human-induced movements of poultry, or captured wild or captive-bred birds, and of humans themselves, seem to be an equal or greater threat. Live animal markets which facilitate millions of potential cross-infections are also a major but, until recently, less recognized threat.

“This is why we must rise to the global health challenge of avian flu. What can we do on the environmental front to complement the human medical and research response?” He underlined the need for support in answering key questions, such as:

- How does the flu virus behave in wild birds that catch it, and how long can it survive in the aquatic habitats that are breeding, staging and non-breeding (wintering) grounds for the birds?

- Which migratory routes and specific locations can we pinpoint as posing the highest levels of risk both to and from migrating birds, including globally threatened species?

“By answering these and other questions the environmental community should be able to complement the developing of a global surveillance or “early warning” system” on avian flue, he said. UNEP HQ and the Secretariat of the UNEP-based Convention on Migratory Species have already begun to work towards such a system, taking advantage of the Scientific Task Force on Avian Flue, which was set up last year by CMS and several other inter-governmental and NGO bodies.

“The real danger is complacency. In fact we have never been in a better position to consolidate our previous gains and to move on to add health, wealth and a better environment to our world,” concluded UNEP’s Deputy Executive Director.

UN Environment Dept

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Iraq: Girl Dies in the North, Tests for Bird Flu Underway

Last week (January 12th), it was reported that the Iraqi government had issued the highest Avian Influenza warning level on in northern Iraq where the Zaytun unit is deployed while Donga, published a photo which showed a Korean armored vehicle being sterilized against bird flu. Yesterday, after being ill for more than 2 weeks, a 14-year-old girl died in Raniya, a town located close to the Turkish and Iranian borders. According to a report filed by Reuters

...

today:

Health officials in northern Iraq have sent samples to Jordan for testing for the bird flu virus H5N1 after a 14-year-old girl died in the city of Sulaimaniya, the regional health minister said on Wednesday. A central government health official in Baghdad confirmed a team was investigating.

Apparently, there seems to be no official WHO National Influenza Centers in Jordan specific to H5N1 testing or research, however according to the WHO Collaborating Centers Database, there are 3 WHO collaborating centers in Jordan which assist the WHO and countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region for Diabetes Research, Education and Primary Health Care, Transfusion Medicine and Nursing Development.

Which center actually is qualified to carrying out tests on the samples sent from Iraq still remains to be seen, further more it is currently unknown as to whether it is a WHO center that is actually carrying out the tests or not. Personally, one would tend to fall under the impression that the testing is being done at a WHO recognized lab or center because as per WHO policy on Avian Influenza cases or deaths, they do not issue statements or update their global H5N1 spread grid unless tests have been confirmed by a WHO lab. Once more information is obtained on the lab or center where the Iraq samples are being tested, it will be blogged here, just like the information on the WHO Hong Kong lab which was supposedly carrying out tests to confirm the results of H5N1 samples from Indonesia. If there are any readers out there who are interested in sharing any more details that they may have on the above, please leave a comment below or send an email to avainfluhelp at gmail.com

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Indonesia: Brother of Bird Flu Victim Dies

A three-year-old boy suffering symptoms of bird flu died earlier today (Tuesday), days after his sister passed away and tested positive for the virus, a health official said. Initial tests on the boy were not conclusive and will be repeated, Ministry of Health official Hariyadi Wibisono told AFP. Further tests were being carried out at a Hong Kong laboratory accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to confirm the results. Read More ....

...

Source: AFP via The Jakarta Post

I'm guessing that the HongKong lab which is where the test results will confirmed is located in Kowloon and run by Dr Wilina Lim (Fax: +852 2319 5989) who is part of the Government Virus Unit. Dr. Lim's lab is the only one in Hong Kong that is recognized as a National Influenza Center and accredited by WHO. Have sent an email and a fax to Dr. Lim in the hope that he might confirm that tests of the latest H5N1 victim in Indonesia is being carried out under his guidance and will also be able to shed some light on the test results of the latest death.

Am not expecting an answer anytime soon nor am I expecting him to release information that some might consider 'confidential' but if there is something that he mentions in terms of diseases prevention, you'll be sure to see in on here. It is quite obvious that we need more information from the test results to be made transparent by such labs such as recent sequence data, tree subset selections, different H5N1 strains and better interpretations for existing tree charts that would help volunteering researchers and scientists like Rudi and Dr. Nimaan who have come forward to assist us all in terms of technical interpretations and discussions.

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Russia: Mecca Pilgrims to be Flown Home Over Bird Flu Fears

Russian authorities will fly Muslim pilgrims from Saudi Arabia back home on free charter flights to save them from traveling through areas hit by bird flu. On their way to Mecca they passed through two Turkish provinces where cases have been registered. Russian state-run carrier Aeroflot will organize 20 Il-86 flights to fly back the Russian pilgrims starting from tomorrow (Jan 18th). Read More ....

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Source: MosNews via The Flu Clinic

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Israel: Bird Flu Scare Proves Unfounded

The lab at Hadassah University Medical Center found on Monday night that a 50-year-old east Jerusalem man who developed flu symptoms and who raises chickens - five of which died in the past few days - does not have the deadly avian flu strain. In making the announcement the Health Ministry said it was waiting for confirmation from the infections diseases lab at Sheba Medical Center

...

, but expected that the results would be the same. Read More ....


Source: The Jerusalem Post

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Switzerland: Extra Cash Pledged to Combat Bird Flu

On the eve of a major bird flu donor conference in Beijing, Switzerland has committed a further SFr1.1 million ($860,000) towards controlling the virus in Asia. The contribution comes on top of the SFr4.8 million earmarked in September to help countries fight bird flu and avert a possible human pandemic. Read More ....


Source: SwissInfo

Systemic spread of avian influenza virus in cats

Researchers at Erasmus Medical Center have demonstrated systemic spread of avian influenza virus in cats infected by respiratory, digestive, and cat-to-cat contact.
The paper by Rimmelzwaan et al., "Influenza A virus (H5N1) infection in cats causes systemic disease with potential novel routes of virus spread within and between hosts," appears in the January issue of The American Journal of Pathology.


News Medical Net

Turkey: Avian Influenza and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project

"Humans are not very susceptible to the disease, but if infected with the Asian H5N1 strain, they could exhibit a high case fatality rate. The geographical spread of HPAI, the human dimension, and the potential enormous social and economic impact are unprecedented. Economic losses to the Asian poultry sector alone are estimated to date at around $10 billion. Despite control measures the disease continues to spread, causing further economic losses and threatening the livelihood of hundreds of millions of livestock farmers, jeopardizing smallholder entrepreneurship and commercial poultry production, and seriously impeding regional and international trade, and market opportunities. The rural poor, who rely for a larger share of their income on poultry, have been particularly hard hit with income losses."


Get Pdf on Docuticker

China: International Donors' Conference on Bird Flu Opens in Beijing

Disease experts urged rich countries at a donors conference Tuesday to come up with the US$1.5 billion (euro1.4 billion) that the World Bank says is needed to tackle bird flu and prepare for a potential pandemic in humans. The international donors' conference in Beijing is focused on raising money to fight bird flu, which has killed at least 79 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003. A World bank official earlier told The Associated Press that donors were expected to pledge some US$1 billion (euro822 million). Read More ....

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Source: China Daily

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National Bird Flu Coorination Center Established in Turkey

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Deputy Secretary, Hasim Ogut, said the Bird Flu National Coordination Center will be the only department to inform the public about the disease.

Ogut has informed that the ministry together with the health ministry formed the bird flu centers following cases of the illness that occurred in Turkey. These centers in both ministries will work in close contact and will analyze and assess the situation together.

Read the entire story here.

Poulty and Egg Sales Plummet in Republic of Georgia

TBILISI, January 16 (RIA Novosti) - Poultry and egg sales in Georgia have plummeted by 90% in the last few days due to the population's fears of a bird flu outbreak, the parliamentary committee for healthcare and social issues said Monday.

Georgia borders on Turkey, in which bird flu has killed four people according to the latest figures, and where outbreaks of the virus have been registered in 27 provinces.



Read the entire story here

Greek Army Veterinarians Deployed to Fight Bird Flu

The UPI reports that the government of Greece has mobilized 200 army veterinarians throughout the country to help with defenses against bird flu, which has killed four people in Turkey.

The Agriculture Ministry also announced $1.2 million is being sent to regional authorities to spend on gloves, uniforms, masks, goggles, disinfectant and other supplies, and said three 10-member mobile units of experts are ready for dispatch to areas reporting suspect cases.

Read the entire story here

Iraq: Government Issues Highest Avian Influenza Alert

After neighboring countries reported additional AI virus victims, including three dead in Turkey who tested positive for the H5N1 virus, the Iraqi government issued the highest AI warning level on January 12 in northern Iraq where the Zaytun unit is deployed. As one might recognize from the image below, it is a Korean armored vehicle that is being sterilized.


(Zaytun unit soldiers stationed in Iraq are sterilizing an armored vehicle that just came back from a field civilian operation to stop the spread of avian influenza (AI) yesterday)


Source: Donga via The Flu Clinic

France: Installations of Thermal Imaging Cameras at Airports to Detect Avian Flu

France is installing infra red cameras at the nations major airports to scan arriving passengers for elevated body temperature, according to the camera manufacturer press release. This is a precaution to have people checked for fever, which could be the result of avian flu infection or other contagious disease.The French Ministry of Health has ordered systems that will be deployed in six airports throughout France.

...

The systems will be used to quickly detect the presence of fever in passengers arriving from certain destinations. A major US technology manufacturing company has also ordered systems for use at its overseas manufacturing facilities. The systems will be used to identify fever in arriving employees. Both customers chose the FLIR ThermaCam(R) A20(TM) system, which offers software specifically designed for this application. Read More ....


Source: FLIR Systems via Technocrat

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Alaska: On the Lookout as Avian Flu Spreads

Beneath a dim morning sky, Jonathan Runstadler trudged across the ice with a long fiberglass tube, some gardening tools and a smattering of plastic lab bottles. Months earlier, summer breezes had carried wild birds from Asia to this little pond. Now, with the temperature at 9 degrees, Runstadler bored through the frozen surface in search of the seeds of a pandemic.

In Alaska, scientists such as Runstadler are searching for traces of H5N1 in bird droppings left from the summer breeding season. They could be preserved in now-frozen water or soil.

"It's just a matter of time before H5N1 shows up everywhere," said George M. Happ, a UA biologist who is coordinating the state's pursuit of the virus. Read More ....


Source: Los Angeles Times via ADN

China: Nation Must Remain Alert to Bird Flu Threat

The bird flu death toll on the Chinese mainland has risen to five, after two more people died of the H5N1 virus last week. The situation is also very serious in Turkey, where 18 people have reportedly been infected with the virus, of whom two have died. From November 16 last year, when the first human infection on the mainland was reported, there have been eight confirmed cases of avian influenza.

Two more deaths are a warning that the situation is still serious, and that we must never slacken efforts in monitoring and preventative work. Xinhua News Agency quoted a notice from the Ministry of Health saying no contact with wild birds or domestic fowl was reported in some instances of infection at home and abroad. This indicates there may be unknown sources of infection, which has made monitoring and preventative work even more difficult. Read More ....


Source: China Daily

US: Madison Lab Monitors Bird Flu

Scientists at a little-known laboratory on the city's west side are preparing for their largest ever project: They're helping lead the nation's effort to watch for bird flu. Hon Ip and other workers at the National Wildlife Health Center already are testing some samples taken from live birds in Alaska.

Ip and a handful of lab workers plan to test 20,000 samples from birds, mostly from Alaska but also from other areas, with most of the samples coming this fall. The center also expects to receive dead birds from around the country to study for signs of bird flu. Read More ....

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Source: AP via Duluth News Tribune

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Indonesia: Girl Dies of Bird Flu, Local Test Shows

A 13-year-old Indonesian girl died of bird flu at the weekend while two others from her family have tested positive for the H5N1 virus, a health ministry official said on Monday, citing the results of local tests. If confirmed by outside laboratories recognized by the World Health Organization, the case would take total known deaths in Indonesia from the avian flu to 13 and the number who have had bird flu to 20. Read More....

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Source: Reuters

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Turkey: Another Two Children Confirmed to Have H5N1

Another two human bird flu cases have been announced in the Turkish city of Van. Two children, identified as 15 year old Fatma Ozcan, and her five-year-old brother Muhammet Ozcan, are in critical condition with the H5N1 bird flu virus, but it isn't clear whether the brother and sister have contacted the virus from sick fowl. Read More ....


Source: CRI

Bronchitis, not Bird Flu, in Germany

BERLIN, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A man in Germany tested negative after being admitted to hospital with suspected symptoms of bird flu, a city official said on Sunday.

The spokesman for the Cologne city government said the man, born in 1932, had recently returned to Germany from Turkey and was admitted to hospital after suffering from a high fever but had been cleared after a full range of tests.

He said he was apparently suffering from severe bronchitis.

Read the entire story

Belgian TV Journalist Tests Negative for H5N1

Preliminary tests on a man suspected of having the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus in Belgium show he is not infected with the disease, health officials say.
The man - an unnamed TV journalist - developed flu-like symptoms after he returned from a visit to Turkey.

Doctors at St Pierre hospital in Brussels said the tests excluded H5N1 100% - the patient had a seasonal cold.


Read the Engire Story

US: Health Officials Say Two Flu Drugs Unlikely to Work

U.S. doctors should stop using two medicines to treat this season's influenza because the dominant strain has become resistant to the drugs and they are unlikely to work, health officials said on Saturday. The alert about antiviral pills amantadine and rimantadine applies to the seasonal influenza, not the H5N1 avian flu strain that experts fear could mutate and cause a global pandemic.

Tests of 120 samples of the H3N2 flu strain -- the major one causing flu illness in the United States -- showed it was resistant to amantadine and rimantadine in 91 percent of cases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie Gerberding said. Only 11 percent of cases were resistant to the two drugs during the last flu season. Doctors instead should prescribe either of two newer medicines, Tamiflu or Relenza, which still fight the strain, she said. Read More ....

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Source: Reuters Science via Carol

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Scotland: Shot Duck Tests Positive for Bird Flu

A government investigation designed to establish whether bird flu has reached Britain has found that a duck shot in Scotland was suffering from a strain of the disease, it emerged last night. Scientists who conducted a sweeping check on hundreds of birds rounded up across Britain found that a wild mallard shot in West Lothian last month was the only one that tested positive for avian influenza. Read More ....


Source: Scotsman

Pakistan: 12 Field Labs Set Up to Detect Bird Flu

Twelve field laboratories have been established in the country’s poultry concentrated areas to diagnose any virus in birds, said Dr Muhammad Afzal, the Animal Husbandry commissioner of the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry, on Saturday.

Talking on a PTV programme, Afzal said that a lab in the National Agriculture Centre was also working for the entire SAARC region. The laboratory would start training experts from SAARC countries from January 23, he added. He said an extraneous surveillance and monitoring system had been devised to ensure immediate detection of any virus in birds. Read More ....

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Source: Daily Times

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UK: Companies Bracing for Bird Flu

Several of Britain's biggest companies are making contingency plans for a bird flu pandemic that could deal a wicked blow to the economy, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported. Having staff work from home, transferring operations offshore and distributing "disease packs" to airline passengers are among the measures in the cards.

The Sunday Telegraph said it surveyed "dozens" of large British companies and found that "more than 80 percent" had made plans, mainly on projections that 25 percent of the population could be infected. Norwich Union, a major insurance provider, was reportedly planning to transfer claims calls to India and Sri Lanka - an option that is being encouraged by global accounting firm and consultancy KPMG. Read More ....

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Source: Channel News Asia

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Russia: Avian Flu Vaccine is Invented

A Russian team of researches have invented a vaccine that effectively generates an immune resistance against avian flu at birds. The scientists believe the world could potentially see a major, wide-scale outbreak of bird flu within the next couple of years. Developing a vaccine against such a pandemic strain of the virus would take about nine months, they said. Russia could begin large-scale production of a vaccine to prevent bird flu by April, a senior official from the Russian Flu Research Center declared. Read More ....

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Source: Sofia News Agency

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