Newspaper and other reports concerning poultry

Xinhua - English

2005-11-10T03:20:00.000-08:00

Xinhua - English: "Vietnam to reestablish poultry checkpoints

www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-19 13:14:21

HANOI, Oct. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam is going to reestablish fowlquarantine checkpoints along main roads to localities and at border areas, local newspaper Saigon Liberation on Wednesday quoted a deputy prime minister as saying.
Facing the high risk of bird flu relapse this winter, Vietnam will set up the checkpoints to monitor the transport of poultry, and accelerate vaccination among fowls, and disinfection of farms and nearby residential areas, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recently urged the localities of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong, Ha Long, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Bien Hoaand Can Tho to enforce the ban on raising, trading and slaughtering in their inner areas, he said, noting that if any city or province fails to do this, the chairperson of the locality's People's Committee may be disciplined.
The National Anti-bird flu Steering Committee has demanded poultry farms and live fowl markets to conduct overall detoxification and disinfection one or twice a week. It has also advised residents not to raise poultry near their accommodations or let them move freely everywhere, Dung noted.
Vietnam is importing more vaccines from China to vaccinate some100 million fowls nationwide next month. To date, 32 out of 64 cities and provinces have vaccinated more than 50 million poultry.
According to the ministry, Vietnam has detected 22 bird flu outbreaks in 10 provinces since April, which have killed and led to the forced culling of nearly 14,400 fowls. In case of large outbreaks among poultry and people, Vietnam will announce emergency state, ban the trade of fo"

ekathimerini.com | Poultry exports banned

2005-11-10T03:05:00.000-08:00

ekathimerini.com | Poultry exports banned: "Poultry exports banned
Countries start to put Greek birds on black list as signs of panic appear

ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU/EPA
A veterinarian sprays disinfectant solution at a small poultry farm on the island of Oinouses in the eastern Aegean after a turkey there tested positive for bird flu earlier this week. Signs of panic are appearing among residents across the country, who have been crossing poultry off their supermarket lists. Industry sources said that consumption of chicken has plummeted by about 50 to 60 percent in the last few days. In a bid to better coordinate the country?s fight against the disease, Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said that Greece will host a meeting with representatives from other Balkan countries focusing on the disease on November 15 and 19.
The government yesterday slapped a ban on all poultry exports from several eastern Aegean islands after bird flu was detected in the region on Monday amid signs of panic from residents who have been reporting numerous sightings of dead birds across the country.
Agricultural Development Minister Evangelos Bassiakos said on Monday that the country's first case of bird flu was detected in a turkey on the islet of Oinouses, close to the Turkish coast.
More tests are needed, however, to determine whether it is the strain that can be harmful to humans and results will not be ready for another seven days.
Bassiakos yesterday ordered an export ban on all poultry products from the area surrounding the islet, which is close to Chios, in agreement with the European Union (EU).
?As a purely precautionary measure, we have... imposed an export ban on living poultry, meat and other poultry products from the region of Chios,? Bassiakos said.
A number of countries have already been adding loc"

ekathimerini.com | Poultry exports banned

2005-11-10T03:04:00.001-08:00

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Farmers warned free range poultry may be barred

2005-11-10T03:04:00.000-08:00

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Farmers warned free range poultry may be barred: "Farmers warned free range poultry may be barred

? NFU advice on bird flu angers organic movement
? Supermarket acts to avert fall in chicken sales

Sandra Laville, James Meikle and Steve Morris
Wednesday October 19, 2005
The Guardian

Free range poultry farmers in Britain are being warned to make emergency preparations to house millions of runaround birds indoors as UK authorities remain on high alert to the spread of avian flu.
The upgraded advice from the National Farmers' Union, being issued in mailshots this week, comes as a leading supermarket stepped in yesterday to prevent panic. Although scientists have found no evidence that the H5NI bird flu virus can be passed to humans from eating infected birds, Asda put up notices at fridge points in an attempt to head off a consumer boycott. 'We want to tell the public that all Asda's chicken is British and can be traced back to the farms where it was reared,' a supermarket spokesman said."

Britain and the rest of Europe are remaining highly vigilant after preliminary tests indicated an outbreak of bird flu on the Greek island of Inousses. Tests to confirm it was the lethal H5NI form were continuing yesterday. The H5 virus has been confirmed in Romania and Turkey, triggering an EU ban on imports.
Customs officials have stepped up checks for illegally imported foods, using sniffer dogs at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports after requests from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to be extra vigilant about baggage on incoming flights from Turkey and Romania.

In the UK early warning monitors have been testing wild migrating birds since Monday to detect the first sign of the H5 virus arriving in Britain. But Peter Cranswick, head of water bird monitoring at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust - which is carrying out the tests - said it was like "trying to find a needle in a haystack".

The H5 virus has proved itself capable of jumping from birds to humans, infecting some 120 people in Asia and killing 60.

Part of the British government's contingency plan is that Defra can order free range poultry farmers to bring millions of birds inside to reduce the risks.

The NFU is warning more than 300 free range poultry farmers that they must make sure everything is in place to house their birds inside if and when Defra orders them to do so.

The warning could put them in conflict with hundreds of free range egg and broiler producers whose livelihoods depend on keeping their birds as runarounds. They are being backed by the Soil Association, which believes there is no need now, or in the near future, to inhouse runaround hens.

"We need to be constantly monitoring the situation but at present we don't believe bringing birds in is appropriate," said Robin Maynard of the Soil Association. "You have a situation where you are being told avian flu could reach here in a year, or five or 10. Do farmers have to keep their poultry inside all that time? If you do this you would be destroying the most successful part of the farming sector - the growth of free range and organic."

Around 8 million out of 32 million hens in the UK bred for egg production are kept outdoors as free range. Around 5% of the 150 million broiler chickens bred each year are also free range.

Andrew Gunther, an organic poultry producer, said moves to house birds permanently indoors were counter-productive. "My birds are resistant to the range of diseases that affect conventional flocks because their immune systems have been boosted through living outdoors. I accept that as a new strain of bird flu, special measures may be required in the short-term, but these should not be at the expense of the principles of good husbandry."

Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, will today outline revised contingency plans should the virus mutate into one that spreads easily between humans. The government has ordered 14.6m courses of Tamiflu, which is shown to be effective against the virus - enough for a quarter of the population.

Some 2.5m courses have been acquired so far, and the rest is coming at 800,000 a month.

FAQ Transmission

Can you catch bird flu from live birds?

The virus is transmitted through bird faeces, so coming into contact with an infected bird would not be enough to pass on the disease. But breathing in particles of dried droppings from an infected bird would increase your risk of contracting the illness.

Can you catch it from handling dead birds?

Handling an infected carcass or getting infected blood on your hands would bring you into direct contact with the virus. It could then enter your system though a cut in your skin or if you put a finger in your mouth. But the virus is fragile once its host has died and will disintegrate after a few hours under normal conditions.

Can you catch it from eating infected birds?

Only if you eat a raw bird or one that has not been properly cooked. The most direct way of contracting the virus is by eating infected birds, and some of the cases discovered so far have been due to people drinking infected blood. But transmission is not possible if the bird is prepared properly as the virus is fragile and easily destroyed during cooking.

Xinhua - English

2005-11-10T02:37:00.001-08:00

Xinhua - English: "Bulgaria bans imports of poultry products from Greece

www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-19 13:08:38

SOFIA, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Bulgaria has imposed a ban on live birds and nearly all poultry products from Greece, where the European Union is investigating a possible outbreak of the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus.
Under a decree signed Tuesday by Bulgarian Agriculture MinisterNihat Kabil, the Balkan country suspended imports of all live birds, eggs and poultry meat, except poultry-related products thatare proven to be virus-free.
The ban also applies to live poultry inflows which have passed Greece, Turkey and Romania, and are heading for their destinationsvia Bulgaria.
Bulgaria, so far free of bird flu cases, on Monday announced the ban on imports of all poultry products from Romania and Turkey,and ordered close observation of possibly infected humans.
The deadly H5N1 strain was confirmed last week in Turkey and Romania, two neighboring countries of Bulgaria.
On Monday, Greece reported that preliminary tests had found thebird flu disease in a turkey and narrowed the virus down to the H5type. Tests are being done to determine whether the virus is the H5N1 strain, which has killed 60 people in Asia. Enditem "

Xinhua - English

2005-11-10T02:37:00.000-08:00

People's Daily Online -- Macedonia to send sample of dead poultry to Britain for further tests

2005-11-10T02:36:00.000-08:00

People's Daily Online -- Macedonia to send sample of dead poultry to Britain for further tests

2005-11-10T02:35:00.000-08:00

People's Daily Online -- Macedonia to send sample of dead poultry to Britain for further tests

FT.com / World / International economy - Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears

2005-11-10T02:33:00.002-08:00

FT.com / World / International economy - Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears: "Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears
By Tony Barber, Vincent Boland, Jan Cienski, Christopher Condon, Clive Cookson, Leslie Crawford, International Staff, Amy Kazmin, Jenny Wiggins and Hugh Williamson
Published: October 19 2005 03:00 | Last updated: October 19 2005 03:00

Poultry consumption has begun to fall in parts of Europe as fears grow over the spread of bird flu despite official assurances that cooked birds remain safe to eat.
Chicken sales have fallen by athird in Italy, and prices have dropped by up to 40 per cent over the past month or so, according to the Italian farmers' union.

The rest of this article is for FT.com subscribers only"

FT.com / World / International economy - Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears

2005-11-10T02:33:00.001-08:00

People's Daily Online -- PNA bans importing poultry from bird flu infected areas

2005-11-10T02:33:00.000-08:00

People's Daily Online -- PNA bans importing poultry from bird flu infected areas: "UPDATED: 08:43, October 19, 2005
PNA bans importing poultry from bird flu infected areas

The Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) on Tuesday announced banning importing birds and poultry and its products from areas infected with bird flu.
The PNA Ministry of Agriculture said in a written statement sent to reporters that due to the disease that hit several areas in the Southeast Asia and eastern Europe is highly contaminated and may be passed into our region, the ministry took the banning decision.
The statement said that the geographical location of the Palestinian territories is in a strategic position, where migratory birds are passing by, especially those from northern Russia.
It added that the ministry did all its best and we are well- prepared for any case and we will work seriously to prevent transferring the disease to the Palestinian territories.
The statement clarified that the ministry would work on getting rid of the infected chickens in case the flu emerges in the Palestinian territories, adding that a recommendation was presented to the cabinet to issue a decision that compensates the owners of the infected chickens.
In addition, the ministry announced to form a joint national committee with the Ministry of Health to follow the local and international developments of the bird flu.
Asaa Ramlawi, general director of health care in the Ministry of Health, also announced that the PNA decided to ban importing live and frozen birds, eggs and poultry products from the areas hit by bird flu.
Source: Xinhua "

Defra risk assessment Nov 9th 2005

2005-11-09T03:19:00.000-08:00

HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 1 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA (H5N1)
IN
EASTERN EUROPE
Working Document
Dr Mirzet Sabirovic
Simon Hall
Dr Nick Coulson
Dr Peter Grimley
Vanessa Wilson
Fred Landeg
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH DIVISION
International Animal Disease Monitoring Team
Qualitative Risk Assessments
www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/monitoring/index.htm
Ref: VITT1200/HPAI
Version No.:
1
Date:
8 November 2005
DISCLAIMER: IAHD reserves the right to update this publication and make changes to the outcomes at any time if
new information become available following this release. The update will be carried out without prior notice. This
publication or any related updates are published at the Defra’s website above. This publication and any
subsequent update, if available, may be used free of charge in any format or medium provided it is used accurately
and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as crown copyright and the title of the
publication specified.
Suggested reference for this publication:
Defra, (2005). Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Western Eastern Europe (Authors: Sabirovic, Hall, S.,
Coulson, N., Grimley, P., Wilson, V., Landeg F.), International Animal Health Division, 1A Page Street, London,
SW1P 4PQ, United Kingdom. Version 1, Released 8 November 2005, pp. 27
©Crown copyright
Copyright in the typographical arrangement and design rests with the Crown
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 2 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
Table of Contents
1 SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 OVERALL CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 4
1.2 PATHWAYS CONSIDERED ........................................................................................................................ 4
2 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................ 7
3 HAZARD IDENTIFICATION.................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 OUTBREAKS OF HPAI (H5N1) – OFFICIAL DISEASE REPORTS................................................................ 8
3.1.1 Central Asia (China, Russia – southern Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia) ....................................... 8
3.1.2 Eastern Europe............................................................................................................................... 8
3.1.2.1 Turkey.................................................................................................................................. 8
3.1.2.2 Romania ............................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.2.3 Russian Federation – western Russia ....................................................................................9
3.1.2.4 Croatia.................................................................................................................................. 9
3.1.3 European Union .............................................................................................................................. 9
3.1.3.1 Imported captive birds in secure quarantine (United Kingdom) ........................................... 9
3.2 OTHER RECENT REPORTS OF SUSPECTED AVIAN INFLUENZA..................................................................... 9
3.2.1 European Union .............................................................................................................................. 9
3.2.1.1 Greece .................................................................................................................................. 9
3.2.1.2 Sweden............................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.1.3 Germany............................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.2 Western Asia................................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.2.1 Iran..................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.3 Asia............................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.3.1 Nepal.................................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.3.2 China.................................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.4 Eastern Europe............................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.4.1 Bulgaria.............................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.4.2 Other Balkan countries........................................................................................................ 11
3.2.5 North America ............................................................................................................................... 11
3.3 HAZARDS TO BE CONSIDERED ............................................................................................................... 11
4 RISK ASSESSMENT................................................................................................................................. 11
4.1 RELEASE ASSESSMENT........................................................................................................................ 11
4.1.1 Terms and definitions .................................................................................................................... 11
4.1.2 Potential pathways for spread of H5N1......................................................................................... 12
4.1.2.1 Waterbird migration............................................................................................................ 12
4.1.2.1.1 Likelihood of further geographical spread.................................................................... 12
4.1.2.1.2 Likelihood of H5N1 spread to the UK..........................................................................15
4.1.2.1.2.1 Wildbirds migration between Eastern Europe and the UK .................................. 15
4.1.2.2 Third Countries – Legal trade and the likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 to the UK by
other pathways ........................................................................................................................................ 19
4.1.2.2.1 Live poultry and poultry products................................................................................. 19
4.1.2.2.2 Captive and wild birds and pet birds from third countries ............................................ 19
4.1.2.3 Third Countries – Illegal imports and the likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 to the UK
by possible pathways............................................................................................................................... 21
4.1.2.3.1 Captive, wild caught and pet birds................................................................................ 21
4.1.2.3.2 Other illegal imports ..................................................................................................... 22
4.1.2.4 Intra-Community trade - Likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 to the UK ..................... 22
4.1.2.4.1 Possible detection of H5N1 in an EU Member State .................................................... 22
4.1.2.4.2 Other pathways ............................................................................................................. 23
4.1.2.4.2.1 Bird markets and bird fairs/shows........................................................................ 23
4.1.2.4.2.2 Pigeon racing ....................................................................................................... 24
4.1.2.5 Mechanical transmission by the movement of people......................................................... 24
5 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................................................... 24
5.1 AN OVERALL LIKELIHOOD OF FURTHER GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD............................................................ 25
5.2 LIKELIHOOD OF H5N1 SPREAD TO THE UK........................................................................................... 25
5.2.1 Wildbirds migration between Easter Europe and the UK.............................................................. 25
5.2.2 Third Countries – Legal trade ....................................................................................................... 25
5.2.2.1 Live poultry and poultry products ....................................................................................... 25
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 3 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
5.2.2.2 Captive, wild caught and pet birds ...................................................................................... 25
5.2.2.3 Illegal imports ..................................................................................................................... 25
5.2.2.3.1 Captive, wild caught birds and pet birds....................................................................... 25
5.2.2.3.2 Other illegal imports ..................................................................................................... 26
5.2.3 Intra-Community trade .................................................................................................................. 26
5.2.3.1 Possible H5N1 detection in an EU Member State............................................................... 26
5.2.4 Other pathways............................................................................................................................. 26
5.2.4.1 Bird markets and bird fairs/shows....................................................................................... 26
5.2.4.2 Pigeon racing ...................................................................................................................... 26
5.2.4.3 Mechanical transmission by the movement of people......................................................... 26
6 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................... 27
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 4 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
1 Summary
An outbreak of HPAI (H5N1) in domestic poultry in Asia is on-going. Following its
detection in central China, southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in mid 2005,
the H5N1 virus has been confirmed in western Turkey, eastern Romania, western
Russia and eastern Croatia in October 2005.
1.1 Overall conclusion
Overall, at this stage the risk assessment considers that the likelihood of further
geographical spread or detection of the H5N1 virus is high. This conclusion takes into
account the existing uncertainty, and the latest epidemiological developments which
suggest that the H5N1 virus has been detected over broad geographic areas within a
few months. This in turn increases the risk to the UK as it increases the opportunities
for the introduction of the virus via various potential pathways (e.g. migrating birds,
trade in live birds, movement of people).
It remains uncertain how widespread the H5N1 virus may be in Asia and Europe or
beyond. It remains uncertain how the virus was introduced to any of the affected
eastern European countries. It also remains uncertain whether the increasing level of
detection in the wider geographic region may in part be as a result of increased
surveillance following the availability of modern diagnostic techniques and
heightened sensitivities about the disease. This highlights uncertainty whether the
virus may have already been present in many areas of the world at a very low level
either in non-commercial poultry or wild bird populations and escaped detection in
the past. It remains uncertain what possible pathways may exist for the H5N1 virus
being disseminated over broad geographic areas. Systematic studies are therefore
required at international and national level to understand these routes, the species
susceptibility, pathogenesis and ecology of the virus.
Nevertheless, the fact is that the emerging epidemiological evidence, although
circumstantial so far, points to the virus continuing to be detected in dead migratory
waterfowl and non-commercial domestic poultry in wider geographic regions since
May 2005. The virus was detected mainly in areas that potentially provide for some
contact between domestic and wild birds.
1.2 Pathways considered
The recent spread over a broad geographical region suggests existence of a
potentially very mobile carrier of the virus. It is tempting to conclude that (A) migrating
wild birds have at least a part to play at this stage. This risk assessment also
recognises that there are several other possible pathways by which the H5N1 virus
can be introduced to the UK from the affected regions. These are: (B) legal trade, (C)
illegal imports; (D) intra-community trade; (E) other activities, and (F) mechanical
transmission by people.
A) With regard to migratory waterfowl, the following has been considered:
For the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that migrating waterbirds may to
some extent be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, and therefore, have at least a part
to play in the virus dissemination given that the current H5N1 virus detection in
Eastern Europe appears to coincide with seasonal migration. It is also assumed that
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 5 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
the recent outbreaks in eastern Europe indicate that the H5N1 virus is getting
geographically closer to the EU and the UK. Based on these assumptions, this risk
assessment considers that two conclusions are possible at this stage:
1) There is an increased (but still low) likelihood for the introduction of the H5N1
virus to the UK from the outbreaks in the known affected countries in eastern
Europe. This is based on the advice from the UK experts on migration that
there is no major migration of waterbirds from these countries to the UK.
However, there is a possibility that the frequency of H5N1 virus detection in
wild birds may increase in these countries. Should this be the case, the
experts consider that H5N1 virus may arrive to the UK at some point in the
future because of the potential for limited ‘mixing’ at some ‘contact’ points
between the existing waterbirds populations from this part of Europe with the
populations in the EU.
2) The likelihood of the H5N1 virus being introduced to the UK may escalate to
high should outbreaks be detected in the northern part of european Russia.
This conclusion is based on the fact that outbreaks of H5N1 virus in this area
would be within the direct migratory routes that exist between northern Russia
and the UK and involve greater numbers of migratory waterfowl.
This risk assessment acknowledges that these two conclusions are based on much
uncertainty given that currently only a few outbreaks have been reported and that
migration has just begun. Nevertheless, these two conclusions will be subject to
scrutiny when more structured epidemiological information becomes available within
the next few months once this migration season has occurred in Europe and the
European-wide surveillance in wild birds have been completed for this migratory
season.
B) With regard to legal trade in poultry and poultry products from the
countries where the H5N1 virus was confirmed, the following has been
considered:
1) There is a negligible likelihood of the H5N1 virus being introduced by legal
imports of live game birds and poultry and their products from the affected
countries. This conclusion is based on the EU bans on imports of poultry and
their products from the affected countries provided these bans are effectively
applied and monitored. That is, these imports will not be admitted through any
UK Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) and the same should apply at any EU
border. In accordance with international trade agreements, legal imports from
countries that have not reported an outbreak of H5N1 continue undisrupted
subject to official veterinary certification that specific EU requirements for
HPAI have been fulfilled.
2) There is an increased (but still low) likelihood of the H5N1 virus being
introduced by legal trade in captive, wild caught birds and possibly pet birds
from Third Countries. Therefore, on the basis of uncertainty about how
widespread the virus is in Asia, Europe and beyond this trade is now banned
from all Third Countries until options for limited trade are examined.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 6 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
C) With regard to illegal imports of poultry meat and poultry products from
the countries where the H5N1 virus was confirmed, the following has
been considered:
1) There is an undeterminable likelihood of the H5N1 virus being introduced by
illegal imports (live birds and personal imports). On this basis, there is a need
to improve understanding of the nature and extent of illegal trade in live birds
and enhance detection and prevention measures accordingly. This will also
require revision of the existing quarantine requirements to enable fully
controlled legal trade to resume following a ban, so as to mitigate the risk
from potentially increased illegal imports.
D) Intra-Community trade
1) In the light of the increasing likelihood of the virus being introduced to the EU
on a larger scale, this risk assessment concludes that the relevant EU rules
for intra-community trade should be reviewed.
E&F) With regard to other activities and potential for mechanical transmission
by the movement of people, the following has been considered:
1) In the light of the increasing likelihood of the virus being introduced to the EU
on a larger scale, this risk assessment concludes that issues of bird
markets/fairs/shows, pigeon racing and the potential mechanical transmission
of the virus by the movement of people should be considered in accordance
with the potentially increased knowledge on the epidemiology and disease
spread and relevant expert advice.
The International Animal Health Division will continue to monitor and review the
outcomes of this risk assessment and will provide an update, if required.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 7 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
2 Introduction
This qualitative risk assessment considers the likelihood of the introduction of highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK following the confirmed outbreaks of
highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus of H5N1 type in Eastern Europe
(Western Turkey, Romania and the European part of Russia – western Russia
thereof) and Croatia.
It builds on several previous qualitative risk assessments that have been carried out
by Defra (http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/monitoring/index.htm) during this
evolving situation in Central Asia and Turkey and Romania. These risk assessments
concluded that there was an increased (but still low) likelihood of the introduction of
H5N1 virus by migratory
waterbirds from the affected
region to the UK during the
migratory season.
Nevertheless, these risk
assessments stressed that
their estimates of the likelihood
for the virus to be introduced to
the UK should be viewed in the
context of the lack of
epidemiological evidence and
uncertainties regarding wild
birds in the breeding grounds
of Russia. They also indicated
that the situation will continue
to be monitored and the risk
assessment updated if
required.
An outbreak of HPAI (H5N1) in
domestic poultry in Asia is ongoing.
Since its spread to
southern Russia, Kazakhstan
and Mongolia during the past
few months, the H5N1 virus
has now been confirmed in
Turkey, Romania, western
Russia and Croatia
The detection of H5N1 in Eastern Europe requires that our previous risk assessment
be reviewed in order to determine whether the most recent epidemiological
information may have any impact on the change in the likelihood of H5N1 virus
introduction to the UK.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 8 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
3 Hazard identification
3.1 Outbreaks of HPAI (H5N1) – Official Disease Reports
3.1.1 Central Asia (China, Russia – southern Siberia, Kazakhstan,
Mongolia)
Between May and October 2005, outbreaks of HPAI (H5N1) virus have been
reported in Central Asia and Eastern Europe (see map) (OIE, 2005), and one case in
a secure quarantine facility in UK which is not classified as an outbreak.
3.1.2 Eastern Europe
Following confirmed reports of H5N1 in Central Asia during the period between May
and August 2005, the virus was detected in eastern Europe. The affected countries
have taken appropriate control measures to contain the further spread. EU has
banned imports of poultry and poultry products from countries where H5N1 virus was
detected (OIE, 2005).
3.1.2.1 Turkey
Turkey has confirmed an outbreak of H5N1 in an open-air turkey farm at the
beginning of October 2005. The farm is located in the Region of Balikesir, in the
north-western part of Anatolia (see map). It is near to an area supporting large
numbers of waterbirds in the Kus Lake. No further outbreaks have since been
reported from Turkey (OIE, 2005).
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 9 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
3.1.2.2 Romania
Following reports from Turkey, two outbreaks of the H5N1 virus were confirmed in
back-yard poultry and waterbirds (swans – species not specified) in the eastern part
of Romania in October 2005. This area is near to an area supporting large numbers
of waterbirds in the Danube Delta (OIE, 2005). No further outbreaks have since been
reported from Romania.
3.1.2.3 Russian Federation – western Russia
A number of H5N1 outbreaks in mixed free-range village poultry (geese, ducks,
turkeys and chicken) have been reported from six provinces in southern Siberia in
mid 2005 (OIE, 2005).
Following these reports, a number of H5N1 outbreaks in village poultry (ducks,
muskovy ducks, chicken, geese, turkeys) have been reported for the first time in
western Russia (Tula province) at the end of October (OIE, 2005). No outbreaks
have since been reported from the affected province. No outbreaks have since been
reported in other provinces in western Russia.
NOTE: Information from the World Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza,
Weybridge, UK, suggest that the H5N1 virus detected in Turkey and Romania in
October 2005 is almost identical to the virus isolated in wild birds in Central Asia in
May 2005.
3.1.2.4 Croatia
On 25 October 2005, the Croatian authorities confirmed that the H5N1 virus has
been confirmed in dead swans (species not stated) that have recently been
discovered in eastern Croatia. Croatia has applied disease control measures in the
affected area and intensified surveillance of wild waterbirds (OIE, 2005).
3.1.3 European Union
3.1.3.1 Imported captive birds in secure quarantine (United Kingdom)
The HPAI H5N1 virus was detected in a secure quarantine facility in Essex in
October 2005 (Defra, 2005)
Note: The closest match is a strain identified in ducks in China earlier this year. It is
not similar to the strains from Romania and Turkey
3.2 Other recent reports of suspected avian influenza
3.2.1 European Union
3.2.1.1 Greece
The Greek authorities have informed the European Union of a suspected H5 virus
infection on a turkey farm on an island near to Turkish border. Further laboratory
tests, including virus isolation have, excluded the H5 virus.
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3.2.1.2 Sweden
The Swedish authorities informed the European Commission that a recent case of
the H5 virus in a duck in Sweden was confirmed to be a mild H5N3 type (low
pathogenic) of the avian influenza virus.
3.2.1.3 Germany
NOTE: An unofficial report indicate that that some 20 dead migratory birds have
been found at a lake in Germany which died from poison and that an avian influenza
virus has been found in two of these birds. No official information has been received
from Germany on this event so far.
3.2.2 Western Asia
3.2.2.1 Iran
Iran reported a high mortality in wild waterbirds (wild ducks) in the Poldasht, coast of
Arras, West Azerbaijan province in October 2005 (OIE, 2005). There is currently no
information on laboratory tests that may have been carried out.
3.2.3 Asia
3.2.3.1 Nepal
The Nepalese authorities reported to the OIE that an H5 virus has been excluded as
a cause of death of pigeons that were brought to a local market in the Gorkha district.
3.2.3.2 China
The Chinese authorities reported to the OIE that an outbreak of an H5 virus was
reported in domestic chicken and ducks in a village located in the Inner Mongolia
province of China.
NOTE: An unofficial report indicates an outbreak has been reported on a geese farm
in Anhui and that outbreaks (species unspecified) have also been noted in Xinjiang
and Qinghai. No official information from China is available on the OIE website so far.
3.2.4 Eastern Europe
3.2.4.1 Bulgaria
There were recent media reports on suspected AI in three birds (species not stated)
found dead in north-east Bulgaria. The Bulgarian authorities have informed the
European Commission that the preliminary (post-mortem) examination of these birds
does not suggest infection with AI. However, further laboratory tests are underway.
As a precautionary measure Bulgaria has stepped up surveillance on wild birds in the
area (European Commission, 2005).
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3.2.4.2 Other Balkan countries
Increased mortality in village poultry in southern part of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia has been due to Newcastle disease. However, serological
testing against a panel of AI viruses indicated that one sample tested positive for
influenza A virus. Further samples have been submitted for laboratory testing (OIE,
2005).
NOTE: The situation in Balkan countries remains unclear. Unofficial reports indicate
that dead wild birds (information on species currently unavailable) found in Serbia
and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina have tested negative for the presence
of the virus.
3.2.5 North America
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed that three pigeons out of a
shipment of 102 pigeons recently exported from Canada to Australia have antibodies
to AI but not the virus. (CFIA, 2005).
3.3 Hazards to be considered
As it currently stands, it appears that the H5N1 virus is quickly spreading over large
geographic areas. It should also be born in mind that the H5N1 virus may have
already been present in many areas of the world at a very low level and escaped
detection due to the absence in the past of sophisticated diagnostic tools that are
available now.
As a working hypothesis, several risk pathways have been considered as potential
hazards for the H5N1 virus introduction to the UK.
4 Risk assessment
4.1 Release Assessment
4.1.1 Terms and definitions
This release assessment considers the likelihood of HPAI virus introduction to the UK
from the affected or potentially affected countries in Eastern Europe. For the purpose
of the release assessment (Section 4.1) the following definitions will apply:
Term Definition
HPAI “HPNAI viruses have an IVPI in 6-week-old chickens greater than 1.2 or, as an
alternative, cause at least 75% mortality in 4-to 8-week-old chickens infected
intravenously. H5 and H7 viruses which do not have an IVPI of greater than 1.2 or
cause less than 75% mortality in an intravenous lethality test should be sequenced
to determine whether multiple basic amino acids are present at the cleavage site of
the haemagglutinin molecule (HA0); if the amino acid motif is similar to that
observed for other HPNAI isolates, the isolate being tested should be considered as
HPNAI” (OIE, 2005a)
Waterbirds “Means those species of birds that are ecologically dependant on wetlands for at
least part of their annual cycle…” (UNEP, 2005)
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For the purpose of the release assessment (Section 4.1) the following terminology*
will apply (OIE, 2004):
Term Definition
Likelihood Probability; the state or fact of being likely
Likely Probable; such as well might happen or be true; to be reasonably expected
High Extending above the normal or average level
Highly In a higher degree
Low Less than average; coming below the normal level
Negligible Not worth considering; insignificant
Remote Slight, faint
* This risk assessment uses the OIE recommended terminology. This is important to maintain
consistency in expressing estimates. Defra is aware of some concerns that have been
expressed lately about the appropriateness of this terminology for practical purposes (ie.
clarity for the purpose of understanding by wider non-technical audience). Defra will consider
this issue in the near future.
NOTE: This qualitative risk assessment was undertaken to assist the process of
identifying appropriate safeguard measures to prevent the introduction of the H5N1
virus to the UK via legal trade among other pathways specified. Any such measures
must maintain appropriate level of protection (ALOP) without unduly restricting trade.
The UK ALOP is that legal importation of live animals or their products from EU
Member States or Third Countries must present a negligible likelihood that the
diseases of concern will be introduced.
4.1.2 Potential pathways for spread of H5N1
4.1.2.1 Waterbird migration
Recent experience demonstrated that the H5N1 virus is likely to cause the death of
migratory birds as a result of infection. However, limited experimental evidence
suggests that the virus may be able to infect domestic ducks without causing overt
clinical signs. This is yet to be proven in field conditions.
Nevertheless, as a working hypothesis, this risk assessment considers that migratory
waterbirds can be infected with the H5N1 virus to a certain extent without causing
overt clinical signs. This is on the basis of limited experimental evidence of a
possibility of such infection in domestic ducks.
4.1.2.1.1 Likelihood of further geographical spread
Conclusion: There is a high likelihood of further geographical spread or detection of
H5N1 virus on the basis of uncertainty about how widespread the virus is in Asia,
Europe and beyond.
Key facts:
a) It remains largely uncertain how widespread H5N1 may be in Asia, Europe
and beyond;
b) An outbreak of HPAI (H5N1) in domestic poultry in Asia is on-going. Since its
spread to southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia during the past few
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months, H5N1 has now been confirmed in Turkey, Romania, western Russia
and Croatia;
c) It is not certain how the virus was introduced to any of these countries, but the
detection over a broad geographical region leads us to suspect that migrating
wild birds have at least a part to play. Nevertheless, other possible pathways
will have to be considered (see below sections);
d) It also remains uncertain whether the increasing level of detection may in part
be the result of increased surveillance following the availability of modern
diagnostic techniques and heightened sensitivities about the disease.
Supporting evidence
It remains uncertain how widespread H5N1 may be in Asia and Europe or beyond. It
remains uncertain how the virus was introduced to any of the affected eastern
European countries.
It also remains uncertain whether the increasing level of detection in the wider
geographic region may in part be as a result of increased surveillance following the
availability of modern diagnostic techniques and heightened sensitivities about the
disease. This highlights uncertainty about whether the virus may have already been
present in many areas of the world at a very low level either in non-commercial
poultry or wild bird populations and escaped detection in the past. That is, the
outbreaks of the disease in domestic poultry have been reported in China, the
southern part of Russia (Siberia), north-east Kazakhstan, Turkey, Romania and
western Russia (OIE, 2005). On the other hand, in May 2005, the H5N1 virus was
detected in dead migratory waterbirds (Ruddy shelduck, Bar-headed geese, Great
black-headed and Brown-headed gulls, great cormorants) in China. In August 2005,
H5N1 was confirmed in a few dead migratory waterbirds (Bar-headed geese and a
Whooper swan) in the northern part of Mongolia close to the Russian border, eastern
Romania (Whooper swan) and Croatia (swans – species not stated).
Nevertheless, the fact is that the emerging epidemiological evidence, although
circumstantial so far, points to the virus continuing to be detected in dead migratory
waterfowl and non-commercial domestic poultry in thewider geographic regions since
May 2005. The virus was detected mainly in areas that potentially provide for some
contact between domestic and wild birds.
Wildbird migration is a natural phenomenon where the waterbirds “entire population
or a significant proportion of the population cyclically and predictably crosses one or
more national jurisdictional boundaries. Waterbirds use a wide variety of habitats
during their annual cycle, from the artic tundra, forested wetlands of the temperate
taiga, forest-steppe, steppe grasslands, deserts, inland and coastal wetlands, wet
and dry agriculture croplands, rivers, floodplain wetlands, marshes, lakes, tanks,
ponds, irrigation tanks, sewage and waste treatment farms” (UNEP, 2005).
Wetland habitat in Siberia supports large numbers of breeding waterbirds, many of
which migrate in the autumn to wintering areas in Europe, Africa, India and East and
South-East Asia using various routes (“flyways”) (BirdLife International (2005). “A
“flyway” is the total area used by (groups of) populations or species of birds,
throughout their annual cycle, including the breeding areas, migration stop-over and
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non-breeding (wintering) sites. Many of these sites tend to be highly productive and
are thus also of importance to non-migratory birds and other biodiversity”) (UNEP,
2005).
For migratory waders (shorebirds) the principal flyways of Eurasia (Hötker and
others, 1998; Stroud and others, 2004) are:
• The East Atlantic Flyway
• The Black Sea/Mediterranean flyway,
• The West Asia/West African flyway
• The Central Asia/India flyway,
• The East Asian-Australasian flyway.
(Map from: Stroud and others, 2004)(*)
[NOTE: (*)the map indicates existence of West Asia/West Africa flyway (in pink). It has been pointed out
to us that this should be “West Asia/East Africa” flyway. Defra will seek clarification from the author of
the map]
Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans) have different migration systems (Scott and
Rose 1996; Miyabayashi and Mundkur 1999). For ducks especially, flyways tend to
be poorly defined, and migration occurs on a broad front, typically between a number
of wetland staging areas. (See also Stroud and others, 2005, for a recent review of
migratory waterbird biogeographic populations).
There is no information on whether there has been systematic clinical or laboratory
surveillance for H5N1 in wild migratory waterbirds or domestic poultry in the affected
regions on a regular basis. It is, therefore, possible that recent awareness of HPAI
has also impacted on raising the level of surveillance, hence, these cases are now
more readily noticed and reported and investigated in more detail. It is hoped that
more information will become available from the affected or potentially affected
regions. On the other hand, increased surveillance of wild migratory waterbirds for
the presence of the virus, combined with ringing data should provide a better insight
on the virus ecology in migratory waterbirds, including information on their
movements, respectively.
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It would appear that the virus has become endemic in free range domestic ducks,
certainly in countries like Thailand, Vietnam and probably some parts, if not all, of
China. Therefore, there could have been some spill-over into wild waterbirds
probably as a result of the extensive nature of rearing domestic ducks and their
frequent movement, especially on paddy fields where they are used for pest control
(Alexander, 2005). These conditions can accelerate virus transmission (Matsiu,
2005) between birds and other susceptible species. Nevertheless, both past and
recent work has shown that experimentally infected ducks had detectable HPAI virus
in a variety of organs including the brain. This raises questions on how efficient such
birds would be at travelling over any substantial distance (Alexander, 2005).
In contrast, the possibility that infection could have been carried to the region and
remain undetected for two months, it is also possible that waterbirds in their breeding
grounds could have acquired H5N1 virus from undetected infection in local poultry.
4.1.2.1.2 Likelihood of H5N1 spread to the UK
Our previous risk assessment emphasised that caution is required when generalising
trends that may relate to carriage of the HPAI H5N1 virus or any other HPAI virus to
different regions or countries because wild migratory waterbirds use different routes
(flyways).
To assess the likelihood for the H5N1 virus introduction to the UK via migratory
waterbirds, this risk assessment considers the following:
4.1.2.1.2.1 Wildbirds migration between Eastern Europe and the UK
Conclusion: There is an increased (but still low) likelihood of the introduction of
H5N1 virus to the UK by migratory birds from the affected regions in Eastern Europe.
Nevertheless, this estimate is highly likely to change to high should H5N1 be
detected in northern Russia because of the existing direct migratory routes between
northern Russia and the UK.
Key facts:
A) Migratory waterbirds from southern Siberia
1) With regard to migratory birds moving from southern Siberia to the UK, expert
ornithologists consider that:
a) Ringing recoveries indicate limited movement of migratory waterbirds
between southern Siberia in Russia and the UK and from Turkey, Romania
and Croatia to the UK during the migratory season;
b) It is unlikely that extreme eastern recoveries of UK waterbirds will involve
birds that have travelled from southern Siberia in Russia to the UK or from
Turkey, Romania or Croatia to the UK in a single winter. However, more
information is required about population sizes in the area and reporting rates.
The furthest east recoveries probably represent waterbirds visiting different
wintering areas in different winters;
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c) The UK plays host to only a proportion of these species’ populations during
the winter: the majority of individual birds breeding in Russia east of the Urals
are highly unlikely to reach Britain because they winter further east in Europe,
for example in the Mediterranean, and for some species in the Baltic;
2) Because of the geographical closeness, recent outbreaks in Turkey, Romania
western Russia and Croatia indicate an increased possibility that the virus
may be introduced to some EU Member States that are on the major north-tosouth
migratory routes of the birds from southern Siberia;
3) Currently, the H5N1 virus has not been detected in any EU Member State.
Nevertheless, a possibility that it may be present, but still undetected in some
EU Member States cannot be excluded;
4) EU Member States are on high alert for the potential introduction of H5N1 to
the EU and have broadened surveillance to include migratory waterbirds;
5) Given the above, it would be reasonable to expect that the virus is likely to be
detected in waterbird populations in some Member States that are
geographically closer to the currently affected regions in Eastern Europe
before its detection in the UK waterbirds population.
B) Migratory waterbirds from northern Russia
1) With regard to migratory birds moving from northern Russia to the UK, expert
ornithologists consider that:
a) The majority of many migratory species that arrive in the UK are from arctic
areas of North America, Greenland, Iceland, Fenno-Scandia and further east
in northern Russia;
2) Should outbreaks of the H5N1 virus be detected in the northern part of
European Russia, these outbreaks would be within the direct migratory routes
that exist between northern Russia and the UK.
Supporting evidence
Our previous risk assessment emphasised that caution is required when generalising
trends that may relate to carriage of the HPAI H5N1 virus or any other HPAI virus to
different regions or countries by migratory birds because they use different migratory
routes (flyways).
NOTE: The map below in this section was prepared by Defra’s International Animal
Health Division staff and is based on information sourced from Wetlands
International (Scott & Rose,1996). It does not necessarily reflect the true situation.
The map should be regarded as indicative rather than as a definitive reflection of
migratory flyways between Siberia and Europe. The map was produced using ESRI
Data and maps CD - 2002.
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The following map outlines broad ranges of migratory waterbirds. Within these,
migratory routes of ducks, geese and swans follow mainly north-to-south and
northeast-to-southwest directions. Although it may appear confusing, we have
produced it to highlight the possible complexity of the situation, in the first instance.
There may be some limited mixing of the waterbird populations in northern Russia
from the four major flyways in Eurasia. However, it is uncertain at this stage whether
there is any significant geographic and temporal overlap of these waterbird
populations in northern Russia with the waterbird populations in southern Siberia.
Therefore, the level of risk, which will vary from one season of the year to another,
will depend on migratory pathways, either direct from infected areas or through
contact at intermediate ‘mixing’ points for migratory species. The evidence to quantify
this risk seems to be incomplete. Systematic studies are therefore required to
understand these routes, the species susceptibility, pathogenesis and ecology of the
virus.
A) Southern Siberia
The Volga Basin and North Caspian regions are considered cross-roads for
migratory waterbirds that use four major routes in Eurasia and East Europe. These
two regions host the vast majority of migratory birds which are nesting in Eastern
Fennoscandia, Northern-Central territories of the Russian plain, Ural and parts of
western Siberia on their way to overwintering grounds in east Africa. A small
proportion of these birds spend winters in south-western Asia. (Lvov and others
2001).
Ringing recoveries (Wernham and others, 2002) show there is some, albeit limited
movement of birds between the UK and southern Russia. Therefore, the inferences
about the scale and regularity of movement of birds between Southern Russia and
the UK can only be preliminary and need to be treated with caution. For example,
some of the extreme eastern recoveries of UK birds are highly unlikely to have
travelled that far in a single winter. Rather, they may have paired with different mates
in different breeding seasons and their wintering and breeding grounds may have
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moved east. Lastly, the UK plays host to only a proportion of these species’
populations during the winter: the majority of individuals breeding in Russia are highly
unlikely to reach Britain because they winter further east in Europe, for example in
the Mediterranean, and for some species in the Baltic (Cranswick, 2005)
Nevertheless, it needs to be emphasised that “although bird banding has enabled
scientists to gather very detailed information on birds, tracking the birds to
understand their movements is a difficult task” (Anonymous, 2005).
NOTE: We have been advised by experts that there is a great amount of ring
recovery data. This data is held by individual schemes within the EU member states
and centrally at the EU level on behalf of the different schemes for birds ringed in
Europe.
We consider that it would be useful if this data could be collated and analysed on a
continental and national scale to provide much more information on bird movements.
B) Northern Russia
Around 5 million waterbirds are present in Britain in winter. While some species are
resident in the UK (i.e. birds present in winter that have bred here) many species
arrive in the UK from arctic areas of North America, Greenland, Iceland, Fenno-
Scandia and further east in northern Russia. Many of the waterbird species or
populations wintering in the UK derive from northern (arctic or sub-arctic) areas and
are highly unlikely to act as carriers of the virus to the UK from the current outbreaks
in central Asia. Further, several species of wildfowl have a marine distribution during
winter, and, remaining at sea, will therefore not come in to contact with farms or
domestic livestock (Cranswick, 2005).
In their official notification to the OIE on 21 October 2005, the Russian authorities
confirmed that the H5N1 virus has been confirmed in ducks, muskovy ducks,
chicken, geese and turkeys on a number of backyard farms in Tula (Moscow region).
At the moment, this appear to be the only report of the H5N1 virus detection in
western Russia. However, should more outbreaks of the H5N1 virus be detected in
wider areas of western Russia, this will impact on the likelihood of the virus
introduction to the UK. That is, this changed situation could indicate that the virus
may be present in migratory populations that arrive to the UK from further east in
northern Russia. The expert ornithologists consider that this area would be within the
direct migratory routes that exist between the northern Russia and the UK and
involve greater numbers of migratory waterfowl.
The UK experienced two outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 virus in the past. The first
outbreak occurred in a flock of chicken in Scotland in 1959. The second outbreak
occurred in a flock of turkeys in England in 1991. These outbreaks were limited to the
affected flock only. The source of infection was not identified. There were no reports
of the disease in humans during these outbreaks. These outbreaks were detected
quickly due to sudden and high mortality associated with the introduction of the virus
and effectively dealt with at the time resulting in no further spread. The H5N1 viruses
isolated in these earlier outbreaks are different to the virus currently present in
Central Asia.
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4.1.2.2 Third Countries – Legal trade and the likelihood of the introduction
of H5N1 to the UK by other pathways
4.1.2.2.1 Live poultry and poultry products
Legal imports of all live birds and their products from countries where H5N1 has been
detected have been banned. They will not be admitted through any UK Border
Inspection Posts (BIPs) and the same should apply at any EU border. Therefore,
direct legal importation to the UK of live birds and products from a third country
known to be affected, or indirect importation to the UK of live birds and products from
a third country known to be affected through another Member State to the UK is
highly unlikely to occur.
NOTE: Defra also considers that there is a negligible likelihood of the H5N1 virus
introduction by legal imports of live poultry and their products from countries where
H5N1 has been detected. Imports of live poultry, day-old chicks and hatching eggs
into the EU and the UK from countries that have not reported an outbreak of HPAI
and are on the approved EU list is subject to official veterinary certification that
specific EU requirements AI have been fulfilled. (e.g. HPAI must be notifiable; export
farms must be specially approved on the basis of biosecurity and disease
surveillance, the birds must come from areas not subject to restrictions for HPAI).
Processed feathers and, for some countries, processed (cooked) poultry meat are
exceptions to the general ban. It is unlikely that the raw material would have been
contaminated and in any case would have been heat treated to destroy any virus
present.
4.1.2.2.2 Captive and wild birds and pet birds from third countries
Conclusion: There is a low likelihood risk of H5N1 virus arriving in the UK by captive
and wild birds and pet birds. This estimate raises the possibility of a ban on
importations of captive and pet birds to ensure that adequate measures are in place
to mitigate the potential from an evolving risk of this magnitude.
Key facts:
a) It remains largely uncertain how widespread H5N1 may be in Asia, Europe
and beyond;
b) The recent detection of a highly pathogenic avian influenza in a consignment
of captive birds has highlighted uncertainties related to species susceptibility.
c) There is potential for illegal movements of birds from the affected areas to
unaffected areas which may result in arrival of potentially infected birds to the
UK presented as legal consignments from unaffected areas. Therefore the
UK has called for a ban on importations of captive birds from all countries with
a possibility of derogation on a country by country basis;
d) In order to make this ban effective it is also necessary to suspend imports of
pet birds because the concession for fewer than 6 birds could be exploited as
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a loophole for unscrupulous traders. However, this could have a
disproportionate effect on EU citizens;
e) Therefore, the UK asked the European Commission to come forward with a
proposal for strict, harmonised rules for importation of genuine pets and a
Decision was passed on 25 Oct 2005.
Supporting evidence:
A) Captive and wild caught birds
Imports of captive birds are normally permitted from any country which is a member
of the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties,
Paris, France - OIE). This could include Asian or African countries where H5N1 virus
has been introduced but has not yet been detected.
Although this trade is highly regulated, the detection of the H5N1 virus in a UK
quarantine indicates that this trade poses a plausible pathway for its introduction into
unaffected countries. As H5N1 continues to be detected over large geographic areas,
the risk that a small error or oversight in the quarantine facility could lead to the
introduction of the virus and its possible escape cannot be discounted. This
possibility is difficult to quantify.
Captive birds (other than parrots and poultry of any species) intended for ‘exhibition,
show or contest’ may be traded from a registered establishment in a member state
on the basis of an owner’s self-certificate. These include waterbirds. It is more likely
that undetected infection could be present in such birds than for farmed poultry
because there is no pre-export veterinary inspection or certification.
This trade would appear to present a low likelihood of the disease being introduced
into the UK while there is no evidence of H5N1 being present in other EU Member
States.
B) Pet birds
Imports of pet birds are not subject to harmonised EU rules. Great Britain requires 35
days domestic quarantine and two official veterinary inspections after arrival (but no
tests) for birds from all third countries.
Individual import licences are issued by local Divisional Veterinary Managers. No
central record is kept of these licences.
Other Member States set their own conditions for pet bird imports. It is possible that
another Member State may admit a pet bird from a high risk country (other than one
which has an explicit ban) with minimal conditions.
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4.1.2.3 Third Countries – Illegal imports and the likelihood of the
introduction of H5N1 to the UK by possible pathways
4.1.2.3.1 Captive, wild caught and pet birds
Conclusion: There is an increased likelihood that illegally imported live birds may
be infected with H5N1 given the recent geographical dispersal of the virus. This
likelihood might be further increased if a ban on currently legal trade were introduced.
Key facts:
a) The risk that illegal trade may be one of the potential routes for the virus
introduction to the UK of illegal trade has always been present. This risk is
difficult to quantify;
b) The UK recent experience with H5N1 virus detected in a legally imported
parrot highlighted a possibility of the virus introduction by this pathway;
c) There is potential for illegal activities that may result in arrival of potentially
infected birds to the UK as legal consignments. Therefore the UK has called
for a ban on the import of captive birds from all countries with a possibility of
derogation on a country by country basis;
Supporting evidence: There is lot of uncertainty related to illegal imports of captive
birds to the UK. Therefore, Defra has always maintained that this risk is
undeterminable.
The illegal import of live birds from the affected areas and their neighbouring areas
pose a risk, the scale of such risk depending upon the scale of the trade which in turn
seem difficult to quantify. Therefore, these imports will also have to be considered as
a potential mechanism for the virus to spread. Whether coincidentally or not, it is
noticeable that the recent outbreaks in western Siberia broadly occurred in the
regions through which the main Trans-Siberian railway lines pass. Some consider
(Chu and others, 2005) that illegal hunting and catching of wild waterbirds in the two
bird reserves in China (Quinghai lake and Zhalong reserve) are still happening. The
most recent unofficial reports indicate that H5N1 virus was detected in captive birds
that have been smuggled by ship from China to Taiwan.
Although the H5N1 virus has not been isolated from apparently healthy wild
waterbirds in Mongolia in August 2005 and Hong Kong in January 2005, it has been
isolated from two crested hawk-eagles from Thailand that were seized at Brussels
International Airport in 2004. The birds showed no apparent clinical signs of the
disease. However, necropsy indicated that both eagles suffered from enteritis and
one of them had bilateral pneumonia. This study highlights the notion that
“international travel and smuggling represent major threats for introducing and
disseminating H5N1 virus worldwide” (Van Borm and others, 2005).
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Therefore, there would be a need to consider improving intelligence gathering in
order to get a better handle on what the illegal trade in live birds looks like and
enhance detection and prevention measures accordingly. There would also be a
need to consider revising quarantine requirements/measures to enable fully
controlled legal trade to resume following a ban, so as to mitigate the risk from
increased illegal trade.
4.1.2.3.2 Other illegal imports
Conclusion: There is an indeterminable likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 virus
to the UK by illegal imports of meat/meat products
Key assumption:
a) Illegal movements of poultry meat/meat products pose a risk for the
introduction of the disease from any infected countries worldwide;
b) The risk of the introduction of H5N1 to the UK via illegal imports from the
affected countries exists and is difficult to estimate.
Supporting evidence
We cannot rule out the possibility that poultry and poultry products may be imported
illegally to the UK from any country and may contain HPAI virus.
Attempts to illegally import meat as personal imports have been recorded from many
countries. As with all disease agents, illegal imports from worldwide infected
countries give rise to a constant, background risk of infection. Refrigeration of illegally
imported meat is unlikely and makes detection by enforcement authorities more
likely. The risk associated with the illegal personal import of poultry meat appears to
be negligible because it is highly likely that the meat will be cooked. The virus has
been recovered from fresh duck meat (Tumpey and others, 2002). However, cooking
temperatures for consumption purposes (usual temperature above 700C) are
considered sufficient to destroy the virus.
Large-scale commercial illegal imports of poultry may be attempted from any country
using false or forged documentation. However, thorough documentary checks and
awareness at Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) that this may happen are likely to
mitigate this type of risk. The information on these intercepted consignments must
also be entered in the EU electronic notification system for trade in live animals and
their products (Trade Control and Expert System – TRACES).
4.1.2.4 Intra-Community trade - Likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 to
the UK
4.1.2.4.1 Possible detection of H5N1 in an EU Member State
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 23 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
Conclusion: There is an increased likelihood of the H5N1 virus being introduced to
the EU on a larger scale. The EU rules should be reviewed to ensure that adequate
measures are in place to mitigate the potential for further spread.
Key facts:
a) EU rules for movement of traded birds within the single market have proved
adequate in the face of isolated outbreaks;
b) The recent detections of the virus in Turkey, Romania, western Russia and
Croatia have increased the risk of the virus introduction to many EU Member
States because of the geographical proximity.
Supporting evidence:
H5N1 is not currently known to exist in the UK or any other EU Member State. All EU
Member States are understood to have effective systems for disease surveillance,
notification and reporting. Given the geographic proximity, this risk is now increased,
but could change at any time if disease is detected within the EU. This raises
questions about intra-community trade in live birds.
Intra-community trade in live birds relies on monitoring and detection of disease at
source, rather than on controls at or post-import. Therefore, intra-Community trade in
live birds would seem to present an increased risk because of possible trade in live
birds from premises where disease has been introduced but remains undetected.
In the recent past, HPAI of a different virus H (H7N7) type has been detected in three
EU Member States (the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium) and was dealt with
effectively without further spread to other Member States. Similarly, mild strains of
avian influenza (low pathogenic avian influenza – LPAI) outbreaks in Italy have been
contained effectively using vaccination in the affected areas.
Much trade is in high health status breeding birds or commercial poultry which should
have been kept under conditions of high biosecurity. However, game birds (including
ducks) could be wild caught or reared in open pens. The recent Newcastle disease
outbreak in pheasants, legally imported to the UK from France, highlights the risk that
disease may enter a holding and that birds may be traded before the disease is
detected.
The official veterinary services are responsible for certifying that the holding of origin
of birds is free from notifiable disease. They then notify the local Animal Health
Divisional Office at the point of destination in the UK so that post-import checks may
be carried out. This is done using the TRACES computer system. In Great Britain,
the State Veterinary Service checks a proportion of consignments based on risk.
4.1.2.4.2 Other pathways
4.1.2.4.2.1 Bird markets and bird fairs/shows
This issue should be considered in the light of the disease spread; expert advice on
bird migration and illegal trade. This would enable these events to proceed only on
the basis of a veterinary risk assessment and subject to strict conditions.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 24 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
4.1.2.4.2.2 Pigeon racing
The 2005 racing season has now finished. Racing takes place from April to October.
Birds are released in western Europe to fly home to the UK. In the event of H5N1
being confirmed in an EU Member State restrictions would have to be considered
proportionate to the risk.
4.1.2.5 Mechanical transmission by the movement of people
As with any disease outbreak in any country, there is a low likelihood that the
movement of people could transmit the pathogen by mechanical transfer or through
themselves being infected.
In the case of H5N1 virus, categories of people which could present a risk for the
virus introduction to the UK are likely to be:
• UK farm workers on holiday to countries where the H5N1 virus has been
confirmed (high-risk countries),
• Migrant workers from high-risk countries working on UK livestock farms
• Military personnel,
• Tourists, particularly any staying in the countryside or visiting bird markets in
high-risk countries,
• Hunters, birdwatchers or anyone else who goes out of their way to contact
wildlife in high-risk countries and who then come into contact with birds in the
UK.
Defra, the Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency are working
together to ensure that the risk of human mechanical transmission from birds is
addressed adequately through biosecurity on farms and other places where poultry
are kept.
NOTE: Defra has been advised that the Royal Society for Protection of Birds have
undertaken to consult the relevant veterinary authority over measures necessary to
reduce the risk of mechanical transmission, should an outbreak be confirmed on one
of their reserves.
5 Conclusions
An outbreak of HPAI (H5N1) in domestic poultry in Asia is on-going. Since its spread
to southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia during May to August 2005, the H5N1
virus has been confirmed in Turkey, Romania, western Russia and Croatia in
October 2005. It is not certain how the virus was introduced to any of these eastern
European countries. However, it should also be borne in mind that the increasing
level of detection may simply be the result of increased surveillance following the
availability of modern diagnostic techniques and heightened sensitivities about the
disease.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 25 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
With regard to:
5.1 An overall likelihood of further geographical spread
Overall, at this stage the risk assessment considers that the likelihood of further
geographical spread of the H5N1 virus is high. This conclusion takes into account the
existing uncertainty, and the latest epidemiological developments which suggest that
the H5N1 virus has been detected over a broad geographic areas within a few
months.
This in turn increases the risk to the UK as it increases the opportunities for the
introduction of the virus via various potential pathways (e.g. migrating birds, trade in
live birds, movement of people).
5.2 Likelihood of H5N1 spread to the UK
5.2.1 Wildbirds migration between Easter Europe and the UK
There is an increased (but still low) likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 virus to the
UK by migratory birds from the affected regions in Eastern Europe.
Nevertheless, this estimate is highly likely to change to high should H5N1 be
detected in northern Russia because of the existing direct migratory routes between
northern Russia and the UK.
5.2.2 Third Countries – Legal trade
5.2.2.1 Live poultry and poultry products
Defra also considers that there is a negligible likelihood of the H5N1 virus
introduction by legal imports of all live birds and their products from countries where
H5N1 has been detected. These imports have been banned from the affected
countries and will not be admitted through any UK Border Inspection Posts (BIPs).
The same should apply at any EU border.
5.2.2.2 Captive, wild caught and pet birds
There is a low likelihood risk of H5N1 virus arriving in the UK by captive and wild
birds and pet birds. This estimate raises the possibility of a ban on importations of
captive and pet birds to ensure that adequate measures are in place to mitigate the
potential from an evolving risk of this magnitude.
5.2.2.3 Illegal imports
5.2.2.3.1 Captive, wild caught birds and pet birds
There is an increased likelihood that illegally imported live birds (captive, wild caught
or pet birds) may be infected with H5N1 given the recent geographical dispersal of
the virus. This likelihood might be further increased if a ban on currently legal trade
were introduced.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 26 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
5.2.2.3.2 Other illegal imports
There is an indeterminable likelihood of the introduction of H5N1 virus to the UK by
illegal imports of meat/meat products
5.2.3 Intra-Community trade
5.2.3.1 Possible H5N1 detection in an EU Member State
There is an increased likelihood of the H5N1 virus being introduced to the EU on a
larger scale. The EU rules should be reviewed to ensure that adequate measures are
in place to mitigate the potential for further spread.
5.2.4 Other pathways
5.2.4.1 Bird markets and bird fairs/shows
This issue should be considered in the light of the disease spread; expert advice on
bird migration and illegal trade. This would enable these events to proceed only on
the basis of a veterinary risk assessment and subject to strict conditions.
5.2.4.2 Pigeon racing
In the event of H5N1 being confirmed in an EU Member State restrictions would have
to be considered proportionate to the risk.
5.2.4.3 Mechanical transmission by the movement of people
As with any disease outbreak in any country, there is a low likelihood that the
movement of people could transmit the pathogen by mechanical transfer or through
themselves being infected.
HPAI (H5N1) in Eastern Europe Page 27 of 27
Working document- Version 1 (8 November 2005)
6 References
Alexander, D. (2005). Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone,
Surrey KT15 3NB, UK. Personal Communication, 23 August 2005.
BirdLife International, (2005). Saving Asia's Threatened Birds: Country Summaries. Accessed
12 October 2005.
(http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/asia_strategy/countries.html)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, (2005). Live avian influenza virus not present in
exported Canadian pigeons. Accessed 23 October 2005.
(http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/2005/20051021e.shtml)
Chu, G-Z., Hou, Y-Q., Qian, F-W., Lu, J., Dai, M. (2005). The conservation and research of the
waterbirds and their habitat in China, The National Bird Banding Center of China, Chinese
Academy of Forestry. Accessed 31 August 2995.
(http://www.lanl.gov/chinawater/documents/chuguozhong.pdf)
Cranswick, P. (2005). The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Glos GL2 7BT, UK./ Personal
communication, 23 August 2005.
Defra, (2005). H5N1 avian influenza confirmed in quarantine in the UK. Accessed 24 October 2005
(http://defraweb/news/2005/051023a.htm)
European Commission, (2005). Further information on avian influenza in Bulgaria. Health and
Consumer Protection Directorate General, Brussels, E2 BVG (05) D/521831, Urgent Fax N.6, 12
October 2005. Received 12 October 2005.
Hötker, H., Lebedeva, E., Tomkovich, P.S., Gromadzka, J., Davidson, N.C., Evans, J., Stroud, D.A.,
West, R.B. (eds.) (1998). Migration and international conservation of waders. Research and
conservation on North Asian, African and European flyways. International Wader Studies 10.
500 pp.
Matsui, S. (2005). Protecting human and ecological health under viral threats in Asia. Water
Science and Technology, 51(8), 91-97.
Miyabayashi, Y. & Mundkur, T. 1999. Atlas of key sites for Anatidae in the East Asian
Flyway. Wetlands International - Japan, Tokyo and Wetlands International - Asia
Pacific, Kuala Lumpur. 148 pp.
OIE, (2005). Disease Information. Accessed between 21-27 October 2005
(http://www.oie.int/eng/info/hebdo/a_dsum.htm)
OIE, (2005a). Chapter 2.7.12: Avian Influenza. Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 14th Ed., Office
International des Epizooties, 12 rue de Prony, Paris, France. Accessed 25 October 2005
(http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/en_chapitre_2.7.12.htm)
OIE, (2004). Handbook on Import Risk Analysis for Animals and Animal Products. Vol.1. Office
International des Epizooties, 12 rue de Prony, Paris, France.
Scott, D.A., Rose, P.M. (1996). Atlas of Anatidae populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands
International Publication, 41. Accessed 12 October 2005
(http://www.wetlands.org/IWC/wpal&swa/atlas/AEAatlas.htm)
Stroud, D.A., Scott, D., Rose, P. (2005). Guidance on definition of waterbird biogeographical
populations. Information paper for the third Meeting of Parties to the African-Eurasian Waterbirds
Agreement. Accessed 31 August 2005 (www.unepaewa.
org/meetings/en/mop/mop3_docs/worddocs/
mop3_12_guidance_biographical_population_waterbird.doc
Stroud, D.A., Davidson, N.C., West, R., Scott, D.A., Hanstra, L., Thorup, O., Ganter, B., Delany, S.
(compilers) on behalf of the International Wader Study Group (2004). Status of migratory wader
populations in Africa and Western Eurasia in the 1990s. International Wader Studies, 15: 1-259.
(www.waderstudygroup.org)
Tumpey, T., Suarez, D.L., Perkins, L.E.L., Senne, D.A., Lee, J-g., Lee, Y-J., Mo, I-P., Sung, H-W.,
Swayne, D.E. (2002). Characterisation of a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus
isolated from duck meat. Journal of Virology, Vol.76, No.12, 6344-6355, June 2002.
UNEP, (2005). Convention on migratory species, New Delhi, 10-13 June, 2005. Agenda Item 6.0.,
CMS/CAF/5, 17 March 2005. Accessed 12 October 2005
(http://www.cms.int/bodies/meetings/regional/site_network/pdf/Inf_06_Proposed_CAF_ActionPla
n.pdf)
Van Borm, S., Thomas, I., Hanquet, G., Lambrecht, B., Boschmans, M., Dupont, G., Deceaestecker, M.,
Snacken, R., van den Berg, T., (2005). Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus in smuggled Thai
eagles, Belgium. Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol.11, No 5, May 2005. Accessed 26 October
2005 (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol11no05/pdfs/05-0211.pdf)
Wernham, C.V., Toms, M.P., Marchant, J.H., Clark, J.A., Siriwardena, G.M. & Baillie, S.R. 2002. The
Migration Atlas: Movements of the Birds of Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser, London, UK.
884 pp.

2005-11-02T13:04:00.001-08:00

Archive Number 20051012.2976
Published Date 12-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (146): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (146): INDONESIA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

[1]
Date: Mon 10 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: The World Health Organisation (WHO), CSR, Disease
Outbreak
News, Mon 10 Oct 2005 [edited]

Indonesia: avian influenza situation - WHO update 33
----------------------------------------------------
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed another
human case of H5N1 avian influenza. The patient, a 21 year
old man from Lampung, Sumatra, developed symptoms on 20 Sep
2005 and was hospitalized on 24 Sep. He remains hospitalized
in a stable condition (subsequently died, see below).
Confirmatory testing was conducted at a WHO reference
laboratory in Hong Kong.

Initial investigation has revealed that the man had direct
exposure to diseased and dying chickens in his household
shortly before the onset of illness. Contact tracing and
field investigations are under way and samples have been
taken to determine whether family members and other close
contacts may have been infected.

The man is the fifth laboratory-confirmed case of H5N1
infection in Indonesia. Three out of the 5 cases were fatal.

******
[2]
Date: Mon 10 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Xinhua News Agency, via People's Daily online, Mon
10 Oct 2005 [edited]

Indonesia: another person infected with avian influenza
virus
----------------------
--------------------------------------
Another man has been confirmed by the World Health
Organization's (WHO) laboratory test in Hong Kong as
infected with bird flu, while his nephew, a 4 year old boy
has also tested positive [according to tests carried out in
a] local laboratory, an official said here on Monday [10 Oct
2005].

Director general of disease control and environmental health
of the Indonesian Health Ministry I Nyoman Kandun told
Xinhua that the case brought the total number of people
confirmed by the organization of having the H5N1 virus to 5
in Indonesia. The first 4 have died in tandem [?]. [The WHO
statement issued on 10 Oct 2005 (above) identifies 5 cases;
3 fatal and two non-fatal. - Mod.CP]

The man, aged 21 years old from Lampung Province, had been
treated in Abdoel Moeluk Hospital in the province. Later,
the health officials sent his blood sample to the WHO
laboratory in Hong Kong, said Kandun. "H was confirmed as
positive by the Hong Kong laboratory," he said. "Now, we are
waiting for the result of the boy's blood sample from Hong
Kong. Normally, if a local test was positive, the Hong Kong
laboratory will report the same. If it is positive, it will
add to the list of persons confirmed by the WHO," the
director said.

Kandun said that so far over 98 [suspected avian influenza]
cases with bird flu symptoms had been found across the
country. Indonesia's health minister has said the country
could face a bird flu epidemic if the number of suspected
cases of the virus continued to mount.

--
ProMED-mail

[The final statement is misleading. It is the number of
confirmed cases which indicate the extent of transmission of
the virus to humans, not the number of suspected cases --
few of which have been confirmed and some of which may have
been misdiagnosed. - Mod.CP]

2005-11-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051012.2974
Published Date 12-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Eurasia (02)

AVIAN INFLUENZA - EURASIA (02)
******************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored by Elsevier, publisher of
The Journal of Hospital Infection

Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: AFP via Turkishpress, 11 Oct 2005 [edited]

Turkey slaughtered more fowl to combat a bird flu outbreak
amid warnings that the killer virus could spread, a prospect
that has caused neighbouring countries to block bird
exports.

The killing of fowl continued also in Romania, where
officials fear several birds might have been infected,
bringing the deadly virus into Europe.

In the village of Kiziksa in Turkey's northwestern Balikesir
province, veterinary experts, wearing protective overalls,
gloves and masks, toured in trucks to collect birds before
gassing and burying them in lime pits.

"Warning! Avian flu zone," read signs erected outside the 18
villages in a 3 kilometre (1.9 mile) quarantine zone around
a turkey farm where the 1st bird flu case in Turkey was
confirmed at the weekend.

Officials were also checking some 550 000 birds in farms
within a 7 kilometre (4.4 mile) radius surveillance zone
outside the quarantined area.

The head of the local farming department, Selahattin Kokcu,
told AFP that an estimated 6000 birds would be killed in all
and that teams were expected to complete the operation by
Wednesday [12 Oct 2005] at the latest.

The slaughter drew protests from locals, many of whom
surrendered their animals after warnings from officials that
those who hid their fowl would face a prison term of up to 6
months and a hefty fine.

The Turkish government says the disease has been contained
in Kiziksa, but a senior veterinary official warned Tuesday
that the country could see fresh outbreaks elsewhere as it
lies on the route of migrating birds.

The outbreak in Kiziksa is believed to have been caused by
birds heading for a nearby nature reserve during their
journey south to Africa.

"There is still the risk of the disease spreading to other
wetlands where migrating birds stop," Mustafa Altuntas, the
head of the Turkish Veterinarians' Union, was quoted by
Anatolia news agency as saying.

Furthermore, he said, the virus could be reintroduced in
spring as birds start migrating from south to north. "The
(agriculture) ministry should prepare for a long battle,"
Altuntas warned.

The outbreak in Turkey has resulted in bans on Turkish
poultry exports to the European Union and several other
European countries, but Turkish officials ruled out major
economic fallout.

Poultry producers shrugged off the bans, saying their sales
to the continent were already negligible. "Our firms for the
moment do not export live or butchered poultry to the EU,"
Zuhal Dastan, head of an association grouping 18 major
producers dominating the sector, said in Istanbul.

In Romania, which lies north of Turkey along the Black Sea
coast, officials awaited the results of tests conducted on 3
ducks believed hit by bird flu, and continued to kill fowl
in Ceamurlia de Jos, on the Danube delta, a major European
bird reserve.

Public Health Directorate official Rodina Costina told AFP
that even if the test results, expected on Wednesday, were
positive, it appeared to be a "weakly pathogenic virus."

3 European Union experts who arrived Monday [10 Oct 2005] to
assist Romania, meanwhile, went to Ceamurlia de Jos on
Tuesday morning, several sources said.

In Turkey, experts have said that samples from infected
animals tested positive for the H5 virus, but it is not yet
known whether it is the H5N1 strain, seen as particularly
dangerous. The H5N1 virus has mainly been found in 10
southeast Asian countries and has so far infected 112
people, of whom more than 60 have died, according to the
World Health Organization.

--
ProMED-mail

2005-11-02T13:02:00.001-08:00

Archive Number 20051012.2971
Published Date 12-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (145): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (145): INDONESIA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored by Elsevier, publisher of
The Journal of Hospital Infection

Date: 11 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Agence France Presse, Tue 11 Oct 2005 [edited]

Another suspected bird flu patient dies in Indonesian
hospital. "The man died yesterday after just a few hours at
the hospital," said Dr Ilham Patu, spokesman for Jakarta's
Sulianti Saroso hospital, where most suspected victims of
the outbreak are being treated. The man showed symptoms of
bird flu but the results of tests were not yet available.
"For the moment, he is only suspected of having contracted
the avian influenza virus," Patu said on Tuesday [11 Oct
2005].

Indonesia has confirmed 3 deaths from bird flu, based on
local tests and confirmation from World Health Organisation
(WHO) facilities in Hong Kong, since the 1st case of human
infection was found in the country in June 2005. There have
been another 2 confirmed human infections in Indonesia,
including a 21-year-old man in hospital in Lampung in
Sumatra island. Officials quoted by the state Antara news
agency said on Monday the man has been confirmed by the WHO
laboratory in Hong Kong as positively infected.

The man's 4 year old cousin is also suspected to have
contracted bird flu and blood tests have been sent to Hong
Kong for confirmation.

Jakarta's Ragunan zoo, which had been closed down since 19
Sep 2005 after some of its birds tested positive for bird
flu, reopened on Tuesday [11 Oct 2005]. "The zoo is now
perfectly safe for visitors. The birds have been cleared of
the virus, the entire zoo disinfected and birds still
carrying the disease have been put in isolation and off
limits to the public," said spokesperson Titisari Puntorini.

Indonesia has been fighting the outbreak largely by
vaccinating poultry flocks. But state prosecutors are
investigating alleged corruption by local vaccine
manufacturers involving the supply of sub-standard doses.

--
ProMED-mail

[This new suspected case is identified as an avian H5N1
influenza virus case on the basis of symptoms. No local
laboratory tests have been completed, and clinical samples
have not been referred to the WHO-reference laboratory in
Hong Kong. Therefore the number of cases of avian influenza
in Indonesia confirmed by laboratory testing remains
unaltered at 5 (3 of which were fatal). - Mod.CP]

[Elsevier reference: Lancet 2005; 365: 820. Avian influenza:
perfect storm now gathering?
]

2005-11-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051012.2969
Published Date 12-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (H9), poultry - Colombia

AVIAN INFLUENZA (H9), POULTRY - COLOMBIA
****************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail, a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored by Elsevier, publisher of
The Journal of Hospital Infection

Date: 11 Oct 2005
From: C Griot
Source: NDTV.com website [an Indian news service; edited]

Colombian authorities said on Monday they had detected the
1st suspected cases of bird flu in the South American
country, but insisted the strain was not harmful to humans.

Avian influenza was discovered in chickens at 3 farms in
Tolima state in western Colombia, and the affected flocks
were immediately quarantined to prevent the spread of the
disease, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

There was no sign, however, of the H5N1 strain of bird flu
that experts fear could mutate to become a dangerous human
virus, the ministry said.

Tests will now be carried out on chickens across the country
to check for the virus, [the ministry also] said.

H5N1 has swept through poultry populations in Asia since
2003, infecting 116 people and killing 60, mostly poultry
workers, and resulting in the deaths of more than 100
million birds.

--
ProMED-mail

[H9 is a different strain from that causing havoc in Asia,
and has not been shown to affect people. - Mod.TG]

2005-11-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051010.2949
Published Date 10-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (143)

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (143)
****************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: The New York Times, Sun 9 Oct 2005 [edited]

Danger of flu pandemic is clear, if not yet present
---------------------------------------------------
Fear of the bird flu sweeping across Asia has played a major
role in the [United States] government's flurry of
preparations for a worldwide epidemic. That concern prompted
President Bush to meet Friday [7 Oct 2005] with vaccine
makers to try to persuade them to step up production, and it
led Health and Human Services secretary Michael O Leavitt to
depart yesterday [8 Oct 2005] for a 10-day trip to at least
4 Asian nations to discuss planning for a pandemic flu. But
scientists say that although the threat from the current
avian virus is real, it is probably not immediate.

Dr Anthony S Fauci, director of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a bird flu pandemic
was unlikely this year [2005]. "How unlikely, I can't
quantitate it," Dr Fauci said. But, he added, "You must
prepare for the worst-case scenario. To do anything less
would be irresponsible." "I would not say it's imminent or
inevitable," said Dr Jeffery Taubenberger, chief of the
Molecular Pathology Department at the Armed Forces Institute
of Pathology. "I think in the future there will be a
pandemic." But, he said, whether that pandemic will be bird
flu [that is, avian H5N1 influenza] or another type, no one
can say.

The Bush administration is in the final stages of preparing
a plan to deal with pandemic flu. A draft shows that the
country is woefully unprepared, and it warns that a severe
pandemic will kill millions, overwhelm hospitals, and
disrupt much of the nation. What worries scientists about
the current strain of bird flu, known as H5N1, is that it
has shown some ominous traits. Though it does not often
infect humans, it can, and when it does, it seems to be
uncommonly lethal. It has killed 60 people of the 116 known
to have been infected. Alarm [increased] on Thursday when a
scientific team led by Dr Taubenberger reported that the
1918 flu virus, which killed 50 million people worldwide,
was also a bird flu that jumped directly to humans. There is
a crucial difference, however: the 1918 flu was highly
contagious, while today's bird flu has so far shown little
ability to spread from person to person. But a mutation
making the virus more transmissible could set the stage for
a pandemic. Another concern is that H5N1 has become
widespread, killing millions of birds in 11 countries and
widely dispersing as migratory birds carry it even greater
distances. This month [October 2005], it was reported in
Romania [as of 9 Oct 2005 not yet confirmed as caused by
avian H5N1 influenza virus].

Meanwhile, it is spreading widely among birds in Asia. And
it has unusual staying power: it has persisted in different
parts of the world since it emerged in 1997. "Most bird flus
emerge briefly and are relatively localized," said Dr Andrew
T Pavia, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious
Diseases at the University of Utah and chairman of the
Pandemic Influenza Task Force of the Infectious Diseases
Society of America. The most worrisome thing about H5N1, Dr
Pavia said, is that it has not gone away.

Some scientists suspect that if H5N1 has not caused a
pandemic by now, then it will not, because it must be
incapable of making the needed changes. But others say there
is no way to tell what the virus will do as time goes on.
And they point out that no one knows how long it took for
the 1918 virus to develop the properties that led to a
pandemic. Meanwhile, H5N1 seems to be finding its way into
more and more species. Once known to infect chickens, ducks
and the occasional person, the virus is now found in a wide
range of birds, and it has infected cats. "It killed tigers
at the Bangkok zoo, which is quite remarkable because flu is
not traditionally a big problem for cats," Dr Pavia said. It
has also infected pigs, which in the past have been a
vehicle to carry viruses from birds to humans. "We should be
worried but not panicked," Dr Pavia concluded.

The timing of the bird flu's emergence also makes scientists
nervous, because many believe that based on history, the
world is overdue for a pandemic. Pandemics occur when a flu
virus changes so markedly from previous strains that people
have no immunity, and vast numbers fall ill. "In the 20th
century there were 3 pandemics, which means an average of
one every 30 years," Dr Fauci said. "The last one was in
1968, so it's 37 years. Just on the basis of evolution, of
how things go, we're overdue."

But not everyone is equally worried about the bird flu. The
fear "is very much overdone, in my opinion," said Dr Edwin
Kilbourne, an emeritus professor of immunology at New York
Medical College, who has treated flu patients since the 1957
pandemic and has studied the 1918 flu. The bird flu, he
said, is distantly related to earlier flu viruses, and
humans have already been exposed to them, providing some
resistance. Scientists also say that the death rate may not
be as high as it appears, because some milder cases may not
have been reported. Dr Kilbourne and other experts also
noted that when viruses become more transmissible, they
almost always become less lethal. Viruses that let their
hosts stay alive and pass the disease on to others, he
explained, have a better chance of spreading than do strains
that kill off their hosts quickly.

Moreover, he said, while much has been made of comparisons
between the current avian flu and the 1918 strain, the
factors that helped increase the flu's virulence in 1918 --
the crowding together of millions of World War I troops in
ships, barracks, trenches and hospitals -- generally do not
exist today for humans. But an essential difference is that
people carrying the flu today can board international
flights and carry the disease around the world in a matter
of hours.

Dr Kilbourne emphasized that medical care had improved
greatly since 1918. Although some flu victims then turned
blue overnight and drowned from blood, with fluid leaking
into their lungs, many more died of what are now believed to
be bacterial infections, which can be treated with
antibiotics. Although the death toll from that flu was high,
the actual death rate was less than 5 per cent. In addition,
more people now live in cities, where they have probably
caught more flus, giving them immunity to later ones. "In
1918, you had a lot of farm boys getting their 1st contact
with city folks who'd had these things," Dr Kilbourne said.

[Byline: Denise Grady; Andrew Pollack and Donald G McNeil jr
contributed reporting for this article]

--
ProMED-mail

[The views of Professor Ed Kilbourne, a scientist with long
experience of influenza viruses and human disease, which are
reported above, deserve some attention if only to moderate
some of the alarmist statements that have gone largely
unchallenged up to the present. - Mod.CP]

******
[2]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters AlertNet Foundation, Sat 8 Oct 2005 [edited]

Chronology -- key dates in Asian avian influenza outbreak
---------------------------------------------------------
Romania reported 3 cases of avian influenza in a village in
the Danube delta on Sat 8 Oct 2005 and started to cull
hundreds of birds to prevent the disease from spreading,
chief veterinarian Ion Agafitei said. Tests were being
carried out to determine which strain [serotype] of virus
was involved.

A total of 65 people have died from the disease in Asia
since late 2003, 44 in Viet Nam, 12 in Thailand, 5 [now
revised down to 3] in Indonesia, 4 in Cambodia.

Here is a brief chronology of the spread of Asian bird flu:

15 Dec 2003 -- South Korea confirmed a highly contagious
type of avian influenza at a chicken farm near Seoul and
began a mass cull of poultry when the virus rapidly spreads
across the country.

31 Dec 2003 -- Taiwan reports its 1st case and later
destroys thousands of chickens with a milder form of avian
influenza [LPAI].

8 Jan 2004 -- Viet Nam says bird flu has been found on many
of its poultry farms.

13 Jan 2004 -- The World Health Organization confirms the
deaths of 3 people in Viet Nam are linked to bird flu.

25 Jan 2004 -- Indonesia discovers an outbreak among
chickens.

26 Jan 2004 -- Thailand confirms the death of a 6-year-old
boy, its 1st human death from bird flu.

12 Feb 2004 -- The World Health Organization confirms tests
show no evidence bird flu is passing from person to person.

16 Mar 2004 -- China declares it has stamped out the disease
in all 49 hotbeds and has had no reports among poultry for
29 days.

26 May 2004 -- Thailand reports [detection] of bird flu in
several dead chickens on a university research farm in the
northern city of Chiang Mai.

19 Aug 2004 -- Malaysia says a strain of bird flu has been
found in 2 chickens that died in a northern village near the
Thai border in the country's 1st bird flu outbreak.

27 Sep 2004 - Thailand says it has found its 1st known
probable case of a human being infecting another with bird
flu. It said this was an isolated incident that posed little
risk to the greater population.

15 Dec 2004 -- Taiwan says it has discovered 2 strains of
avian flu in migratory birds in the northern part of the
island, the milder H5N2 strain and also the H5N6 strain.

5 Apr 2005 -- The UN says that the H7 strain of bird flu
previously undetected in Asia has been found in North Korea.

8 Jul 2005 -- The Philippines says it has suffered its 1st
case of bird flu, in ducks. It later says it is free from
any highly pathogenic strain of bird flu.

20 Jul 2005 -- Indonesia confirms its 1st deaths from bird
flu.

26 Jul 2005 -- Japan says a fresh outbreak of bird flu has
been discovered on a chicken farm in eastern Japan. All
outbreaks in the Ibaraki prefecture since late June have
been confirmed as the weaker H5N2 strain.

9 Aug 2005 -- Viet Nam reports one new human death from bird
flu, taking its death toll to 43. The H5N1 virus has also
killed 12 people in Thailand, 4 in Cambodia and 3 in
Indonesia.

10 Aug 2005 -- The bird flu virus has been found in Tibet,
the world animal health body OIE says.

15 Aug 2005 -- Russia reports an outbreak of bird flu in the
Urals region of Chelyabinsk, the 6th region to be affected.

23 Aug 2005 -- In Kazakhstan a bird flu outbreak of the H5N1
strain in 7 northern villages is confirmed as dangerous to
humans.

26 Aug 2005 -- Finland says it has found a possible case of
bird flu in a seagull in the northern town of Oulu. [Not
confirmed as H5N1 virus]

1 Sep 2005 -- Viet Nam reports one new human death from bird
flu, taking its total to 44.

15 Sep 2005 -- United States says it has promised Viet Nam
USD 2.5 million over 5 years to improve its collection of
information on bird flu. Viet Nam says it is vaccinating
poultry to prevent new outbreaks.

16 Sep 2005 -- Indonesia confirms 4th human death from bird
flu.

26 Sep 2005 -- Indonesia confirms 5th human death from H5N1
strain of bird flu, says disease has spread to 22 of its 33
provinces. [Death toll subsequently revised down to 3]

8 Oct 2005 -- Romania reports avian flu cases in a Danube
delta village, culls hundreds of domestic birds to prevent
the disease from spreading, unclear which strain is
involved.

--
ProMED-mail

[This is a highly selective and idiosyncratic chronology,
which nevertheless records some useful milestones. - Mod.CP]

2005-11-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

: "Archive Archive Number 20051011.2956
Published Date 11-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH> Avian influenza - Asia (41): Indonesia, poultry vaccines

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (41): INDONESIA, POULTRY VACCINES
********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Journal of Hospital Infection

Date: Mon 10 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Agence France-Presse via news.com.au, 10 Oct 2005
[edited]

Corruption sparks bird flu vaccine test
---------------------------------------
Indonesia would run tests on its stock of bird flu vaccine
after a corruption scandal involving production of
sub-standard doses, an official said today [10 Oct 2005].
Government auditors suspect local companies assigned to make
the vaccine produced doses of inferior quality to inflate
profits, with the collusion of some ministry officials.

The disease has killed at least 3 Indonesians and 59 others
elsewhere in South East Asia since 2003.

The agriculture ministry's director for animal health,
Syamsul Bahri, said his office would test vaccine now in
stock or in circulation to determine whether it met minimum
specifications. "Our laboratory capacity is limited, so we
will gradually test samples and decide which vaccine can
continue to be used and which (will) have to be withdrawn
from circulation," Mr Bahri said. He could not immediately
estimate the number of samples involved or the time needed
for all of the necessary tests.

Ministry spokesman Suprahtomo said the suspected corruption
case was now in the hands of state prosecutors, and the
ministry would abide by whatever decision was made.

Yesterday [9 Oct 2005], agriculture minister April
Aprijantono said there were 9 suspected corruption cases
involving his ministry last year [2004] totaling 733 billion
rupiah (USD 96.2 million) in lost funds for the ministry,
including the bird flu case, which cost 56.9 billion rupiah
(USD 5.64 million). "This not only caused losses to the
state in material form, it also reduced the effectiveness of
vaccines or led to low vaccine protection levels,"
Aprijantono said. The minister said some testing conducted
in Java last year [2004] showed the vaccine's protection
level was only about 11.8 to 28 per cent.

Zainal Baharuddin, inspector general at the ministry, has
said local producers intentionally lowered the vaccine
quality to make more profits from the contract. He said
farmers across the country had also complained they had not
received compensation for culling flocks because officials
had embezzled the money.

Health officials have said that since the 1st human case of
bird flu infection was found in June 2005 in Indonesia, 85
people had been admitted to the hospital with suspected or
confirmed infections. The main hospital treating suspected
cases was due later today [10 Oct 2005] to discharge 6
children and one adult after tests showed they did not have
the virus, doctor Ilham Patu said. After they leave,
Sulianti Saroso hospital will have 8 patients under
observation for suspected bird flu. Dr Patu said no new
suspected cases had been admitted in the past 2 days.

--
ProMED-mail

[According to the last follow-up report of Indonesia to the
OIE, dated 2 Aug 2005, there had not been any outbreaks of
avian influenza with clinical signs in Tangerang district --
where fatal cases in humans were reported -- since April
2005. It will be interesting to note whether the current
reported suspicion, related to deficient poultry vaccines,
is based upon clinical observations. One might wonder
whether the suspicions are related to last week's
information (20051005.2905) on the Indonesian health
authorities' discovery of asymptomatic chickens which tested
positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus. One of the suggested
explanations to this finding was immunity of the tested
chickens to H5N1, conferred by an heterologous H5 virus
(vaccine strain?!). Further explanations will be welcomed. -
Mod.AS]

2005-11-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051011.2955
Published Date 11-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Asia (40): Turkey, H5 (OIE)

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (40): TURKEY, H5 (OIE)
*********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: 10 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: OIE Disease Information Alert Messages

Avian influenza in Turkey
-------------------------
Information received on 9 October 2005 (dated 8 October
2005) from Dr Nihat Pakdil, general director of Protection
and Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
Ankara:

An outbreak of avian influenza was reported in a farm in
K�z�ksa, Manyas, Balikesir, in the western part of the
country.

Reason for immediate notification: first occurrence of a
listed disease or infection in a country (depending on the
virus pathogenicity that will be identified).

Precise identification of agent: influenza virus type A,
subtype H5 (the pathogenicity index and neuraminidase are
not yet identified).

Date of first confirmation of the event: 6 October 2005.

Date of start of the event: 1 October 2005.

Nature of diagnosis: clinical and laboratory (serology).

Number of susceptible animals in the outbreak: 1800 turkeys.

Number of cases: 1700.

Number of deaths: 1700.

Number of animals destroyed: 100.

Source of outbreak or origin of infection: unknown or
inconclusive.

Control measures undertaken:
- stamping out;
- quarantine;
- disinfection of infected premises/establishment.

Note by the OIE Animal Health Department: highly pathogenic
avian influenza has never been reported in Turkey.

--
OIE Animal Health Information Department

[There are a couple of important issues to note with this
official confirmation. Firstly, there is official OIE
notification from Romania as well. Secondly, spread to
Europe has been relatively rapid as the last official
reports placed the disease in the Urals. We will keep you
updated. - Mod.PC]

2005-11-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051010.2953
Published Date 10-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Europe (14): Romania, poultry, ducks

AVIAN INFLUENZA - EUROPE (14): ROMANIA, POULTRY, DUCKS
******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Journal of Hospital Infection

Date: 10 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: OIE Disease Information Alert Messages [edited]

Avian influenza in Romania
--------------------------
Information received on 7 Oct 2005 from Dr Gabriel Predoi,
director general, National Sanitary Veterinary and Food
Safety Authority, Bucharest:

Report date: 7 Oct 2005.

An outbreak of avian influenza was reported in a farm in
Ceamurlia-de-Jos, Tulcea County, in the eastern part of the
country.

Reason for immediate notification: reoccurrence of a listed
disease or infection in a country or zone/compartment
following a report declaring the outbreak(s) ended
(depending on the virus pathogenicity that will be
identified).

Precise identification of agent: information not yet
available.

Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 7 Oct 2005.

Date of start of the event: 4 Oct 2005.

Nature of diagnosis: clinical, postmortem and laboratory
(serology).

Number of susceptible animals in the outbreak: 100 birds (58
laying hens and 42 ducks).

Number of cases: 36.

Number of deaths: 36.

Number of animals destroyed: 64.

Source of outbreak or origin of infection: contact with wild
birds.

Control measures:

A. Undertaken:
- stamping out;
- quarantine;
- movement control inside the country;
- screening;
- disinfection of infected premises/establishment;
- dipping/spraying.

B. To be undertaken: control of wildlife reservoirs.

Vaccination prohibited: no.

Note by the OIE Animal Health Department: the last reported
outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Romania was
in 1942.

OIE Animal Health Information Department

Further details will be published in the next issue of
weekly Disease Information, available online from Fri 14 Oct
2005 afternoon (GMT).

--
ProMED-mail

[There are a couple of important issues to note with this
official confirmation. 1st, there is official OIE
notification from Turkey as well. Secondly, spread to Europe
has been relatively rapid, as the last official reports
placed the disease in the Urals. We will keep you updated.
Finally, this report contains no information confirming the
virus type as H5 or as H5N1, and one report below (Avian
influenza - Europe: Turkey, Romania, susp 20051010.2950)
suggests it may not be H5N1. - Mod.PC]

2005-11-02T12:55:00.001-08:00

Archive Number 20051010.2950
Published Date 10-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Europe: Turkey, Romania, susp

AVIAN INFLUENZA - EUROPE: TURKEY, ROMANIA, SUSPECTED
****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Mirror.co.uk, 10 Oct 2005 [edited]

Bird flu tests "negative" in Romania
------------------------------------
Fears that a deadly bird flu strain had spread to Romania
may be wrong. Experts believed H5N1, the strain behind 65
deaths in Asia, had entered Europe for the 1st time after 3
ducks died. But initial tests for avian flu viruses were
"negative," the [UK] Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs [Defra] said. Debby Reynolds, chief veterinary
officer, added that an EU team would fly to Romania today
[10 Oct 2005] to carry out more tests.

******
[2]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Forbes.com, 9 Oct 2005 [edited]

Bird flu threat spreads with outbreaks in Romania, Turkey
-----------------------------------------------
Europe awaited confirmation Sunday [9 Oct 2005] of its 1st
outbreak of the deadly bird flu strain, as Romania and
Turkey scrambled to cull infected birds and prevent the
virus spreading to people. Anti-flu vaccines were being
administered in Romania to thousands of people amid fears
that the avian flu detected there Friday may be the deadly
strain that has killed over 60 in south east Asia.

Romanian authorities said that on the basis of preliminary
tests, they feared that 3 ducks in the south eastern Tulcea
region had been infected with the H5N1 strain transmissible
to humans. "The analysis by Romanian experts shows that it
is the virus H5N1. It is quite possible that this form of
the virus is less virulent than the Asian one," said health
official Rodica Costina.

However, final confirmation of Europe's 1st contamination by
the virus was expected within 2 weeks from a laboratory in
Britain [see item 3].

Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu said that no human cases
had been detected so far in the eastern European country.
Authorities said that migratory birds from Russia, stopping
over at the Danube delta, had carried the virus into the
country.

Meanwhile, officials in Turkey announced that some 2000
poultry had been slaughtered on a farm in north western
Balikesir province after avian flu was detected there.

Samples from the infected animals are being tested at a
laboratory in the western city of Bornova [in the province
of Izmir, neighboring the province of Balikesir - Mod.AS].

Regional officials have said the disease probably came to
Turkey from migratory birds attracted to a nature reserve
near the quarantined farm.

In Romania, 3400 people living in the Danube delta region
have been vaccinated for flu, and 125 000 are expected to be
vaccinated in the coming days, Nicolaescu said on Sunday [9
Oct 2005] [see comment further].

Romania does not have a specific vaccine for avian flu.
However, this anti-flu vaccine is important as it helps to
enhance immunity, health ministry spokeswoman Oana Grigore
told AFP. [If this news is accurate, it seems the Romanian
authorities have decided to apply a policy which somewhat
resembles the one attempted in the Netherlands in 2003; the
Dutch vaccinated with the then current influenza vaccine and
applied prophylactic treatment with neuraminidase inhibitors
to all people exposed to infected poultry. The main reason
was the need to prevent possible mixed infections with human
and avian influenza viruses which might lead to virus
reassortment; see 20030501.1092. - Mod.AS] "The risk of a
disaster is remote if the population is vaccinated against
influenza," Nicolaescu earlier told news media.

******
[3]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters Alertnet, 9 Oct 2005 [edited]

Britain sends bird flu team to Romania for tests
-----------------------------------------------
Britain is sending a team of experts to Romania to help with
tests for bird flu, after the disease was detected in
poultry in the Danube delta, officials said on Sunday [9 Oct
2005]. A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said: "Part of that might involve
bringing samples back ... We are ready to help if needed."
The spokesman said no samples had been sent to Britain for
testing as yet.

Romania earlier said further testing would take place in
Britain after its own scientists' tests. The Veterinary
Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, near London, is the
European reference laboratory for avian influenza. The
laboratory is an agency of DEFRA.

The spokesman said Britain was also in touch via the
European Commission with Turkish authorities to see whether
any assistance was needed there after Turkey reported its
1st outbreak of the disease on a farm near the Aegean Sea.

Romania culled hundreds of birds and quarantined villages on
Sunday [9 Oct 2005] to try to halt the spread of bird flu.
Medical teams were sent to test for possible human cases and
to vaccinate the population, but officials said there had
been no cases of flu among the delta's people.

Officials said scientists had so far been unable to isolate
the virus in the suspect birds, indicating it was less
likely to be a virulent strain, but tests would continue for
several days.

If the Romanian cases did turn out to be the deadly H5N1
virus, they would be the 1st evidence the strain has spread
to Europe from Asia, where it has killed 65 people and
millions of birds since 2003.

--
ProMED-mail

[According to Article 1.1.2.3. of OIE's Terrestrial Animal
Health Code, member countries are obliged to notify
immediately the 1st occurrence of a listed disease and/or
infection within their respective territories. According to
article 2.7.12.1, avian influenza in its notifiable form
(NAI) is defined as an infection of poultry caused by any
influenza A virus of the H5 or H7 subtypes, irrespective of
their pathogenicity. If, as indicated in the newswire citing
the Anatolia news agency, an H5 virus has been identified in
Turkey, this outbreak should be immediately notified to the
OIE. Such a notification should include a prescribed list of
data.

In the absence of official notifications from either
country, the following brief summary, based upon the
newswires available so far, is an attempt to review the
situation (accuracy is not guaranteed):

Romania: On Friday [7 Oct 2005] the country reported its 1st
case of the disease in the village Ceamurlia de Jos, in
south Tulcea (Danube delta, eastern Romania). Reportedly, 3
ducks were affected in the yard of a peasant family.
However, on Sat 8 Oct 2005, Romanian officials told AP that
dead birds were 1st noted in late September 2005; that
samples were sent to a laboratory in Bucharest, where
scientists found antibodies to bird flu, but -- unable to
find out the exact strain of the virus -- they allegedly
sent samples to Britain for testing at the Veterinary
Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, Surrey, from where the
results "are expected in the next few days."

According to the current newswire, this information,
however, seems to be denied now by the British lab.

On Sat 8 Oct 2005, Ion Agafitei, the chief veterinarian, was
cited telling reporters that 3 (unspecified, additional?)
birds had tested positive for the virus in a 2nd village:
Smardan, in north west Tulcea region. Quarantines had been
imposed in the 2 villages and 5 others where suspicious bird
deaths had occurred in recent days. Additional information
referred to tests on several swans which had been found dead
nearby, "to be finalized in a couple of days".

Turkey: Disease cases (about 2000 dead turkeys out of an
unspecified population) in a commercial farm in an unnamed
village near Balikesir in the Asian part of Marmara region,
was brought to officials' attention on Wednesday [5 Oct
2005]. On Thursday [6 Oct 2005], officials went to the
village and destroyed all remaining (unspecified number)
birds on the turkey farm and buried them, then disinfected
the area. On Friday [7 Oct 2005], the Anatolia news agency
cited officials as saying that it was confirmed that the
birds died of the H5 type of bird flu. The 1st public news
item on the suspected outbreak appeared on Sat 8 Oct 2005.

It is not clear whether, what and when information on the
suspicion/confirmation of avian influenza was provided by
either country to international agencies (OIE, FAO, WHO),
the EU or trade partners.

The information is rather confusing; official notifications
are urgently needed. - Mod.AS]

2005-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

:Archive Number 20051010.2950
Published Date 10-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Europe: Turkey, Romania, susp

AVIAN INFLUENZA - EUROPE: TURKEY, ROMANIA, SUSPECTED
****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Mirror.co.uk, 10 Oct 2005 [edited]

Bird flu tests "negative" in Romania
------------------------------------
Fears that a deadly bird flu strain had spread to Romania
may be wrong. Experts believed H5N1, the strain behind 65
deaths in Asia, had entered Europe for the 1st time after 3
ducks died. But initial tests for avian flu viruses were
"negative," the [UK] Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs [Defra] said. Debby Reynolds, chief veterinary
officer, added that an EU team would fly to Romania today
[10 Oct 2005] to carry out more tests.

******
[2]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Forbes.com, 9 Oct 2005 [edited]

Bird flu threat spreads with outbreaks in Romania, Turkey
-----------------------------------------------
Europe awaited confirmation Sunday [9 Oct 2005] of its 1st
outbreak of the deadly bird flu strain, as Romania and
Turkey scrambled to cull infected birds and prevent the
virus spreading to people. Anti-flu vaccines were being
administered in Romania to thousands of people amid fears
that the avian flu detected there Friday may be the deadly
strain that has killed over 60 in south east Asia.

Romanian authorities said that on the basis of preliminary
tests, they feared that 3 ducks in the south eastern Tulcea
region had been infected with the H5N1 strain transmissible
to humans. "The analysis by Romanian experts shows that it
is the virus H5N1. It is quite possible that this form of
the virus is less virulent than the Asian one," said health
official Rodica Costina.

However, final confirmation of Europe's 1st contamination by
the virus was expected within 2 weeks from a laboratory in
Britain [see item 3].

Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu said that no human cases
had been detected so far in the eastern European country.
Authorities said that migratory birds from Russia, stopping
over at the Danube delta, had carried the virus into the
country.

Meanwhile, officials in Turkey announced that some 2000
poultry had been slaughtered on a farm in north western
Balikesir province after avian flu was detected there.

Samples from the infected animals are being tested at a
laboratory in the western city of Bornova [in the province
of Izmir, neighboring the province of Balikesir - Mod.AS].

Regional officials have said the disease probably came to
Turkey from migratory birds attracted to a nature reserve
near the quarantined farm.

In Romania, 3400 people living in the Danube delta region
have been vaccinated for flu, and 125 000 are expected to be
vaccinated in the coming days, Nicolaescu said on Sunday [9
Oct 2005] [see comment further].

Romania does not have a specific vaccine for avian flu.
However, this anti-flu vaccine is important as it helps to
enhance immunity, health ministry spokeswoman Oana Grigore
told AFP. [If this news is accurate, it seems the Romanian
authorities have decided to apply a policy which somewhat
resembles the one attempted in the Netherlands in 2003; the
Dutch vaccinated with the then current influenza vaccine and
applied prophylactic treatment with neuraminidase inhibitors
to all people exposed to infected poultry. The main reason
was the need to prevent possible mixed infections with human
and avian influenza viruses which might lead to virus
reassortment; see 20030501.1092. - Mod.AS] "The risk of a
disaster is remote if the population is vaccinated against
influenza," Nicolaescu earlier told news media.

******
[3]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters Alertnet, 9 Oct 2005 [edited]

Britain sends bird flu team to Romania for tests
-----------------------------------------------
Britain is sending a team of experts to Romania to help with
tests for bird flu, after the disease was detected in
poultry in the Danube delta, officials said on Sunday [9 Oct
2005]. A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said: "Part of that might involve
bringing samples back ... We are ready to help if needed."
The spokesman said no samples had been sent to Britain for
testing as yet.

Romania earlier said further testing would take place in
Britain after its own scientists' tests. The Veterinary
Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, near London, is the
European reference laboratory for avian influenza. The
laboratory is an agency of DEFRA.

The spokesman said Britain was also in touch via the
European Commission with Turkish authorities to see whether
any assistance was needed there after Turkey reported its
1st outbreak of the disease on a farm near the Aegean Sea.

Romania culled hundreds of birds and quarantined villages on
Sunday [9 Oct 2005] to try to halt the spread of bird flu.
Medical teams were sent to test for possible human cases and
to vaccinate the population, but officials said there had
been no cases of flu among the delta's people.

Officials said scientists had so far been unable to isolate
the virus in the suspect birds, indicating it was less
likely to be a virulent strain, but tests would continue for
several days.

If the Romanian cases did turn out to be the deadly H5N1
virus, they would be the 1st evidence the strain has spread
to Europe from Asia, where it has killed 65 people and
millions of birds since 2003.

--
ProMED-mail

[According to Article 1.1.2.3. of OIE's Terrestrial Animal
Health Code, member countries are obliged to notify
immediately the 1st occurrence of a listed disease and/or
infection within their respective territories. According to
article 2.7.12.1, avian influenza in its notifiable form
(NAI) is defined as an infection of poultry caused by any
influenza A virus of the H5 or H7 subtypes, irrespective of
their pathogenicity. If, as indicated in the newswire citing
the Anatolia news agency, an H5 virus has been identified in
Turkey, this outbreak should be immediately notified to the
OIE. Such a notification should include a prescribed list of
data.

In the absence of official notifications from either
country, the following brief summary, based upon the
newswires available so far, is an attempt to review the
situation (accuracy is not guaranteed):

Romania: On Friday [7 Oct 2005] the country reported its 1st
case of the disease in the village Ceamurlia de Jos, in
south Tulcea (Danube delta, eastern Romania). Reportedly, 3
ducks were affected in the yard of a peasant family.
However, on Sat 8 Oct 2005, Romanian officials told AP that
dead birds were 1st noted in late September 2005; that
samples were sent to a laboratory in Bucharest, where
scientists found antibodies to bird flu, but -- unable to
find out the exact strain of the virus -- they allegedly
sent samples to Britain for testing at the Veterinary
Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, Surrey, from where the
results "are expected in the next few days."

According to the current newswire, this information,
however, seems to be denied now by the British lab.

On Sat 8 Oct 2005, Ion Agafitei, the chief veterinarian, was
cited telling reporters that 3 (unspecified, additional?)
birds had tested positive for the virus in a 2nd village:
Smardan, in north west Tulcea region. Quarantines had been
imposed in the 2 villages and 5 others where suspicious bird
deaths had occurred in recent days. Additional information
referred to tests on several swans which had been found dead
nearby, "to be finalized in a couple of days".

Turkey: Disease cases (about 2000 dead turkeys out of an
unspecified population) in a commercial farm in an unnamed
village near Balikesir in the Asian part of Marmara region,
was brought to officials' attention on Wednesday [5 Oct
2005]. On Thursday [6 Oct 2005], officials went to the
village and destroyed all remaining (unspecified number)
birds on the turkey farm and buried them, then disinfected
the area. On Friday [7 Oct 2005], the Anatolia news agency
cited officials as saying that it was confirmed that the
birds died of the H5 type of bird flu. The 1st public news
item on the suspected outbreak appeared on Sat 8 Oct 2005.

It is not clear whether, what and when information on the
suspicion/confirmation of avian influenza was provided by
either country to international agencies (OIE, FAO, WHO),
the EU or trade partners.

The information is rather confusing; official notifications
are urgently needed. - Mod.AS]

2005-11-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:52:00.001-08:00

: "Archive Number20051010.2948
Published Date10-OCT-2005
SubjectPRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (144): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (144): INDONESIA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Tuberculosis

Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters AlertNet Foundation, Sun 9 Oct 2005 [edited]

Indonesia: 4 year old boy a suspected avian influenza case
-------------------------------------------
A 4 year old boy has tested positive for avian influenza
virus infection in Indonesia, a case which, if confirmed,
would be the 6th in the world's 4th most populous country,
the health ministry said on Sun 9 Oct 2005. The boy from
Lampung province on Sumatra was found to be infected with
the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, director general of
Disease Control and Environmental Health I Nyoman Kandun
told Reuters. 'Later, we will confirm the result in Hong
Kong. If the test result there is also positive, he will be
added to the list (of confirmed cases),' Kandun said. The
boy was in the hospital at Lampung. 'He's well, only having
a cough,' Kandun said.

4 Indonesians are already known to have died since July 2005
from the highly pathog"

2005-11-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051009.2947
Published Date 09-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Asia (39): Turkey, turkeys, H5 conf.

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (39): TURKEY, TURKEYS, H5 CONFIRMED
**********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: Nati Elkin
Source: AP via CNN, 9 Oct 2005 [edited]
section=cnn_latest>

Turkey confirms bird flu
------------------------
Anatolia, quoting officials, said that on Friday [7 Oct 2005], it was
confirmed that the birds in Turkey died of the H5 type of bird flu.

Turkey's agriculture minister confirmed the country's 1st cases of
bird flu, and officials ordered all winged animals and street dogs in
the village where it was detected destroyed as a precaution against
the disease spreading, the Anatolia news agency said.

Military police have also set up roadblocks at the entrance to the
village near Balikesir in western Turkey and are checking all
vehicles entering and exiting, Anatolia said on Saturday [8 Oct 2005].

[Belikesir is situated in the southwestern, Asian part of Turkey's
northwestern Marmara region (which has also a European part). See map
at
.
For a map of Turkey, showing the location of the Beliksir region, see:
].

The birds belonged to a turkey farmer, CNN-Turk reported, saying that
2000 birds died. Anatolia did not cite a number but said that any
animals that did not die of the disease were destroyed.

The outbreak was confirmed by Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker, who
said that Turkish officials had been communicating with officials in
the European Union and other international organizations about the
outbreak, Anatolia reported. Eker did not specify how many birds died
of the disease.

The outbreak was initially brought to officials' attention on
Wednesday [5 Oct 2005], Anatolia said. On Thursday officials went to
the village and destroyed all the birds on the turkey farm that were
still alive and buried them, then disinfected the area, Anatolia said.

That would suggest the scientists have narrowed it down to an H5 type
virus -- the family of the bird flu virus that experts are watching
-- but have not narrowed it further to determine whether it is the
exact strain H5N1 that health officials are particularly worried
about.

"Unfortunately we met with bird flu," Anatolia quoted Eker as saying.
"But everything is under control, every kind of precaution has been
taken so that it doesn't spread."

Officials from the Health Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry were
sent to investigate, CNN-Turk reported.

They ordered all winged animals in the village destroyed Saturday [8
Oct 2005], saying that farmers would be compensated for their losses,
Anatolia said.

The farmer whose birds carried the disease said he had not been
checked by doctors yet and was scared to go near his wife and
children, Anatolia reported.

Eker said the flu was likely carried by birds migrating from the Ural
Mountains, which divide Europe and Asia, across Turkey and into
Africa.

Cases of bird flu were also confirmed Saturday [8 Oct 2005] in
Romania, which borders Turkey [see ProMED reference below].

--
ProMED-mail

******
[2]
Turkey culls poultry to stem spread of bird flu-TV

Date: 9 Oct 2005 10:19:57 GMT
From:
Source: Reuters

ANKARA, Oct 9 (Reuters) -
Turkey culled about 1500 chickens and turkeys overnight
to prevent the spread of avian flu after reporting its
first outbreak of the disease on a farm near the Aegean
Sea, NTV private television said on Sunday.

The authorities have also imposed a 3 km (2 miles)
quarantine zone around the affected farm, where nearly
2000 turkeys died of the globally feared disease on
Tuesday and Wednesday, the station said.

Officials were not immediately available to confirm the
reports and it was not clear why the first reports of the
outbreak only surfaced on Saturday evening.

"Last night, some 1500 birds were slaughtered," NTV said.
The authorities have drawn up a national action plan, it
said, but gave no details.

The Anatolian state news agency said veterinary teams had killed 600 turkeys
overnight in one farm alone in the affected area of northwestern Turkey as a
precautionary measure. The birds were buried in lime-drenched pits, it said.
The culling will resume on Sunday evening [9 Oct 2005], the agency said.

[By Gareth Jones]
--
ProMED-mail

[The possible spread of H5N1 (final identification yet to be
confirmed) to the coastlines of the Black Sea area (Tulcea, Romania,
Europe in the west, and southern Marmara, Asia in the southwest)
might be a attributed to transmission by migrating birds. These
locations are situated on a main migratory birds flyway; the annual
southwards migration has began in September 2005. As indicated in the
special report "Wild birds and avian influenza" of FAO's Animal
Production and Health Department:" "... it is plausible that HPAI
H5N1 virus could spread from Siberia to the Caspian and Black Sea
areas in the foreseeable future. Some birds are currently nesting in
the newly HPAI affected areas of Novosibirsk and Altai in Russia and
will migrate to the above-mentioned areas for upcoming winter or land
to rest on their way to Africa and Europe. The exact risk will likely
depend on the identification of specific migratory species that carry
H5 viruses without suffering the disease, and knowledge of their
resting areas and wintering grounds combined with the existing
production poultry systems and husbandry.

Bird migration routes run across southwest Asia and some Mediterranean
countries, where bird flu outbreaks could possibly occur". The report includes
a schematic major-flyways map. See:
cards/avian_HPAIrisk.html>.

Search Results

2005-11-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Search Results

2005-11-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

: "The views of Professor The views of Professor Ed Kilbourne, a scientist with long
experience of influenza viruses and human disease, which are
reported above, deserve some attention if only to moderate
some of the alarmist statements that have gone largely
unchallenged up to the present. - Mod.CP]

******
[2]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters AlertNet Foundation, Sat 8 Oct 2005 [edited]

Chronology -- key dates in Asian avian influenza outbreak
---------------------------------------------------------
Romania reported 3 cases of avian influenza in a village in
the Danube delta on Sat 8 Oct 2005 and started to cull
hundreds of birds to prevent the disease from spreading,
chief veterinarian Ion Agafitei said. Tests were being
carried out to determine which strain [serotype] of virus
was involved.

A total of 65 people have died from the disease in Asia
since late 2003, 44 in Viet Nam, 12 in Thailand, 5 [now
revised down to 3] in Indonesia, 4 in Cambodia.

Here is a brief chronology of the spread of Asian bird flu:

15 Dec 2003 -- South Korea confirmed a highly contagious
type of avian influenza at a chicken farm near Seoul and
began a mass cull of poultry when the virus rapidly spreads
across the country.

31 Dec 2003 -- Taiwan reports its 1st case and later
destroys thousands of chickens with a milder form of avian
influenza [LPAI].

8 Jan 2004 -- Viet Nam says bird flu has been found on many
of its poultry farms.

13 Jan 2004 -- The World Health Organization confirms the
deaths of 3 people in Viet Nam are linked to bird flu.

25 Jan 2004 -- Indonesia discovers an outbreak among
chickens.

26 Jan 2004 -- Thailand confirms the death of a 6-year-old
boy, its 1st human death from bird flu.

12 Feb 2004 -- The World Health Organization confirms tests
show no evidence bird flu is passing from person to person.

16 Mar 2004 -- China declares it has stamped out the disease
in all 49 hotbeds and has had no reports among poultry for
29 days.

26 May 2004 -- Thailand reports [detection] of bird flu in
several dead chickens on a university research farm in the
northern city of Chiang Mai.

19 Aug 2004 -- Malaysia says a strain of bird flu has been
found in 2 chickens that died in a northern village near the
Thai border in the country's 1st bird flu outbreak.

27 Sep 2004 - Thailand says it has found its 1st known
probable case of a human being infecting another with bird
flu. It said this was an isolated incident that posed little
risk to the greater population.

15 Dec 2004 -- Taiwan says it has discovered 2 strains of
avian flu in migratory birds in the northern part of the
island, the milder H5N2 strain and also the H5N6 strain.

5 Apr 2005 -- The UN says that the H7 strain of bird flu
previously undetected in Asia has been found in North Korea.

8 Jul 2005 -- The Philippines says it has suffered its 1st
case of bird flu, in ducks. It later says it is free from
any highly pathogenic strain of bird flu.

20 Jul 2005 -- Indonesia confirms its 1st deaths from bird
flu.

26 Jul 2005 -- Japan says a fresh outbreak of bird flu has
been discovered on a chicken farm in eastern Japan. All
outbreaks in the Ibaraki prefecture since late June have
been confirmed as the weaker H5N2 strain.

9 Aug 2005 -- Viet Nam reports one new human death from bird
flu, taking its death toll to 43. The H5N1 virus has also
killed 12 people in Thailand, 4 in Cambodia and 3 in
Indonesia.

10 Aug 2005 -- The bird flu virus has been found in Tibet,
the world animal health body OIE says.

15 Aug 2005 -- Russia reports an outbreak of bird flu in the
Urals region of Chelyabinsk, the 6th region to be affected.

23 Aug 2005 -- In Kazakhstan a bird flu outbreak of the H5N1
strain in 7 northern villages is confirmed as dangerous to
humans.

26 Aug 2005 -- Finland says it has found a possible case of
bird flu in a seagull in the northern town of Oulu. [Not
confirmed as H5N1 virus]

1 Sep 2005 -- Viet Nam reports one new human death from bird
flu, taking its total to 44.

15 Sep 2005 -- United States says it has promised Viet Nam
USD 2.5 million over 5 years to improve its collection of
information on bird flu. Viet Nam says it is vaccinating
poultry to prevent new outbreaks.

16 Sep 2005 -- Indonesia confirms 4th human death from bird
flu.

26 Sep 2005 -- Indonesia confirms 5th human death from H5N1
strain of bird flu, says disease has spread to 22 of its 33
provinces. [Death toll subsequently revised down to 3]

8 Oct 2005 -- Romania reports avian flu cases in a Danube
delta village, culls hundreds of domestic birds to prevent
the disease from spreading, unclear which strain is
involved.

2005-11-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

:Archive Number 20051009.2947
Published Date 09-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Asia (39): Turkey, turkeys, H5 conf.

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (39): TURKEY, TURKEYS, H5 CONFIRMED
**********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: Sun 9 Oct 2005
From: Nati Elkin
Source: AP via CNN, 9 Oct 2005 [edited]
section=cnn_latest>

Turkey confirms bird flu
------------------------
Anatolia, quoting officials, said that on Friday [7 Oct 2005], it was
confirmed that the birds in Turkey died of the H5 type of bird flu.

Turkey's agriculture minister confirmed the country's 1st cases of
bird flu, and officials ordered all winged animals and street dogs in
the village where it was detected destroyed as a precaution against
the disease spreading, the Anatolia news agency said.

Military police have also set up roadblocks at the entrance to the
village near Balikesir in western Turkey and are checking all
vehicles entering and exiting, Anatolia said on Saturday [8 Oct 2005].

[Belikesir is situated in the southwestern, Asian part of Turkey's
northwestern Marmara region (which has also a European part). See map
at
.
For a map of Turkey, showing the location of the Beliksir region, see:
].

The birds belonged to a turkey farmer, CNN-Turk reported, saying that
2000 birds died. Anatolia did not cite a number but said that any
animals that did not die of the disease were destroyed.

The outbreak was confirmed by Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker, who
said that Turkish officials had been communicating with officials in
the European Union and other international organizations about the
outbreak, Anatolia reported. Eker did not specify how many birds died
of the disease.

The outbreak was initially brought to officials' attention on
Wednesday [5 Oct 2005], Anatolia said. On Thursday officials went to
the village and destroyed all the birds on the turkey farm that were
still alive and buried them, then disinfected the area, Anatolia said.

That would suggest the scientists have narrowed it down to an H5 type
virus -- the family of the bird flu virus that experts are watching
-- but have not narrowed it further to determine whether it is the
exact strain H5N1 that health officials are particularly worried
about.

"Unfortunately we met with bird flu," Anatolia quoted Eker as saying.
"But everything is under control, every kind of precaution has been
taken so that it doesn't spread."

Officials from the Health Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry were
sent to investigate, CNN-Turk reported.

They ordered all winged animals in the village destroyed Saturday [8
Oct 2005], saying that farmers would be compensated for their losses,
Anatolia said.

The farmer whose birds carried the disease said he had not been
checked by doctors yet and was scared to go near his wife and
children, Anatolia reported.

Eker said the flu was likely carried by birds migrating from the Ural
Mountains, which divide Europe and Asia, across Turkey and into
Africa.

Cases of bird flu were also confirmed Saturday [8 Oct 2005] in
Romania, which borders Turkey [see ProMED reference below].

--
ProMED-mail

******
[2]
Turkey culls poultry to stem spread of bird flu-TV

Date: 9 Oct 2005 10:19:57 GMT
From:
Source: Reuters

ANKARA, Oct 9 (Reuters) -
Turkey culled about 1500 chickens and turkeys overnight
to prevent the spread of avian flu after reporting its
first outbreak of the disease on a farm near the Aegean
Sea, NTV private television said on Sunday.

The authorities have also imposed a 3 km (2 miles)
quarantine zone around the affected farm, where nearly
2000 turkeys died of the globally feared disease on
Tuesday and Wednesday, the station said.

Officials were not immediately available to confirm the
reports and it was not clear why the first reports of the
outbreak only surfaced on Saturday evening.

"Last night, some 1500 birds were slaughtered," NTV said.
The authorities have drawn up a national action plan, it
said, but gave no details.

The Anatolian state news agency said veterinary teams had killed 600 turkeys
overnight in one farm alone in the affected area of northwestern Turkey as a
precautionary measure. The birds were buried in lime-drenched pits, it said.
The culling will resume on Sunday evening [9 Oct 2005], the agency said.

[By Gareth Jones]
--
ProMED-mail

[The possible spread of H5N1 (final identification yet to be
confirmed) to the coastlines of the Black Sea area (Tulcea, Romania,
Europe in the west, and southern Marmara, Asia in the southwest)
might be a attributed to transmission by migrating birds. These
locations are situated on a main migratory birds flyway; the annual
southwards migration has began in September 2005. As indicated in the
special report "Wild birds and avian influenza" of FAO's Animal
Production and Health Department:" "... it is plausible that HPAI
H5N1 virus could spread from Siberia to the Caspian and Black Sea
areas in the foreseeable future. Some birds are currently nesting in
the newly HPAI affected areas of Novosibirsk and Altai in Russia and
will migrate to the above-mentioned areas for upcoming winter or land
to rest on their way to Africa and Europe. The exact risk will likely
depend on the identification of specific migratory species that carry
H5 viruses without suffering the disease, and knowledge of their
resting areas and wintering grounds combined with the existing
production poultry systems and husbandry.

Bird migration routes run across southwest Asia and some Mediterranean
countries, where bird flu outbreaks could possibly occur". The report includes
a schematic major-flyways map. See:
cards/avian_HPAIrisk.html>.

Final identification of the Romanian and Turkish isolates, and official
confirmation, including epidemiological data, are anticipated. - Mod.AS]

[From the map referenced above, it seems clear to me that, at least up until
now, the virus has not been spread by migrating birds, since the direction of
spread has been east-west, cutting across several north-south flyways and
following the frontier between Russia and Kazakhstan westwards from the
Mongolian border. Could there be a flourishing trade in poultry along the
border? - Mod.JW]

2005-11-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

2005-11-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

: "Archive Archive Number 20051009.2945
Published Date 09-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/EDR> Dengue/DHF update 2005 (32)

DENGUE/DHF UPDATE 2005 (32)
***************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

[This is by no means a comprehensive collection of all reports of dengue in
the world since the last update. In order to make it more inclusive, ProMED-
mail asks readers to send reports of dengue outbreaks that they find to
.]

In this update:
[1] Malaysia
[2] Malaysia
[3] Thailand (Bangkok)
[4] Singapore
[5] Asia

******
[1] Malaysia
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 18:57:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Today, 7 Oct 2005 [edited]

The United States embassy in Malaysia warned its citizens to watch out for the
dengue-carrying Aedes mosquito as the number of deaths and cases reported
looked set to hit record levels.

"Because the number of dengue cases has significantly exceeded expected
levels, and due to the fact that we are just now entering the rainy season, we
recommend that you take measures to prevent the presence of the Aedes mosquito
around your house or building," it said in a statement.

"The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur is closely monitoring the current outbreak of
dengue fever," it said, citing a Malaysian government announcement on
September 29 that it was on "high alert" over the outbreak.

Fatalities from dengue in Malaysia reached record levels in 2004, when 102
people died, and the health ministry has warned the toll could be higher this
year if efforts are not stepped up to eradicate the virus-carrying mosquito.

Latest official figures released Monday showed Malaysia had confirmed 74
dengue deaths in the first 9 months of 2005, compared to 72 deaths over the
same period in 2004. A number of states in recent weeks have recorded a
doubling or tripling of dengue cases reported.

--
ProMED-mail

******
[2] Malaysia
Date: Sat 8 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: New Straits Times, Malaysia [edited]
e/indexb_html>

The Health Ministry has slapped 6 hospitals in the country with notices for
allowing Aedes [mosquitoes] to breed.

Also, over the last 5 days, there were 576 suspected dengue cases, 19
suffering dengue haemorrhagic fever. There were 3 deaths during this period.

The Health Ministry's Communicable Disease Control division director Dr
Ramlee Rahmat said today the 6 hospitals and 5 schools were among the 13 332
issued with notices between 1 Jan and 6 Oct 2005. The schools are in Selangor,
Malacca & Sarawak.

The notices carry a maximum fine of RM500 [USD 133] each under the Destruction
of Disease Bearing Insects Act 1975 (DDBIA). Those who violate the directive
to clean up the premises are liable to a fine of RM500 daily under Section 23
(c) of the same Act.

"Construction sites still continue to be the highest breeders of the Aedes
mosquito," said Dr Ramlee.

On dengue deaths, Dr Ramlee said 3 people died within the last 15 days,
bringing the death toll to 75.

The victims were a 44-year-old poultry trader from Bayan Baru in Penang who
died on 3 Oct 2005, a factory worker, 40, from Temerloh, Pahang who died on 26
Sep and a 36-year-old technician from Malacca who died on 22 Sep. [Deaths from
DHF are more frequently seen in under-5-year-olds in other parts of SE Asia. -
Mod.JW]

Selangor topped the list of dengue cases with 144 cases and 10 people
hospitalised with DHF, Penang (121 and one death), Kuala Lumpur (80 with one
DHF), Kedah (43 with one DHF), Johor (37), Pahang (30 with 4 DHF and one
death), Negri Sembilan (33), Perak (22), Kelantan (15 with 2 DHF), Malacca (13
with one DHF and one death), Sarawak (11), Sabah (10), Perlis (8), Terengganu
(5), Putrajaya (3) & Labuan (one).

This brings to 29 196 the number of suspected dengue cases between 1 Jan and 6
Oct 2005, with 1500 of them being DHF.

Dr Ramlee said there were 15 hotspots, namely, Barat Daya district, Penang,
(62 cases within the last 5 days) Kajang Municipality, (58), Timur Laut
district, Penang, (36), Johor Baru (31), Subang Jaya Municipality (26),
Setapak (21), Cheras (20), Penang Municipality (19), Kepong (16), Seremban
(14), Ampang Jaya Municipality (13), Shah Alam City area (12), and Bandar
Baru, Gombak and Kuantan (11 each).

[Byline: Annie Freeda Cruez]

******
[3] Thailand
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 14:59:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: ProMED
Source: Xinhuanet, 6 Oct 2005 [edited]

Thailand has been taking the initiative in guarding against dengue fever,
which poses greater threats in 2005 to neighboring countries than in 2004, the
Department of Disease Control said here Thursday.

Thailand has adopted a package of strict measures to contain dengue fever,
including reining outbreak areas and reducing the number of striped Aedes
mosquitoes, both mosquito larvae and adults, Dr. Thawat Suntrajarn, head of
the department, was quoted by Thai News Agency as saying.

Statistics show that during the first 9 months of 2005, more than 32 000 Thais
have been infected with dengue fever, with the death toll standing at 50.
Random checks in 45 provinces found that the index of striped mosquito larvae
in 90 percent of the surveyed areas stands at zero [meaning free of the
mosquito. - Mod.JW]. The number of mosquito larvae has been substantially
reduced as its breeding grounds in houses, schools and temples were
effectively eradicated, said Thawat.

Once the dengue fever patient is detected, a team of health workers will be
sent to the area, killing mosquitoes and destroying the breeding grounds.
Villagers will be advised on how to protect themselves from the deadly
mosquito-borne disease, he added. Thailand experienced an unusually large
number of infected cases in 1998, but has contained the disease since then.

--
ProMED-mail

[Dengue epidemics typically occur in cycles related to changes in the
incidence of the predominant type of dengue circulating (types 1, 2 & 3 were
circulating in Thailand in 1998, with very little type 4) and the length of
the rainy season (which affects mosquito breeding). In 1998 Thailand recorded
129 954 cases of dengue with 433 deaths; since then, the number of deaths has
been much lower:
56 in 1999;
87 in 2000;*
216 in 2001;
176 in 2002;
?? in 2003
40 in 2004
*data for first half of year only
Source:
- Mod.JW]

******
[4] Singapore
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 17:05:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pablo Nart
Source: Terra, 30 Sep 2005 [edited]
ArticleID=247899&ChannelId=19>

The death toll from Singapore's worst dengue fever outbreak on record has
risen to 12 with total cases so far in 2005 nearing 11 000.

In the 3rd dengue death this month, a 38-year-old female shop assistant died
in hospital on Tuesday, 6 days after being admitted.

The 2 other fatalities of the mosquito-borne disease this month were a 39-year-
old mother of 3 suffering from diabetes and a 61-year-old man with liver
problems.

A health ministry spokeswoman said the death toll this year was now 12, 4 more
than the 8 who died of dengue fever in 2004.

The latest death came as the number of cases continued to rise, reaching
10 951 as of 24 Sep 2005, according to health ministry figures.

Singapore, better known overseas for its emphasis on cleanliness, has launched
an all-out campaign to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds, but despite the
effort the number of cases has continued to increase.

Puzzled by their inability to stem the outbreak, Singapore authorities have
engaged foreign and local experts to study the dengue crisis and advise the
government on the best strategy to deal with the problem.

The government is spending 30 million Singapore dollars (18 million USD) to
fight dengue and has been waging a "search and destroy" campaign against
potential mosquito breeding areas for the past 2 weeks.

Dengue experts attending a conference here said Wednesday scientists were
still 7-9 years away from developing a medicine for the tropical disease,
[spread] by the Aedes mosquito.

They said complacency, an explosive rise in urban populations, as well as
easier travel due to the advent of air travel have contributed to the survival
and spread of the dengue virus.

--
ProMED-mail

******
[5] Asia
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 16:50:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: ProMED-mail
Source: NY Times, 1 Oct 2005 [edited]

Even as Asia worries about a possible avian influenza pandemic, a much more
common disease is sweeping the region, borne on the wings of mosquitoes and
commercial aircraft: the dengue virus.

At least 127 000 people have been infected by dengue so far in 2005 along an
arc that stretches from eastern India through the Indonesian archipelago, with
at least 990 deaths, the health authorities say. Warning of a dengue epidemic,
Malaysia recently joined Singapore in declaring emergency measures to combat a
surge in cases that has killed at least 70 people. While those 2 countries are
experiencing record infections, the worst-affected has been populous
Indonesia, with more than 48 000 cases and more than 600 deaths.

"Dengue is now one of the most important tropical diseases," said Duane
Gubler, director of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Tropical Medicine and
Infectious Diseases at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of
Medicine. "While it doesn't kill that many people, it has tremendous economic
and social impact."

Dengue is from the same family of viruses that causes West Nile, Japanese
encephalitis and yellow fever. There is no vaccine or treatment, and it is
estimated to infect at least 50 million people a year. Those with acute cases
suffer painful fever and debilitating lethargy, with about 1 percent
developing hemorrhagic fever [DHF] or shock, sometimes with gastrointestinal
bleeding and, in rare cases, brain hemorrhages.

Complicating prevention, 90 percent of those infected develop only mild
symptoms or no symptoms, inadvertently serving as a reservoir for the virus.
Even those who do fall ill become infectious days earlier, making any
potential quarantine useless, experts say.

[Byline: Wayne Arnold]

******
--
ProMED-mail

[see also:
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (31): 20050927.2843
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (30): 20050919.2766
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (29): 20050908.2665
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (28): correction 20050902.2600
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (28): correction 20050902.2599
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (27) 20050831.2569
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (26) 20050831.2569
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (26) 20050824.2497
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (25) 20050818.2416
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (24) 20050811.2343
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (23) 20050804.2265
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (22) 20050729.2201
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (21) 20050722.2114
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (20) 20050716.2035
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (19): correction 20050719.2078
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (19) 20050708.1929
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (18) 20050701.1853
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (17) 20050623.1766
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (16) 20050616.1697
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (15) 20050612.1635
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (14) 20050602.1539
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (13) 20050529.1489
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (12) 20050519.1375
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (11) 20050515.1333
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (10) 20050510.1284
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (09) 20050428.1181
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (08) 20050423.1139
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (07) 20050408.1012
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (06) 20050313.0741
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (05) 20050306.0674
Dengue/DHF update 2005 (04) 20050209.0437]
...................mpp/ry/pg/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
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information, and of any statements or opinions based
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using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
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2005-11-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051008.2941
Published Date 08-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (142): CDC update

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (142): CDC UPDATE
****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

Date: Sat 8 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: CDC Outbreak Noticed, 5 Oct 2005 [edited]

Human Infection with Avian I influenza A (H5N1) Virus in Asia;
Released 23 Sep, updated 5 Oct 2005
-----------------------------------

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health in
Indonesia has reported the 4th laboratory-confirmed human case of avian
influenza A (H5N1) in Indonesia. The patient, a 27-year-old woman from
Jakarta, developed symptoms on 17 Sep 2005, was hospitalized on 19 Sep, and
died on 26 Sep. Preliminary investigations have indicated that the patient had
direct contact with diseased and dying chickens in her household shortly
before the onset of illness.

Indonesia has reported outbreaks of avian influenza A (H5N1) among poultry
since June 2004. In July 2005, the 1st laboratory-confirmed human case of H5N1
infection in Indonesia was reported in a 38-year-old man who later died. His 2
young daughters also died of a severe pneumonia illness compatible with H5N1
infection; the 8-year-old daughter tested positive for antibodies to H5N1
virus and is therefore considered a probable H5N1 case by WHO.

The 2nd laboratory-confirmed case, reported on 19 Sep 2005, occurred in a 37-
year-old woman from Jakarta who became ill on 31 Aug and died on 10 Sep 2005.
The source of her infection is still under investigation; however, she was
reported to live in an area where chickens and ducks are present. Laboratory
specimens from poultry in the area are being tested.

The 3rd laboratory-confirmed case, reported by the Ministry of Health on 22
Sep 2005, occurred in an 8-year-old boy who was hospitalized for observation
and treatment.

In response to the most recent deaths, the Ministry of Health of Indonesia, in
collaboration with WHO, has launched an epidemiologic investigation and
heightened surveillance for cases. Close contacts of the most recent cases are
being traced and monitored. In addition, some persons with respiratory
symptoms or possible exposure to H5N1 are being hospitalized for observation
and considered as suspect cases by the Ministry of Health until diagnostic
tests either confirm or rule out infection.

In addition, on 19 Sep 2005, the Ministry of Health of Viet Nam reported a new
laboratory-confirmed human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus to
WHO. This infection occurred in a 35-year-old man from Ben Tre Province in
southern Viet Nam; he became ill on 25 Jul 2005 and died on 31 Jul. Since mid-
December 2004, 64 human cases of H5N1 have been reported in Viet Nam, of which
21 were fatal.

During 2005, outbreaks of H5N1 among poultry have been confirmed in Cambodia,
China, Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Russia, and Kazakhstan; poultry
outbreaks were also reported in Malaysia and Laos during 2004. Since Jan 2004,
116 human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported to date: 91 in
Viet Nam, 17 in Thailand, 4 in Cambodia, and 4 in Indonesia, resulting in 60
deaths. CDC remains in communication with WHO and continues to closely monitor
the H5N1 situation in countries reporting human cases and animal outbreaks.

Most cases of H5N1 infection in humans are thought to have occurred from
direct contact with infected poultry in the affected countries. Therefore,
when possible, care should be taken to avoid contact with live, well-
appearing, sick, or dead poultry and with any surfaces that may have been
contaminated by poultry or their feces or secretions.

Transmission of H5N1 viruses to 2 persons through consumption of uncooked duck
blood may also have occurred in Viet Nam in 2005. Therefore, uncooked poultry
or poultry products, including blood, should not be consumed.

The threat of novel influenza subtypes such as influenza A (H5N1) will be
greatly increased if the virus gains the ability to spread from one human to
another in a sustained fashion. Such transmission has not yet been observed;
however, a few cases of limited person-to-person spread of H5N1 viruses may
have occurred. For example, one instance of probable person-to-person
transmission associated with close contact between an ill child and her mother
is thought to have occurred in Thailand in September 2004. More recently,
several clusters of human H5N1 cases in Viet Nam are being investigated for
possible person-to-person transmission of H5N1 viruses. So far, spread of H5N1
virus from one ill person to another has been reported very rarely, and
transmission has not been observed to continue beyond one person.

H5N1 infections in humans can cause serious disease and death. An inactivated
vaccine to protect humans against influenza A (H5N1) is not yet available, but
one is undergoing human clinical trials in the United States. The H5N1 viruses
currently infecting birds and some humans in Asia are resistant to amantadine
and rimantadine, 2 antiviral medications commonly used to treat influenza. The
H5N1 viruses are susceptible to the antiviral medications oseltamavir and
zanamavir, but the effectiveness of these drugs when used for treatment of
H5N1 virus infection is unknown. For more information about antiviral drugs
for influenza, see
.

CDC has not recommended that the general public avoid travel to any of the
countries affected by H5N1. Persons visiting areas with reports of outbreaks
of H5N1 among poultry or of human H5N1 cases can reduce their risk of
infection by observing the following measures:

Before any international travel to an area affected by H5N1 avian influenza,
visit CDC's Traveler's Health Web page on Southeast Asia to educate yourself
and others who may be traveling with you about any disease risks and CDC
health recommendations for international travel in areas you plan to visit.

For a list of affected areas and other information about avian influenza, see
this website:
.

Be sure you are up to date with all your vaccinations, and see your doctor or
health-care provider, ideally 4-6 weeks before travel, to get any additional
vaccination medications or information you may need.

Assemble a travel health kit containing basic 1st aid and medical supplies. Be
sure to include a thermometer and alcohol-based hand gel for hand hygiene. See
the Travelers Health Kit page in Health Information for International Travel
for other suggested items. Identify in-country health-care resources in
advance of your trip. Check your health insurance plan or get additional
insurance that covers medical evacuation in case you become sick. Information
about medical evacuation services is provided on the U.S. Department of State
web page Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, at
.

During travel to an affected area, avoid all direct contact with poultry,
including touching well-appearing, sick, or dead chickens and ducks. Avoid
places such as poultry farms and bird markets where live poultry are raised or
kept, and avoid handling surfaces contaminated with poultry feces or
secretions. As with other infectious illnesses, one of the most important
preventive practices is careful and frequent handwashing. Cleaning your hands
often with soap and water removes potentially infectious material from your
skin and helps prevent disease transmission. Waterless alcohol-based hand gels
may be used when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled.
Influenza viruses are destroyed by heat; therefore, as a precaution, all foods
from poultry, including eggs and poultry blood, should be thoroughly cooked.

If you become sick with symptoms such as a fever, difficulty breathing, or
cough, or with any illness that requires prompt medical attention, a U.S.
consular officer can assist [American citizens] in locating medical services
and informing your family or friends. Inform your health care provider of any
possible exposures to avian influenza. It is advisable that you defer further
travel until you are free of symptoms, unless your travel is health-related.
After your return monitor your health for 10 days. If you become ill with
fever and develop a cough or difficulty breathing, or if you develop any
illness during this 10-day period, consult a health-care provider. Before you
visit a health-care setting, tell the provider the following: 1) your
symptoms, 2) where you traveled, and 3) if you have had direct contact with
poultry. This way, he or she can be aware that you have traveled to an area
reporting avian influenza.

For more information about H5N1 infections in humans, visit the World Health
Organization avian influenza website at

and the CDC Avian Influenza site,
.

For more information about CDC's health recommendations for travel to Asia, see
and
.

--
ProMED-mail

[This advice is specifically directed to US citizens, but it is generally
applicable for travellers to East Asia from all countries. Other nationals
should contact their local health authorities for additional advice. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (118): CDC trav... 20050813.2372
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (105): CDC update 20050724.2144
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (93): CDC advice 20050622.1744
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (79): WHO update 20050519.1376
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (59): CDC guide... 20050328.0892
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (34): CDC Updates 20050220.0558
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (09): CDC update 20050116.0144]
.................cp/pg/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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2005-11-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051008.2939
Published Date 08-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Europe (12): Romania, ducks, susp.

AVIAN INFLUENZA - EUROPE (12): ROMANIA, DUCKS, SUSPECTED
********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: The Guardian, 8 Oct 2005 [edited]

Fears that the deadly Asian bird flu may have spread to Europe were heightened
yesterday when the Romanian government confirmed that 3 ducks have died of a
strain of the disease in the east of the country. Scientists in Britain are to
conduct tests on samples to find out whether the domestic ducks were infected
by the dangerous H5N1 strain, which has so far been confined to Asia.

The Romanian government warned that it feared that the ducks were infected
with the strain, and strong security measures were put in place in the village
of Ceamurlia, in eastern Romania, where the birds died [in late September
2005]. Restrictions were placed on the movement of people and animals into and
out of the village near the Black Sea, and there were plans to vaccinate
people. Nearly all the domestic fowl in the village have been slaughtered.

Gabriel Pedoi, a senior Romanian health official, told the Associated
Press: "We are in the phase of suspicion. We are trying to isolate the virus
and we are taking all measures to isolate the disease."

If it is confirmed that the ducks died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, Europe
will be placed on high alert. The strain has killed 60 people in Asia and
there are fears that the virus could soon develop into a form that passes more
easily to humans. In the worst-case scenario, that could trigger a human flu
pandemic.

European Union officials were last night counselling caution after a scare in
August 2005, when the virus spread to the Asian part of Russia. Sources said
Romania had not yet notified the European commission and they pointed out that
a seagull died of a mild version of bird flu in Finland recently.

But the World Health Organisation said it was taking the development
seriously, though it would only become fully involved in the outbreak if it
were transmitted to humans.

"If it were to spread to other geographical areas then we would be concerned
because H5N1 is quite strong and it can persist," said spokeswoman Maria Cheng.

The [UK] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the
current assessment of the risk of the strain spreading from Russia to Britain
was low, but that any new, confirmed cases in countries that had not
experienced them before would trigger a further risk assessment. Asked if the
Romania cases could have resulted from migrating birds landing -- the most
obvious way the disease would spread -- a spokesman said: "It is too early to
say, if it is indeed confirmed, how the disease has been transmitted."

The dead birds were first noted in Ceamurlia [in late September 2005],
Romanian officials told AP. Samples were sent to a laboratory in Bucharest,
where scientists found antibodies to bird flu. Unable to find out the exact
strain of the virus, the scientists sent samples to Britain for testing at the
Veterinary Laboratories Agency, based in Weybridge, Surrey. The results are
expected in the next few days.

The findings in Romania follow warnings from the British Veterinary
Association (BVA) that some strain of avian flu is bound to arrive in Britain.
The best-case scenario has always been that infected birds would swiftly die
from the virus before they could get far. Each step towards the UK will raise
concern, however, that this scenario is too optimistic.

Different species of birds are affected differently by the virus, and some
will survive longer than others. The BVA pointed out that highly pathogenic
strains of avian flu have been spread by wild birds.

If avian flu gets into the domestic poultry flock, the risk of it passing to
humans clearly rises sharply. So far, the strain of avian flu that has spread
to humans in Asia has not shown an ability to transfer easily from one human
being to another. When that happens, experts believe we will have to deal with
a pandemic.

[Byline: Nicholas Watt in Brussels, Sarah Boseley & Riazat Butt]

--
ProMED-mail

[Ceamurlia is situated in the south of Tulcea County, about 50 km to the south
of the county's capital, Tulcea (population: 92 000). See maps at:
Europe
whole country
Tulcea.

The Danube Delta is characterised by the plentiful population in an expanse of
wetlands and a flyway for migrating birds. Such birds were suspected as
vectors of West Nile virus into the region during the 1990's. See: Costin
Cernescu et al. Continued Transmission of West Nile Virus to Humans in
Southeastern Romania, 1997-1998. JID, Feb 2000,181,pp 710-712. - Mod.AS]

[Elsevier reference:
Avian influenza: perfect storm now gathering? [Editorial] The Lancet 2005;
365:820. ]

[see also:
Avian influenza - Europe (10): Romania, ducks, susp. 20051007.2928
Avian influenza - worldwide: preventive measures 20050930.2861
Avian influenza - Europe (04): EU, preventive measures 20050824.2498
Avian influenza - Europe (05): EU, preventive measures 20050825.2511
Avian influenza - Asia (23): migratory birds 20050907.2657
Avian influenza - Asia (25): migratory birds 20050909.2675]
....................arn/pg/jw

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
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etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
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2005-11-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051008.2937
Published Date 08-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Europe (11): Turkey, turkeys, susp.

AVIAN INFLUENZA - EUROPE (11): TURKEY, TURKEYS, SUSPECTED
*********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters alertnet, 8 Oct 2005 [edited]

2000 turkeys dead from avian flu in Turkey-TV
---------------------------------------------
About 2000 turkeys have died from avian flu in western Turkey, CNN
Turk reported on Saturday [8 Oct 2005], in the 1st known case among
domestic birds in this country since the recent outbreak of the
disease in Asia.

"Yesterday, unfortunately, we experienced a case of bird flu. But
everything is under control, every precautionary measure has been
taken to prevent it spreading," the television channel quoted Farm
Minister Mehdi Eker as saying.

--
ProMED-mail

[More, and official, details will be appreciated, particularly results of
laboratory tests, to confirm -- or, hopefully, exclude the involvement of
H5N1. A low-pathogenic H9N2 avian influenza A virus is known to be present
during recent years in various Middle-Eastern countries, moderately affecting
chickens and turkeys. - Mod. AS].

[see also:
Avian influenza - Europe (10): Romania, ducks, susp. 20051007.2928
Avian influenza - worldwide: preventive measures 20050930.2861
Avian influenza - Europe (04): EU, preventive measures 20050824.2498
Avian influenza - Europe (05): EU, preventive measures 20050825.2511]
----------------------arn/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
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############################################################

People's Daily Online -- Macedonia to send sample of dead poultry to Britain for further tests

2005-11-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

People's Daily Online -- Macedonia to send sample of dead poultry to Britain for further tests

UPDATED: 08:57, October 19, 2005
Macedonia to send sample of dead poultry to Britain for further tests

The Macedonian Veterinary Administration announced Tuesday that one sample of the dead poultry found in the south would be sent to Britain for further testing of bird flu, the Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) reported.

Forty samples of the dead birds in the village of Mogila in Bitola district had been tested for bird flu, and one of them, which was suspicious, would be sent to Britain for further testing, the Veterinary Administration Director Slobodan Cokrevski said, adding that the results were expected for one week.

According to Cokrevski, most of the samples had shown the symptoms of Newcastle disease.

The authorities have taken measures to protect about 500 households in Mogila, slaughtering suspicious poultry and zoning the infected and disease-free areas, Cokrevski said.

A number of domestic birds were found dead in Mogila on Saturday, after which the Veterinary Administration got the samples and operated an inspection.

Source: Xinhua

2005-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051007.2924
Published Date 07-OCT-2005
Subject PRO> Influenza viruses, drug resistance (03)

INFLUENZA VIRUSES, DRUG RESISTANCE (03)
***************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

Date: Thu 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Canada.com, Health News / Canadian Press, Thu 6 Oct 2005 [edited]
9da02ff083ac>

It appears a misunderstanding, not a mutation, is behind recent reports
suggesting the H5N1 avian flu strain is developing resistance to the drug
Tamiflu. The professor of pharmacology from Hong Kong University quoted as
warning of an emerging resistant strain of the virus says he was citing old
data, not new evidence, when he gave an interview last week. He was trying to
urge GlaxoSmithKline to reintroduce an injectable form of their rival flu
drug, Relenza. The resulting report suggested Tamiflu was becoming less
useful -- a claim that was widely repeated.

"My point is to emphasize on the introduction of injectable drugs. But they
use a headline 'Resistant H5N1 appears in Vietnam," Dr. William Chui, who is
also chief of the pharmacy service of Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital, said in
an interview. Chui says he was citing medical literature, including a recent
New England Journal of Medicine review article on human cases of avian
influenza that made reference to an H5N1 isolate from Viet Nam shown to be
partially resistant to oseltamivir, Tamiflu's generic name. That discovery was
made public in mid-May 2005 in the report of a meeting of experts the World
Health Organization convened in Manila to determine whether the pandemic risk
from H5N1 had risen. When the reports quoting Chui started to circulate, flu
experts around the world sent out urgent e-mails trying to find out who had
found new evidence of resistance. The flu community keeps close tabs on the
efficacy of these important drugs, known as neuraminidase inhibitors. They!
came up with a puzzling blank.

Except for that one partially resistant H5N1 isolate from Viet Nam, no
researchers have reported new discoveries of Tamiflu-resistant viruses
isolated from human cases of H5N1, both the WHO and Tamiflu's manufacturer,
Hoffman-La Roche, confirm. "There is a network of laboratories that has been
set up to follow antiviral resistance among influenza strains," says Michael
Perdue, a scientist in the WHO's global influenza program. "One of the first
things they look at (when they get new viral isolates) is the antiviral
sensitivity and resistance. And the papers that have been published thus far
have shown all the strains to be sensitive." That doesn't mean there might not
be evidence of resistance out there, being kept under wraps by researchers
pushing them through the publication pipeline of medical journals. Still,
Perdue thinks word might have gotten around. "There's no hard and fast rule.
But generally people let WHO know information like that. And we have not
heard."

Neither has Roche, which has stewed while reports have questioned the value of
their drug. Oseltamivir is one of only 2 drugs thought to be effective against
H5N1; Relenza is the other. Governments around the world have been rushing to
stockpile the easier-to-administer Tamiflu as a hedge against a possible
pandemic. (Tamiflu is sold in pills; Relenza is inhaled like an asthma
drug.) "We don't have additional (resistance) data so when we see articles
like this, we're as perplexed as everyone else," says Paul Brown, a vice-
president of Roche Canada and until recently global team leader for Tamiflu.

However, everyone, including Roche, expects some resistance to the drug to
develop if it becomes widely used. In fact, studies have shown just that in
Japan, the only market to date which has embraced Tamiflu in a serious way for
seasonal influenza. Antiviral researcher Dr. Frederick Hayden of the
University of Virginia says a recent study of Japanese children showed about
16 per cent developed resistance to the drug. "That's one in 6. So I would
anticipate that in H5N1-infected persons that the frequency would certainly be
no less," says Hayden, co-chair of an international network of scientists who
monitor for resistance to neuraminidase inhibitors. But even when resistance
develops, evidence suggests it may not spread easily. In the lab, viruses that
develop resistance to oseltamivir pay a price; they are less fit than non-
resistant viruses. That suggests it might be difficult for a resistant strain
of the virus to emerge and claim dominance over non-resistance strains. So !
far the evidence that resistance strains are less fit has been shown only with
human flu strains, Hayden says. But studies could and should be done to see if
the same holds true with H5N1 viruses, he insists.

[Byline: Helen Branswell]

--
ProMED-mail

[Resistance is a relative term, and assessment of the reality of the emergence
of resistant virus needs to be evaluated in quantitative terms. For the
present this thread is cut, as there seems to be little evidence of the
emergence of avian H5N1 influenza virus exhibiting anything more than partial
resistance to oseltamivir in East Asia at the present time. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
Influenza viruses, drug resistance (02): RFI 20051001.2878
Influenza viruses, drug resistance 20050930.2863
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (120): Viet Nam 20050901.2589
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (80): Viet Nam 20050519.1380
Avian influenza, poultry - China: antiviral treatment 20050621.1740
2004
----
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (93): WHO statement 20040716.1935
Avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, human vaccine prospects 20040125.0300
Avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, drug resistance 20040125.0298
2001
----
Influenza virus, neuraminidase inhibitor resistance (02) 20010928.2372
Influenza virus, neuraminidase inhibitor resistance 20010926.2350]
........................cp/pg/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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FT.com / World / International economy - Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears

2005-11-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

FT.com / World / International economy - Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears

Shoppers wary of poultry in Europe as official assurances fail to calm fears
By Tony Barber, Vincent Boland, Jan Cienski, Christopher Condon, Clive Cookson, Leslie Crawford, International Staff, Amy Kazmin, Jenny Wiggins and Hugh Williamson
Published: October 19 2005 03:00 | Last updated: October 19 2005 03:00

Poultry consumption has begun to fall in parts of Europe as fears grow over the spread of bird flu despite official assurances that cooked birds remain safe to eat.

Chicken sales have fallen by athird in Italy, and prices have dropped by up to 40 per cent over the past month or so, according to the Italian farmers' union.

The rest of this article is for FT.com subscribers only

2005-11-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051006.2918
Published Date 06-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Asia (38): Russia (Urals)

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (38): RUSSIA (URALS)
*******************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Pravda, 5 Oct 2005 [edited]

Russia's agriculture minister said Wed [5 Oct 2005] that the situation with
bird flu, which swept parts of Siberia during the summer, has stabilized even
as authorities reported a new case in southern Siberia.

Avian flu, blamed on wild migratory birds from Southeast Asia, was first
detected in a Siberian region in July 2005 and has since spread to at least 5
other provinces. The H5N1 strain of the flu can be lethal to humans, but no
human cases have been registered in Russia.

Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev told a news conference that the bird flu
situation was under control, but said preventive measures were still needed.

The Agriculture Ministry said the number of towns and villages affected by the
outbreak have fallen from 50 to 7. Investigators are conducting tests in 19
other settlements suspected to have the bird flu cases.

The latest outbreak was recorded in the Kurgan region in southern Siberia,
said Lyubov Voropayeva, a spokeswoman for Russia's epidemiological service.
The outbreak at the Utyatskaya farm in the Kurgan region was the 1st to be
recorded in the region, located just east of the Ural Mountains.

More than 1/5 of the farm's 460 000 birds have died and authorities will
likely slaughter the rest, Voropoayeva told The Associated Press. She said the
farm stopped sales on 28 Sep 2005 when the 1st birds died.

--
ProMED-mail

[According to additional information, derived by ProMED-mail's Russian
correspondent from local media, several foci of avian influenza have been
registered in other parts of the Kurgan region during August and September
2005, affecting private farms. The current outbreak involves a large
integrated farm.

Kurgan oblast, where this outbreak is located, is situated within the Urals
Federal District (Administrative center: Yekaterinburg), which is one of
Russia's 7 main Federal Districts. The other oblasts in Urals are Sverdlovsk,
Tyumen and Chelyabinsk. The Urals Federal District includes also 2 autonomous
districts: Khantia-Mansia and Yamalia. A description of Russia's
administrative divisions and corresponding maps can be found in ProMED post
20050908.2666. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Avian influenza - Asia (37): Russia 20051005.2906
Avian influenza - Asia (32): Russia 20050924.2816
Avian influenza - Asia (14): Russia (Siberia, Urals), H5N1 20050908.2666
Avian influenza - Asia (13): Russia (Siberia, Urals), H5N1 20050830.2561
Avian influenza - Asia (12): Russia (Siberia), H5N1 20050826.2525
Avian influenza - Asia (11): Russia (Siberia) 20050825.2515
Avian influenza - Asia (09): Russia (Siberia), OIE 20050822.2475
Avian influenza - Asia (07): Russia (Siberia) 20050821.2458
Avian influenza - Asia (05): Russia (Siberia) 20050819.2439]
................arn/pg/jw
*##########################################################*
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are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
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Deadly bird flu carriers unlikely to migrate to Australia: researcher. 19/10/2005. ABC News Online

2005-11-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

Deadly bird flu carriers unlikely to migrate to Australia: researcher. 19/10/2005. ABC News Online

Last Update: Wednesday, October 19, 2005. 8:38am (AEST)
Deadly bird flu carriers unlikely to migrate to Australia: researcher
A Newcastle University researcher studying migratory birds and whether they carry viruses, says it is unlikely the deadly strain of bird flu will arrive in Australia through such bird populations.

Microbiology lecturer Phil Hansbro says some isolated cases of a non-dangerous strain of the bird flu have been detected in local migratory wading birds, but the virus is dormant in them and cannot be passed to humans.

Mr Hansbro says overseas, the deadly strain of bird flu has been detected in water fowl such as geese and ducks, but those birds do not migrate to Australia.

"These occur in duck and geese populations and there are no migratory ducks or geese that come in and out of Australia," he said.

"The only really migratory birds are the wading birds, so we've not found these pathogenic viruses in these wading birds."

2005-11-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051006.2912
Published Date 06-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (141): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (141): INDONESIA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: Thu 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters Alert Foundation, Thu 6 Oct 2005 [edited]

Indonesian health officials said on Thu [6 Oct 2005] that 2 young
men, including one who died a week ago, had proved positive for avian
influenza virus in local tests. I Nyoman Kandun, Head of disease
control at the Health Ministry, said specimens had been sent to a
Hong Kong laboratory recognised by the World Health Organisation for
further testing. Results should be available in the next few days.

Indonesian health officials suspect avian influenza [to be the cause
of] 6 deaths since July 2005 in the world's 4th-most-populous nation,
[whereas the WHO-designated reference laboratory in] Hong Kong has
confirmed only 4 cases.

"The PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) showed positive for both (men),"
said Kandun. "One is a 21-year-old man ... he is still alive and in a
stable condition. The other one had died. Both are proven to have had
direct contact with dead poultry."

Bird flu has killed more than 60 people in 4 Asian nations since late
2003 and has been found in birds [as far west as the European part of
Russia]. One of the greatest fears of experts is that the H5N1 bird
flu virus will mutate to become easily passed between humans,
triggering a pandemic. The current H5N1 strain cannot be easily
transmitted by people. Millions have died in past flu pandemics.

Authorities in Indonesia say they have found infected chickens that
were asymptomatic, which could raise a greater threat to humans by
making it harder to detect [see also ProMED-mail post entitled: Avian
influenza - Asia (36): Indonesia 20051005.2905]. Health experts say
the finding was bad news, but more information was needed, as there
are many different strains of H5N1. Many have low pathogenicity and
are relatively harmless, and only some have proven to be deadly for
birds and humans. Some species of waterfowl, like ducks and geese,
are natural hosts of the H5N1 and do not fall ill from it. The virus
has always been known to be virulent in chickens, but they typically
fall sick quickly and die within 24 hours of contracting it.

Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said chickens without symptoms
had been found among those kept in backyards, while commercial
chickens usually died quickly when they contracted the disease.
"Certainly, it poses a greater danger for humans because we don't
know whether the poultry are infected, as they do not show any
symptoms," Supari said.

The country has come under fire for reluctance to carry out mass
culling of chickens in infected areas, like those conducted in some
other countries.

Supari said Indonesia had received 60 000 doses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu
[for human use], mostly aid from neighbouring Australia. Tamiflu will be
distributed to 44 designated hospitals across the sprawling archipelago.

Indonesia cumulatively has had nearly 90 human cases under observation for
suspected bird flu, but most have proved negative. The virus has spread to 22
provinces out of 33 in Indonesia, killing more than 10 million domesticated
birds since late 2003. One of the difficulties in controlling the disease is
that a large number of people in both rural and urban areas of the country
keep a few chickens and other livestock.

******
[2]
Date: Thu 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Antara New Agency, Thu 6 Oct 2005 [edited]

2 other people in Indonesia have reportedly contracted the avian
influenza virus which is blamed for the deadly bird flu disease,
Health Ministry`s disease control and environmental sanitation,
director general I Nyoman Kandun said here today [Thu 6 Oct 2005].
The 2 patients were identified as a 21-year-old resident of Lampung
who had been treated at the Abdul Moeloek general hospital in Lampung
and a 23-year-old resident of Bogor, West Java, who died at the
Sulianti Saroso hospital here few days ago, Kandun said.

Quoting the results of the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain
Reaction (RT-PCR) test of the Research and Development Agency at the
Health Ministry and Jakarta-branch Naval Medical Research Unit
(NAMRU), Kandun said the 2 patients were positively infected with
H5N1 virus which causes the bird flu illness. "Their samples will be
sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory in Hong Kong for
further confirmation," he said. He also said a team of the Health
Ministry and Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) were conducting investigation in Lampung following the report.

[As of 5 Oct 2005] the Health Ministry [stated that] 75 people in
Indonesia were believed to have contracted the bird flu virus, 11
others were probably infected with the H5N1 virus as they had
laboratory tests showing the tendency [?] of avian influenza virus
infection, and 4 others were confirmed by the WHO laboratory in Hong
Kong to have been infected with avian influenza virus. Another one
reportedly had a positive serological test but did not show clinical
symptoms, the data said. The people who were probably infected with
avian influenza virus were [residents of] Jakarta, Banten, West Java,
North Sumatra, East Kalimantan and Lampung.

According to [Ministry of Health] data, 11 of the people had died
but only 3 of the dead were confirmed to have contracted [avian H5N1
influenza virus infection]. Kandun said all the people were treated
at hospitals the government named as health centers for bird
flu-infected patients. In Jakarta alone, at least 20 people were
treated at Sulianto Saroso hospital as of 4 Oct 2005, he said, adding
that many of them had become sick after visiting the Ragunan Zoo in
South Jakarta.

******
[3]
Date: Thu 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: The People's Daily online, Xinhua report, Thu 6 Oct 2005 [edited]

A 20-month-old baby who was suspected of developing bird flu symptoms finally
died after 3 days of intensive treatment at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital in
Jakarta, a hospital spokesman said Thursday [6 Oct 2005]. The baby died
Wednesday evening due to respiratory problems and worsening pneumonia,
hospital spokesman Ilham Patu was quoted by the Detikcom online news service
as saying. Avian influenza has killed at least 7 people in the country [only 3
so far confirmed by WHO. - Mod.JW]. Indonesian healthcare authorities have
said at least 85 people were hospitalized for developing [avian influenza-
like] symptoms. The Sulianti Saroso Hospital, which is specialized for
patients with infectious diseases, is treating at least 20 suspected bird flu
patients.

******
[4]
Date: Thu 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Xinhua News Agency, Wed 5 Oct 2005 [edited]

The number of people suspected of having bird flu has doubled to 85
in Indonesia, a government official said here Wednesday [5 Oct 2005].
The cases were dispersed in 9 out of 30 Indonesian provinces, said I
Nyoman Kandun, director general of disease prevention with the
Ministry of Health. Kandun confirmed that 4 patients have tested
positive for bird flu, which [is suspected of having] killed 7
Indonesians so far. The ministry's earlier report put bird flu cases
at 42 nationwide.

******
[5]
Date: Thu 6 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Pravda.ru, Thu 6 Oct 2005 [edited]

Indonesia's Health Minister lowered the country's number of confirmed
human deaths from bird flu to 3 on Thursday, in line with figures
from the WHO. There had been confusion surrounding Indonesia's toll
from bird flu since its 1st death was reported in July 2005, in part
because local laboratory tests were not always consistent. Until
Thursday [6 Oct 2005], Indonesia had reported 6 fatalities from the
virus.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has swept through poultry
populations in many parts of Asia since 2003, jumping to humans and
killing at least 62 people region-wide and resulting in the deaths of
tens of millions of birds. Most human cases have been linked to
contact with sick birds. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told
reporters there was only one other confirmed case of bird flu, and
that the patient was recovering.

--
ProMED-mail

[Reporting by the Indonesian healthcare authorities has confused assessment of
the extent of infection of the human population in Indonesia. Taken together,
these reports indicate that there have been 3 WHO-laboratory confirmed fatal
cases of avian H5N1 infection in Indonesia, one [confirmed] non-fatal case,
and a large number of suspected cases (variously given by Indonesia sources as
up to 75, 85 & 90), which have yet to be confirmed by the WHO-designated
reference laboratory in Hong Kong. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
Avian influenza - Asia (36): Indonesia 20051005.2905
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (140): Indonesia 20051005.2899
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (139): Indonesia 20051004.2896
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (138): WHO review 20051003.2892
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (137): Indonesia 20050929.2857
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (136): Indonesia 20050928.2852
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (135): Indonesia 20050927.2848
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (134): Indonesia 20050924.2818
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (133): Indonesia 20050922.2804
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (132): 20050922.2794
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (131): Indonesia 20050921.2785
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (130): Indonesia 20050921.2779
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (129): Indonesia 20050919.2769
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (127): Indonesia 20050919.2763
Avian influenza - Asia (27): Indonesia, zoo birds 20050918.2760
Avian influenza, human: LPAI susceptibility 20050918.2759
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (126): Indonesia 20050918.2758
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (125): Indonesia, conf. 20050916.2736]
.......................arn/cp/pg/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.

TODAYonline

2005-11-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

TODAYonline
Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Greece bans poultry shipments from bird flu-tainted region, steps up tests

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 19-Oct-2005 02:52 hrs

A veterinarian sprays disinfectant at a small poultry farm where antibodies for the avian flu virus were detected in a live turkey, in Oinousses islet off the eastern Greek island of Chios. Greece banned all poultry shipments in the eastern Aegean Sea region as it awaited tests to show whether the deadly Asian strain of bird flu has reached the country.

Greece banned all poultry shipments in the eastern Aegean Sea region and placed the elderly owners of a poultry flock under medical surveillance as it awaited tests to show whether the deadly Asian strain of bird flu has reached the country.
.
A day after antibodies for the H5 avian flu virus were detected in a live turkey from Oinousses, an islet off the eastern island of Chios, the Greek authorities stepped up tests on the same flock and announced steps to beef up the country's anti-flu vaccine stock.
.
Deputy agriculture minister Alexandros Kontos told an emergency news conference Tuesday that nine more samples and a dead turkey have been taken to a European Union-certified laboratory in the northern port of Salonika, where tests are underway to verify the H5 strain discovery on Monday.
.
That first result, established by a ministry laboratory in Athens, was based on a batch of blood samples taken from the flocks of two Oinousses poultry-raisers on October 14, Kontos said.
.
The ministry initially said the Salonika laboratory will need at least a week to determine whether the virus was the H5N1 subtype that can be lethal to humans.
.
Later on Tuesday, the ministry changed tack and said final word on the H5N1 subtype would be given by a second EU-certified laboratory in Weybridge, southeast England, which was sent a sample of the suspect turkey in the morning.
.
Weybridge is the lab which on Saturday confirmed the presence of the potentially lethal H5N1 strain in Romania.
.
Kontos denied reports that other suspect cases of avian flu have turned up in other parts of Greece.
.
"Until now, there have been no positive samples beyond what was found on Oinousses," he said, adding that the ministry is examining bird tissue sent from across the country.
.
Kontos likewise denied reports that poultry was recently imported into Chios from the nearby Turkish coast.
.
He noted that any such shipments would have been stopped by customs officials, given that the import of livestock products from Turkey has been prohibited for years.
.
Poultry flocks on other Greek islands facing the Turkish coast are now being monitored, and kept isolated from wild birds, Kontos said.
.
"There is no risk from the consumption of poultry products," he said.
.
On Oinoussa proper, Chios prefect Polydoras Lambrinoudis told an AFP reporter that authorities had already disinfected the area where the suspect turkey was discovered, as well as neighbouring coops.
.
A 500-metre security cordon has been enforced on the site, with six police officers brought in to keep media crews away.
.
But even as the agriculture ministry insisted that Greece's professional poultry farms are inspected daily and are safe because their chickens are kept indoors, both Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates declared a ban on all imports of poultry and related derivatives from Greece.
.
The owners of the suspect flock on Oinousses, a retired sailor and his wife, were tested early on Tuesday by doctors from Greece's Centre for the Control of Infectious Diseases (KEEL), prefect Lambrinoudis told AFP.
.
Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis told reporters that although the couple had already had anti-flu vaccine shots earlier this year they will be monitored at home for a week, the required time for the virus's incubation.
.
Kaklamanis admitted that there is "a shortage" of anti-flu vaccines in Greece, announcing that thousands of fresh shots have been secured by Greek pharmaceutical companies and are being directed into the market as of Tuesday. — AFP
Greece banned all poultry shipments in the eastern Aegean Sea region and placed the elderly owners of a poultry flock under medical surveillance as it awaited tests to show whether the deadly Asian strain of bird flu has reached the country.
.
A day after antibodies for the H5 avian flu virus were detected in a live turkey from Oinousses, an islet off the eastern island of Chios, the Greek authorities stepped up tests on the same flock and announced steps to beef up the country's anti-flu vaccine stock.
.
Deputy agriculture minister Alexandros Kontos told an emergency news conference Tuesday that nine more samples and a dead turkey have been taken to a European Union-certified laboratory in the northern port of Salonika, where tests are underway to verify the H5 strain discovery on Monday.
.
That first result, established by a ministry laboratory in Athens, was based on a batch of blood samples taken from the flocks of two Oinousses poultry-raisers on October 14, Kontos said.
.
The ministry initially said the Salonika laboratory will need at least a week to determine whether the virus was the H5N1 subtype that can be lethal to humans.
.
Later on Tuesday, the ministry changed tack and said final word on the H5N1 subtype would be given by a second EU-certified laboratory in Weybridge, southeast England, which was sent a sample of the suspect turkey in the morning.
.
Weybridge is the lab which on Saturday confirmed the presence of the potentially lethal H5N1 strain in Romania.
.
Kontos denied reports that other suspect cases of avian flu have turned up in other parts of Greece.
.
"Until now, there have been no positive samples beyond what was found on Oinousses," he said, adding that the ministry is examining bird tissue sent from across the country.
.
Kontos likewise denied reports that poultry was recently imported into Chios from the nearby Turkish coast.
.
He noted that any such shipments would have been stopped by customs officials, given that the import of livestock products from Turkey has been prohibited for years.
.
Poultry flocks on other Greek islands facing the Turkish coast are now being monitored, and kept isolated from wild birds, Kontos said.
.
"There is no risk from the consumption of poultry products," he said.
.
On Oinoussa proper, Chios prefect Polydoras Lambrinoudis told an AFP reporter that authorities had already disinfected the area where the suspect turkey was discovered, as well as neighbouring coops.
.
A 500-metre security cordon has been enforced on the site, with six police officers brought in to keep media crews away.
.
But even as the agriculture ministry insisted that Greece's professional poultry farms are inspected daily and are safe because their chickens are kept indoors, both Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates declared a ban on all imports of poultry and related derivatives from Greece.
.
The owners of the suspect flock on Oinousses, a retired sailor and his wife, were tested early on Tuesday by doctors from Greece's Centre for the Control of Infectious Diseases (KEEL), prefect Lambrinoudis told AFP.
.
Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis told reporters that although the couple had already had anti-flu vaccine shots earlier this year they will be monitored at home for a week, the required time for the virus's incubation.
.
Kaklamanis admitted that there is "a shortage" of anti-flu vaccines in Greece, announcing that thousands of fresh shots have been secured by Greek pharmaceutical companies and are being directed into the market as of Tuesday. — AFP

2005-11-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051005.2906
Published Date 05-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Asia (37): Russia

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (37): RUSSIA
***********************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: Wed 5 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: OIE press release, 4 Oct 2005 [edited]

OIE expert's mission to assess the avian influenza situation of wildlife in
Russia
------
At the request of the OIE delegate of Russia, the World Organisation
for Animal Health (OIE) has started yesterday [3 Oct 2005] its
expert's mission to assess the avian influenza situation of wildlife
in Russia and the national measures to be taken to minimize the risk
of international spread of the disease. The mission will last one
week.

The reference laboratory of the country (located in Vladimir) and, if
possible, other laboratories will be visited to assess the conditions
for the laboratory in Vladimir to be part of the world wide network
of OIE reference laboratories. Samples from wild birds will be
collected to try to verify whether they carry H5N1. The relevant
species of wild birds will also be listed in order to identify their
migration routes and thus to allow the countries receiving these
birds to be prepared to develop surveillance activities when relevant.

This mission will be the 1st of a series of missions in which the OIE
will offer the necessary technical and scientific collaboration to
Russia needed in combating and/or preventing the disease.

The OIE/FAO world wide laboratory network on avian influenza (OFFLU)
will be in the forefront of these missions.

Below are published the Terms of reference of the mission of OIE
experts to Russia:

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Mission to Russia to assess the avian influenza situation in wildlife
and the national measures being taken to minimize the risk of
international spread.

Requested by: Dr. Evgueny A. Nepoklonov, Chief Veterinary Officer of Russia

Proposed dates of visit: 28 Sep - 7 Oct 2005

Team Composition under the framework of the OIE/FAO Avian Influenza
Laboratory Network (OFFLU):

Dr. Stefano Marangon, OIE Reference Laboratory at the IZS Venezia, Italy
Dr. Ian Brown, OIE Reference Laboratory Weybridge, UK
Dr. Nicolas Gaidet, CIRAD-EMVT, France
Prof. Bjorn Olsen, Infektionskliniken Kalmar, Sweden
Dr. Vittorio Guberti, IZS Venezia, Italy

Duration: 8 working days in Russia

Mission Program

1. To asses the situation with regard to the possible relation
between infection of wildlife with avian influenza and the avian
influenza outbreaks in commercial poultry

- To assess whether there are healthy carriers of the H5N1 strain
- If yes, to assess the role of healthy carriers in the spread of the disease
- To assess which main wildlife bird species could get clinically or
sub-clinically infected and might be involved in the spread of the
disease
- To gather information on the routes and periods of migration of the
relevant (infected) wild birds and to provide advice on a system of
surveillance of wild birds in Russia
- To give advice on a warning system for risk countries receiving the
relevant (infected) wild birds.

2. To assess the current capabilities of the Russian reference
laboratory and, if possible, that of other diagnostic laboratories in
the diagnosis of avian influenza.

3. To submit an independent Mission Report to the OIE on completion
of the mission.

4. Other OIE missions to Russia will be organized just after this 1st
mission with the following purposes:

- Technical and economic evaluation of the reinforcement of the
Vladimir laboratory in order to strengthen capacity and international
recognition in the field of avian influenza diagnostics
- Updating of the legislation and policies on avian influenza
national control in Russia
- Designing by the Russian veterinary authorities of a national
system of surveillance of influenza in wild birds in Russia.

The results of the mission will be published on the OIE web site.

--
ProMED-mail

[This exemplary initiative, reflecting the attained interdisciplinary
cooperation of experts from the host-country and the international
community and the need to tackle the avian influenza problem at its
source, is to be praised; hopefully, similar cooperative efforts will
follow in other parts of the world, particularly in eastern Asia. -
Mod.AS]

******
[2]
Date: Wed 5 Oct 2005
From: Nati Elkin
Source: Ria Novosti, 5 Oct 2005 [edited]

Bird flu found in 7 Russian towns, 19 more suspected
----------------------------------------------------
Bird flu has been registered in 7 Russian towns, with 19 being
watched for a possible outbreak, the Federal Service for Veterinary
and Phytosanitary Oversight said on Wednesday [5 Oct 2005].

"As of 5 Oct 2005, 7 towns in Russia have an unfavorable bird flu
situation, and 19 towns are suspected [of infection]," the service
said in a news release.

During the epidemic, the disease has been registered in 50 towns in 6
of the Russian Federation's components, with 83 major cities suspected of
contamination.

--
Nati Elkin

[Russia's last follow-up report to the OIE on the avian influenza situation,
including a map of the affected regions, was received on 20 Aug 2005; see
.

Have new outbreaks been suspected/confirmed? If affirmative, where? In which
species? How many avians have been affected, and what control measures have
been applied? A fresh follow-up report would help. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Avian influenza - Asia (32): Russia 20050924.2816
Avian influenza - Asia (14): Russia (Siberia, Ural... 20050908.2666
Avian influenza - Asia (13): Russia (Siberia, Ural... 20050830.2561
Avian influenza - Asia (12): Russia (Siberia), H5N1 20050826.2525
Avian influenza - Asia (11): Russia (Siberia) 20050825.2515
Avian influenza - Asia (09): Russia (Siberia), OIE 20050822.2475
Avian influenza - Asia (07): Russia (Siberia) 20050821.2458
Avian influenza - Asia (05): Russia (Siberia) 20050819.2439
Avian influenza - Asia (25): migratory birds 20050909.2675
Avian influenza - Asia (23): migratory birds 20050907.2657
Avian influenza - Asia (21): migratory birds 20050906.2637
Avian influenza - Asia (15): migratory birds 20050827.2536]
......................arn/msp/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
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or archived material.
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WCFCourier.com | The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier Online!

2005-11-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

WCFCourier.com | The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier Online!

Health experts advise duck hunters on bird flu
By DAN HAUGEN, Courier Staff Writer
NEW HAMPTON --- Duck hunters aren't overly worried about reports a deadly avian flu strain could spread to the United States through migrating waterfowl.

"It's on the radar screen, but it's not a major concern," said Jeremy Rosonke of New Hampton, regional director for the Waterfowl Association of Iowa.

The duck hunting season reopened last weekend in northern Iowa.

Avian flu is commonly found in wild birds, which don't usually exhibit signs. The virus is deadly to domestic flocks and a worrisome strain called H5N1 since 2003 has killed 60 people in Southeast Asia.

Al Hancock, a waterfowl technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, has received few questions from hunters about the disease.

Closer to the virus's epicenter, however, Alaska game officials last month issued a bulletin reminding hunters to follow common sense precautions when handling and cooking animals. Those include washing hands before eating, drinking and smoking after touching birds.

Health experts believe migratory birds are partially to blame for spreading the deadly strain in Asia and now Europe, which confirmed its first cases over the weekend. Lab tests on three dead ducks found in a Romanian village indicated the birds carried the virus.

Wild birds can infect poultry and poultry can infect people. But there are no known cases of wild birds directly infecting people with H5N1. Most confirmed human cases in Asia have been among poultry workers or families with backyard poultry flocks.

Whether duck hunters, field biologists and others who come in contact with wild birds are at an increased risk for avian influenza is unknown. Because the virus is so unpredictable, though, said Leslie Dierauf, director of the National Wildlife Health Center, playing it safe makes sense.

"We really don't know what the transmission is," Dierauf said.

That's why the wildlife health center issued an advisory in August similar to the Alaska notice. The guidelines suggest hunters wear disposable latex gloves when handling and cleaning game and thoroughly wash hands, knives, equipment and surfaces that come in contact with carcasses.

Dierauf said the H5N1 flu strain isn't in North America. But scientists can't rule out the possibility migrating birds might carry the strain from Asia across the Bering Sea to Alaska. From there, the virus could take multiple migration cycles to reach Iowa.

Hundreds of mostly harmless bird flu strains occur naturally in Iowa's waterfowl, though. Dr. James Gill, a researcher at the University of Iowa, hopes by studying these strains he can better understand how influenza viruses infect humans.

"We don't know what causes this virus to every so often get into the human population and cause a pandemic," Gill said.

A research group last fall collected blood samples from duck hunters and their duck kills at a hunt near Wapello. The scientists are analyzing the samples to see if the hunters had ever been exposed to avian virus strains.

Another part of the study took samples from DNR workers and ducks as they tagged birds in the field. Gill has applied for a larger grant to expand the research to an international level.

Until more is known, though, sanitary practices are a good idea, Gill said.

"The ducks have influenza. Humans handle ducks. So, logic would dictate that if you're going to handle material that has influenza virus, then you should be careful."

Reuters AlertNet - Iran braces for bird flu as fowl migrate for winter

2005-11-02T11:22:00.002-08:00

Reuters AlertNet - Iran braces for bird flu as fowl migrate for winter

2005-11-02T11:22:00.001-08:00

Reuters AlertNet - Iran braces for bird flu as fowl migrate for winter

2005-11-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051005.2905
Published Date 05-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Asia (36): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA - ASIA (36): INDONESIA
**************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

Date: Wed 5 Oct 2005
From: Cat Bachman
Source: Reuters Alertnews, 5 Oct 2005 [edited]

Indonesia finds H5N1 infected but healthy chickens
--------------------------------------------------
Indonesian health authorities have found chickens which tested
positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus but which appear to be healthy,
a sign that the bug may become harder to detect, officials in Hong
Kong and Jakarta said.

Some species of waterfowl, like ducks and geese, are natural hosts of
H5N1 and do not fall ill from it. But the virus has always been known
to be virulent in chickens, which fall sick quickly and die within 24
hours of contracting it.

Hong Kong's Health Minister York Chow said authorities in Indonesia
had found infected chickens which were asymptomatic.

"As the virus may have spread so widely (in Indonesia), chickens have
now become hosts," Chow told reporters in Hong Kong on Wednesday [5
Oct 2005]. He did not give other details.

"We are worried that if there are infected chickens which don't show
any symptoms, then if we are in close contact with them, the chances
of humans getting infected will be higher."

Mathur Riady, director general of the poultry department at
Indonesia's agriculture ministry, confirmed the report.

"... we have also learned that, in the case of the virus in birds,
they can be affected, but they won't die," he told Reuters in
Jakarta. "They even show no clinical symptoms."

Leo Poon, a microbiologist at the Chinese University in Hong Kong,
said the discovery of the H5N1-infected but asymptomatic chickens was
bad news but that more information was needed.

There are many different strains of H5N1. Many have low pathogenicity
and are relatively harmless, and only some have proven to be deadly
for birds and humans.

"We don't have all the information, and they could have just found a
low pathogenic strain of H5N1 in the chickens. Or this could be a
highly pathogenic strain but which has adapted itself in chickens or
turned less virulent," Poon said. "But the more chickens are
infected, the higher the chance of the virus spilling over to
humans," he said.

Bird flu has killed more than 60 people in 4 Asian nations since late
2003 and has been found in birds in Russia and Europe.

Experts' greatest fear is that H5N1, which has a documented mortality
rate of about 50 percent, could set off a pandemic if it gains the
ability to be passed easily among people.

In Indonesia, officials have said that 5 people are believed to have
died from H5N1. The World Health Organization puts the number of dead
at 3, based on Hong Kong tests, and says there is a 4th case of a boy
who has the disease but is alive and in stable condition.

[Byline: Additional reporting by Yoga Rusmana in Jakarta]

--
Cat Bachman RN, USA

[It is not clear which test has been carried out in the "asymptomatic
chickens which tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu," and why. In
case the test was a serological one, there could have been various
reasons for the lack of clinical symptoms: a low-pathogenic virus,
natural resistance of the birds, or their immunity. Such an immunity
could have been established also by a heterologous H5 virus, either a
wild one or a vaccine strain (mass vaccinations are reportedly being
carried out in Indonesia). Obviously, background epidemiological
details, as well as data on the virus itself, are necessary before an
evaluation of the Indonesian H5N1 virus strain and hypotheses on
public-health implications can be made. It would help if such
information were obtained directly from Indonesia. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Avian influenza - Asia (33): Indonesia 20050924.2817
Avian influenza - Asia (26): Indonesia, control 20050918.2757
Avian influenza - Asia (29): Indonesia, zoo birds 20050920.2773
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (140): Indonesia 20051005.2899
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (139): Indonesia 20051004.2896
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (136): Indonesia 20050928.2852]
..................arn/ms/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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Macedonia reports suspected avian flu case - Forbes.com

2005-11-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

Macedonia reports suspected avian flu case - Forbes.com

AFX News Limited
Macedonia reports suspected avian flu case
10.18.2005, 12:16 PM

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AFX) - A bird suspected to have died in Macedonia of a strain of avian flu has been flown to the UK for further testing, health authorities said here.

Sloboden Cokrevski, head of the Macedonian Veterinarian Directorate, made the statement on state radio just days after 1,000 chickens and turkeys were found dead in two southern villages.

'One of 40 birds from the village of Mogila that were tested contained a suspicious material that indicated a possible presence of some kind of flu,' said Cokrevski, adding the bird, a domestic fowl, was sent to the UK for testing.

After the discovery of the dead birds at the weekend, Macedonian experts played down fears that the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, which has killed more than 60 people in Asia, had spread from nearby Turkey and Romania.

Macedonian radio reported that authorities on Tuesday also banned access to Mogila and its surroundings in an attempt to protect villagers and the remaining poultry.

The government had previously formed two commissions overseeing measures to prevent any outbreak of bird flu.

2005-11-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051005.2899
Published Date 05-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (140): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (140): INDONESIA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

Date: Wed 5 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: The Jakarta Post, Agence France Presse report, Wed 5 Oct 2005 [edited]
fileid=20051005155211&irec=1>

Indonesia: Suspected 7th Avian Influenza Fatality
-------------------------------------------------
A 23-year-old man has become Indonesia's 7th avian influenza victim,
dying in the hospital last week [final week September 2005] after
being confirmed as suffering from the disease, a doctor said on
Wednesday [5 Oct 2005].

"He died on Thursday [29 Sep 2005], one day after he was admitted
here," said Ilham Patu, a spokesman on avian influenza cases at the
Sulianti Saroso hospital for infectious diseases in the capital. The
young man, who was referred to Sulianti Saroso from a private
hospital in Cibinong south of here, registered positive for the avian
influenza virus in both clinical and blood tests shortly after being
admitted, Patu said. The patient had been in direct contact with
birds and poultry, as he bred birds, and many of his neighbors raised
chickens, the doctor said.

Ilham also said that 2 tests made on an elderly man suspected of
having contracted avian influenza, who died at the same hospital on
Sunday [2 Oct 2005], had produced negative results. Indonesia
currently has more than 60 cases of confirmed or suspected bird flu
in humans, raising new fears of a possible pandemic.

Ilham said tissue and blood samples from the latest [suspected 7th]
victim have been sent to Hong Kong for further confirmatory tests at
a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory. The H5N1 strain of
avian influenza has also killed 43 people in Viet Nam, 12 in Thailand
and 4 in Cambodia. Only 3 of the Indonesian victims reported by
[Indonesian] authorities here have been confirmed as bird flu deaths
by the WHO lab, with results for the other 3 still pending.

The WHO fears H5N1 will mutate, acquiring genes from the human
influenza virus that would make it highly infectious and lethal to
millions in a global pandemic. But it has also urged calm, saying
investigations in Indonesia had produced no evidence that H5N1 was
spreading easily from person to person. Indonesia has declared it is
facing an "extraordinary" outbreak of the virus, allowing it to order
suspected cases into the hospital, among other measures.

--
ProMED-mail

[As of Thu 29 Sep 2005, a total of 4 fatal cases of avian H5N1 influenza virus
infection [in Indonesia] has been confirmed by the WHO-designated reference
laboratory in Hong Kong. Confirmatory test results for another 3 suspected
fatal cases, including the fatal case described above and a considerable
number of suspected non-fatal cases, are awaited. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (139): Indonesia 20051004.2896
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (138): WHO review 20051003.2892
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (137): Indonesia 20050929.2857
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (136): Indonesia 20050928.2852
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (135): Indonesia 20050927.2848
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (134): Indonesia 20050924.2818
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (133): Indonesia 20050922.2804
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (132): 20050922.2794
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (131): Indonesia 20050921.2785
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (130): Indonesia 20050921.2779
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (129): Indonesia 20050919.2769
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (127): Indonesia 20050919.2763
Avian influenza - Asia (27): Indonesia, zoo birds 20050918.2760
Avian influenza, human: LPAI susceptibility 20050918.2759
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (126): Indonesia 20050918.2758
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (125): Indonesia, conf. 20050916.2736]
...........................cp/msp/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
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############################################################

2005-11-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Archive Number 20051004.2896
Published Date 04-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (139): Indonesia

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (139): INDONESIA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Tuberculosis

[1]
Date: Tue 4 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Reuters, Tue 4 Oct 2005 [edited]

A young Indonesian man is suspected of having contracted avian influenza after
a local test result showed positive, and health officials said on Tuesday [4
Oct 2005] a specimen would be sent to a Hong Kong laboratory for further
testings. I Nyoman Kandun, head of disease control at Indonesia's Health
Ministry, said the young man's condition was stable and he was being cared for
at a hospital in Bandar Lampung on Sumatra island designated to treat people
with bird flu symptoms.

"Although the local test shows that he is positive, we don't want to reach any
conclusion yet, as we are awaiting results from Hong Kong," Kandun told
Reuters. Common symptoms of the disease, such as pneumonia, can have other
causes, while local testing has not always squared with results from the Hong
Kong laboratory recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Indonesian officials have said 5 people are believed to have died in the
country from H5N1 virus infection. The World Health Organisation puts the
number of dead at 3, based on Hong Kong tests, and says there is a 4th case of
a boy who has the disease but is alive and in stable condition.

"We have received patients with similar symptoms, but they proved to be from
other causes," Kandun said. Separately, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono
said authorities have found infected fowl in the neighbourhoods of the
victims. "There is a link between human victims with (infected) fowl in the
surrounding area. However, we are not certain if (they) were exposed from the
neighbourhoods," Apriyantono told reporters.

Officials have said suspected human cases have come from 9 provinces out of 33
across Indonesia's sprawling archipelago. The virus has spread to 22 provinces
and more than 10 million fowl have been culled since late 2003.

******
[2]
Date: Tue 4 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: The Jakarta Post online, Tue 4 Oct 2005 [edited]

A critically ill 68-year-old man suspected of [having contracted avian
influenza] died on Sunday [2 Oct 2005] after being treated in hospital for
less than a week. The patient died at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital for
infectious diseases after being admitted on 30 Sep 2005. He owned a chicken
farm in Bogor, hospital staff said on Monday.

"We have yet to get the test results, but he showed similar symptoms to those
of other confirmed avian influenza patients," hospital head of information and
bird flu surveillance Sardikin Giri Putro said [but those symptoms were also
similar to the symptoms of other respiratory infections -- see next
paragraph. - Mod.JW]. The deceased patient's body was wrapped in layers of
plastic sheeting and put in a coffin to contain the spread of the virus.
Sardikin said the patient died of acute pneumonia.

The hospital to date has treated 22 people suspected of having the virus. The
hospital previously discharged 5 patients after they tested negative for bird
flu. The hospital said the patients were suffering from the common flu, lung
or respiratory infections. The 5, however, will be required to report to the
hospital regularly after they return home to monitor their condition.

******
[3]
Date; Sat 1 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Atara News, Sat 1 Oct 2005 [edited]

A 5-year-old boy from Wonogondo village, Kebonagung subdistrict, Madiun, East
Java, was rushed to Dr Soedono Hospital on Friday night after being treated at
the Pacitan Regional Hospital since Thursday, a doctor confirmed on Saturday
[1 Sep 2005]. "We are still [doing] some (medical) tests on him and cannot yet
make any conclusion," Doctor (med) Sutowo, one of the 4-member team in charge
of handling the deadly virus, said.

The boy's mother meanwhile said [her] son was brought to the Madiun Regional
Hospital after his condition worsened. She said [her] son got bird flu
symptoms after 15 of her chickens were found dead suddenly. Their death might
be due to the deadly [H5N1] virus. The boy is the 2nd suspected avian
influenza case in East Java.

--
ProMED-mail

[These 3 cases add to the increasing number of suspected human cases of avian
H5N1 influenza cases reported from Indonesia. However, few have been confirmed
when referred to the WHO-designated reference laboratory in Hong Kong. One of
the conclusions of the analysis of human cases of avian H5N1 influenza
conducted by the WHO Writing Committee (see the ProMED-mail post entitled:
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (138): WHO review 20051003.2892) is
that: "Case detection is confounded by the non-specificity of initial
manifestations of illness, so that detailed contact and travel histories and
knowledge of viral activity in poultry are essential. Commercial rapid antigen
tests are insensitive, and confirmatory diagnosis requires sophisticated
laboratory support." As of 29 Sep 2005 the WHO was able to confirm no more
than 4 cases of avian influenza in Indonesia by laboratory testing. - Mod.CP]

[Elsevier reference:
Avian influenza: perfect storm now gathering? [Editorial] The Lancet 2005;
365:820. ]

[see also:
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (138): WHO review 20051003.2892
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (137): Indonesia 20050929.2857
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (136): Indonesia 20050928.2852
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (135): Indonesia 20050927.2848
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (134): Indonesia 20050924.2818
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (133): Indonesia 20050922.2804
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (132): 20050922.2794
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (131): Indonesia 20050921.2785
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (130): Indonesia 20050921.2779
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (129): Indonesia 20050919.2769
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (127): Indonesia 20050919.2763
Avian influenza - Asia (27): Indonesia, zoo birds 20050918.2760
Avian influenza, human: LPAI susceptibility 20050918.2759
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (126): Indonesia 20050918.2758
Avian influenza, human - East Asia (125): Indonesia, conf. 20050916.2736]
........................cp/pg/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
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