GlycoHealth: Bird Flu

H5N1 Fatality in Hunan China Raises Vaccine Concerns

2005-10-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 27, 2005

"The death of a Chinese girl with flu-like symptoms in a village where a bird flu outbreak had been reported was caused by pneumonia acute respiratory difficulty, local health authority cited initial blood tests result as saying on Thursday.

Latest tests on the girl's blood sample have turned out negative for the avian influenza virus, and doctors said she had died of severe pneumonia with acute respiratory difficulty, according to the provincial center for disease prevention and control.

The 12-year-old He Yin died recently after eating a dead chicken in Wantang Village, in Xiangtan County of central China's Hunan Province, where the latest outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza was reported several days ago.

"The above description provides additional evidence that the cause of the girl's death was H5N1. On Tuesday, China filed an OIE report indicating that H5N1 had been detected at Wantang Village and was killing chickens and ducks. The death and/or bird flu symptoms in two children that had eaten a dead chicken in the village strongly suggests the severe pneumonia was due to H5N1. Negative data means little if there is no positive data identifying the micro-organism that caused the pneumonia.

"...In 2004, the only reported human H5n1 cases were in Vietnam and Thailand and isolates from the two countries were similar as were case fatality rates. However, in 2005 a milder version of H5N1 emerged in northern Vietnam, while a more lethal version was found in southern Vietnam and Cambodia. This there were two versions of H5N1 co-circulating in Vietnam.

"Similarly, the first human cases in Indonesia were reported in 2005 and there may be milder version there also. Some reports have described two distinct versions of H5N1 in Indonesia.

"This increase in versions of H5N1 raises serious questions about a pandemic vaccine effort that targets a 2004 version of H5N1 and ignores the emerging human versions that are linked to wild birds. The current strategy is to wait for a reassortment event, and there is little data to support such a prediction." Click the title to read the article.

USDA to Step up Wild Fowl Testing for Bird Flu

2005-10-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

USA: October 27, 2005
Planet Ark

"WASHINGTON - The US Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it would step up testing of migratory fowl for bird flu as part of federal precautions against the deadly disease.

"The H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which can be lethal to humans, was found in poultry in Asia before moving into Romania, Turkey, Greece and Russia in recent weeks. No cases have been found in the United States.

"The United States is the world's largest producer and exporter of poultry meat, with chicken, turkey and duck production valued at about $23 billion annually.

"The USDA is already testing some chicken flocks on American farms as well as migratory birds in Alaska to detect bird flu.

"The US government said it is planning more extensive testing in 2006 in the flyways where wild birds, believed to be the primary carrier of the disease, enter the United States. Officials did not say how many birds would be tested or where.

"Ron DeHaven, head of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said importers of US poultry products could be tempted to halt purchases if the H5N1 strain was found in wild birds in the United States.

"While detection of the H5N1 virus in migratory birds would be a good early warming signal, it does not show if the disease has spread to commercial poultry farms, he told reporters at a briefing on the US government's surveillance system.

"To help detect the highly transmissible form of bird flu, the USDA said it has more than 40,000 private veterinarians across the nation watching for the disease in local fowl.

"The USDA has already taken other precautions against the disease, including banning imports of live birds and eggs from infected countries and requiring all imported birds to be quarantined and tested for the virus.

"According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, properly cooked poultry poses no risk to human health.

"Only two cases of humans contracting the disease from consuming chicken products have occurred, both in Asia, said Dick Raymond, USDA's undersecretary for food safety. Both infections are believed to have occurred through eating undercooked meat or raw blood of the fowl, he said." Click the title to read the article.

Extensive H5N1 Human To Human Transmission In Indonesia?

2005-10-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 21, 2005

"Petersen said preliminary tests showed they had influenza, but the type was unclear. The Health Ministry said it might announce test results later on Friday.

"'What we know is that from one clear case in Thailand and probably in other cases there has been close family contact and this is why it could have gone from one person to another,' Petersen said.

"'It's not what we call extensive human-to-human transmission ... It doesn't mean mutation.'

"The above comments are in reference to a father and son who were admitted on Wednesday to Sulianti Saroso hospital in Jakarta. The son had handled a neighbor's sick poultry, but his father had not had contact with poultry. Thus, when both were admitted with bird flu symptoms, concern was expressed regarding human-to-human transmission associated with mutation. Since both now have pneumonia and evidence of influenza infection, it likely that the son infected his father with H5N1 bird flu.

"However, these familial clusters are not new and although WHO has been slow to acknowledged the fact, the vast majority of the familial clusters involver human-to-human transmission. Now WHO is using a new term, called extensive human-to-human transmission. Since WHO has maintained that the 2005 flu pandemic is a phase 3, which involves only rare human-to-human transmission, the focus on extensive human-to-human transmission may also be an admission that the pandemic has progressed beyond phase 3. When the transmission is sustained, the pandemic has reached the final phase, which is phase 6.

"The latest familial clusters will likely be confirmed for both father and son, since they both have tested positive for influenza. This new cluster, however, will add to the evidence that there has been extensive human-to-human transmission. The extent of the human to human transmission can be measured by the frequency of confirmed cases that belong to clusters." Click the title to read the article.

H5N1 Infected Birds Smuggled Into Taiwan from China

2005-10-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 20, 2005

"Taiwanese authorities on Thursday confirmed the island's first case of bird flu, the Agricultural Commission said.

Birds taken from a Panama-registered freighter that was stopped by the Taiwanese coast guard on Oct. 14 tested positive for the H5N1 virus, the commission said.

"The above report indicates that H5N1 was detected in Taiwan for the first time. H5N2 was detected in Taiwan in late 2003 and there were also reports of H5N1 in smuggled ducks onto Quemoy.Island. However, this is the first report of H5N1 in Taiwan.

"Details of the shipment are unclear, including the origin of the shipment. Birds from Fuzhou were recently confiscated in Taichung Harbour, which may be the same incident.

"H5N1 is a reportable disease and a report from China on birds from the site of origin would seem to be required..." Click the title to read the article.

Sequencing Confirms H5N1 Wild Bird Flu Migration to Europe

2005-10-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 20, 2005

"The above comments from the October 19 Romanian OIE report clearly show that H5N1 wild bird flu has migrated to Europe. The sequencing of the N gene shows that the isolates in Romania match the isolate in Turkey as well as isolates from Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China.

"The efficient transportation and transmission of H5N1 wild bird flu strongly suggests that the geographic reach of H5N1 will increase dramatically. Additional October 19 OIE reports from Russia and China filed yesterday also indicate that the H5N1 wild bird flu is migrating out of Mongolia into Inner Mongolia in China (see world map) and out of Siberia and into European Russia (see European map). The simultaneous reports by Russia and China on locations that are over 2500 miles apart begins to show the breadth of the H5N1 wild bird flu spread, which prior to July had never been reported in Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey, or Romania.

"As the birds continue to migrate into warmer regions, the number of reports or confirmations should continue of a daily basis. The number of negative reports are cause for concern. It appears that H5N1 in some areas of Europe went undetected or unreported for 3 months..." Click the title to read the article.

Evidence For H5N1 Wild Bird Flu Cover-up in Europe Mounts

2005-10-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 17, 2005

What about the reports that other birds, including 15 swans, have been found dead on a lake outside the quarantine zones? "A lot of birds have been falling ill, don't ask me how many," he says. "I'm just a human being. I can only tell you what has been happening in Ceamurlia."

Later, we hear that the ministry has issued a statement saying that no swans have died on any other lake. However, later on the internet, we see that some Romanian news agencies are reporting that villagers from Ceamurlia first noticed birds washing up on the shores of the lake three months ago and that it was only when the fisherman discovered his own chickens had died that anyone thought to send tissue samples away for testing.

"...The above comments on H5N1 wild bird flu in Romania overlook the fact that there has been a clear cover-up of H5N1 in Europe since August. In August there were media reports of birds dying in the Volga Delta at the northern end of the Caspian Sea. Reports out of Russia would change almost daily. The Kalmikya region was H5N1 confirmed one day and then denied the next. Confirmation would indicate that H5N1 had migrated form Siberia and had entered Europe in August.

"...Monitoring and reporting of H5N1 in Europe, like Asia, remains scandalously poor." Click the title tor read the article.

Romania quarantines area after confirmation that deadly bird flu strain has reached Europe

2005-10-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 15, 2005
Newsday.com

"Romania quarantines area after confirmation that deadly bird flu strain has reached Europe Romanian authorities called for calm Saturday as they quarantined an eastern region where tests confirmed Europe's first appearance of a deadly strain of bird flu that has devastated flocks and killed dozens of people in Asia.

"Poland's government, meanwhile, banned the sale of live birds at open-air markets and ordered farmers to keep poultry in closed quarters beginning Monday. It also banned pigeon races.

"...On Friday, after the deadly H5N1 virus was confirmed in Turkey, on Europe's doorstep, European Union experts agreed that steps should be taken to limit contact between domestic fowl and wild birds. Experts say migrating birds have spread the disease since it appeared in Southeast Asia two years ago.

"...British laboratory tests confirmed that H5N1 was the virus that killed migratory birds found dead in Romania's Danube River delta.

"Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur placed the Dobrogea region under quarantine, requiring all vehicles entering and leaving the area to be disinfected. Checkpoints were set up on roads into the area, and the region was banned from shipping out eggs and poultry meat.

"The area includes the Danube and Black Sea counties of Tulcea and Constanta, where 1.5 million people live. The two lake-filled counties are an important stop for migratory birds from Asia.

"Flutur said birds in four neighboring counties were being monitored.

"...In Turkey, authorities sprayed a second round of disinfectant at the quarantined village of Kiziksa, some 80 miles from Istanbul, where the H5N1 virus was detected at a farm a week ago.

"Turkish officials said the virus had been contained in Kiziksa. But Mustafa Altuntas, head of a Turkish veterinarians association, said there was a risk of new outbreaks elsewhere in the country, especially near wetlands used by migrating birds.

"About 1,000 chickens were reported dead near the town of Patnos in Turkey's Agri province, but a local Agriculture Ministry official said it was not known if they were killed by bird flu or some other disease.

"Test results were not expected before Monday and no quarantine was ordered, said the official, who agreed to discuss the deaths only if not quoted by name because the Turkish government rarely allows civil servants to speak to journalists.

"...Stamping out the flu outbreaks in poultry swiftly is important for human health because the further the virus is allowed to spread, the more opportunities it has to mutate into a form that passes easily between people, sparking a human flu pandemic."
Click the title to read the article.

Girl Has Drug-Resistant Case of Bird Flu

2005-10-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

By MALCOLM RITTER AP Science Writer
Associated Press
ABC News

"NEW YORK Oct 14, 2005 — The bird flu virus that infected a Vietnamese girl was resistant to the main drug that's being stockpiled in case of a pandemic, a sign that it's important to keep a second drug on hand as well, a researcher said Friday.

"He said the finding was no reason to panic.

"The drug in question, Tamiflu, still attacks 'the vast majority of the viruses out there,' said Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Tokyo and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The drug, produced by Swiss-based Roche Holding AG, is in short supply as nations around the world try to stock up on it in case of a global flu pandemic.

"He also said it's not surprising to see some resistance to Tamiflu in treated individuals, because resistance has also been seen with human flu.

"In lab tests, the girl's Tamiflu-resistant virus was susceptible to another drug, Relenza, which is made by GlaxoSmithKline.

"Kawaoka and colleagues report the case in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Nature, which released the study Friday. The researchers conclude that it might be useful to stockpile Relenza as well as Tamiflu.

"Both drugs are being stockpiled by the U.S. government. Doctors have good reason to believe Tamiflu would be effective at combatting a pandemic strain of bird flu, although it's not clear how long people would have to be treated or what doses they'd need, said Dr. John Treanor of the University of Rochester." Click the title to read the article.

Over 3600 Dead Wild Ducks In West Azerbajan Iran

2005-10-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 12, 2005

"...The above OIE report on over 3600 dead wild ducks in Iran is cause for concern. Past rumors of dead birds in Iran have been denied, but this official report raises the prospect of H5N1 wild bird flu. The location is between the Black and Caspian Seas (see map), which is where many species from southern Siberia winter. These birds are now arriving from southern Siberia, and dead birds have been found on the western side of the Black seas in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece.

"H5N1 has been confirmed in Turkey, where 1700 turkeys were found dead on a turkey farm with 1800 birds. It seems likely that H5N1 will be discovered in all countries adjacent to the Black and Caspain Seas, so the finding of the massive die off in Iran is not unexpected." Click the title to read the article.

No quick fix for bird flu, experts caution

2005-10-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

11 Oct 2005 19:48:57 GMT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
Source: Reuters

"WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - If vaccines and drugs are available too late to stop bird flu, then what can be done to battle H5N1 avian influenza if it spreads to people? Not a lot, experts say.

"If a pandemic emerges in the coming year, there will not be enough supplies of drugs or vaccines to stop it and basic medical equipment that could slow its spread is also lacking.

"World leaders have been stepping up their efforts to battle avian influenza in recent weeks, holding meetings, making international visits and ordering vaccines and drugs.

"U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and a contingent of U.S. and World Health Organization flu experts are visiting affected southeast Asian nations this week and diplomats are working to make better alliances for sharing information quickly about any human outbreaks.

"But many experts agree that little real progress has been made in stopping the spread of H5N1 bird flu.

"...World Health Organization officials say many countries still seem to be reluctant to share information and to ask for help if the pandemic begins within their borders.

"...Experts say it is mutating steadily and fear it will eventually acquire the changes it needs to spread easily from person to person. If it did, it could sweep around the world in months or even weeks and could kill millions of people.

"Even in advanced nations like the United States, little has been done to help provide even basic care for pandemic flu patients, the American College of Emergency Physicians said." Click the title to read the article.

Vaccines, Drugs No Answer to Birdflu, Experts say

2005-10-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

USA : October 11, 2005
Planet Ark

"WASHINGTON - Many governments around the world are stockpiling antiviral drugs and some companies are trying to speed up vaccine production but these measure give a false sense of security and will do little to counter a flu pandemic, an expert cautioned on Monday.

"Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert who has been studying the risk of pandemic flu for decades and is a US government adviser, said governments should be preparing to cope with the pandemic instead of relying entirely on the hope of using vaccines and drugs to control it.

"If the H5N1 avian flu begins to easily infect humans, it will move too quickly for drugs and vaccines to be of much use, Osterholm said.

"'It doesn't matter if we have a vaccine now or not. We can't make it,' Osterholm said in a telephone interview.

"...Experts say it is mutating steadily and fear it will eventually acquire the changes it needs to spread easily from person to person.

"If it does, it will sweep around the world in months or even weeks and could kill millions of people -- as many as 150 million, according to the most dire forecast by the World Health Organization.

"...People have known about the risk of an influenza pandemic for a very long time, said Osterholm, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota who advises the federal government on such issues.

"'We have had a pandemic flu plan as a planning process since 1976,' said Osterholm. 'Nobody has completed it. It been one of the most long-standing incompleted processes in Washington. Nobody wants to believe that modern medical science can't handle something.'

"But it cannot, said Osterholm, who has seen the current US flu plan. The plan has not been published yet but leaked versions suggest the country has done little to prepare for an H5N1 pandemic.

"...'The one thing I worry desperately about it is the impact of overreliance on neuraminidase inhibitors,' he said.

"There are two drugs in the class -- Roche and Gilead's Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza.

"They work to reduce the severity of annual influenza and may prevent infection if used at the right time. Tests suggest they also work against H5N1, but no one knows how well.

"'I think that potentially neuraminidase inhibitors may work if you are already on them as prophylaxis (prevention),' Osterholm said. That would mean taking them daily for days or weeks." Click the title to read the article.

Story by Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

Romania and Turkey report new bird flu outbreaks

2005-10-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

Sat Oct 8, 2005 8:13 PM BST
By Radu Marinas
Reuters - UK

"BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania and Turkey reported new cases of avian flu on Saturday and began culling hundreds of birds to prevent the globally feared disease from spreading.

"...If the Romanian cases turn out to be the deadly H5N1 virus, they would be the first evidence the strain has spread to Europe from Asia, where it has killed 65 people and millions of birds since 2003. Russia and Kazakhstan have already had outbreaks.

"...Ion Agafitei, Romania's chief veterinarian, told reporters three birds had tested positive in the Danube delta village of Smardan after the first cases emerged in another village on Friday.

"Further tests, some in Britain, were planned to discover whether the strain is H5N1.

"CNN Turk television quoted Turkish Farm Minister Mehdi Eker as saying bird flu had been discovered in Turkey for the first time.

"The television station said turkeys had died of the disease on a farm in Balikesir province near the Aegean Sea in western Turkey. All animals on the farm had been slaughtered.

"'Yesterday, unfortunately, we experienced a case of bird flu. But everything is under control, every precautionary measure has been taken to prevent it spreading,' CNN Turk quoted Eker as saying. The minister gave no details." Click the title to read the article.

Toronto Mystery Illness Not Bird Flu but Legionnaires' Disease

2005-10-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

"Toronto's mystery illness is legionnaires' disease"

By Matthew Chung
Thu Oct 6,10:29 PM ET

"TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian health officials on Thursday identified the "mystery illness" that killed 16 people in a Toronto nursing home as legionnaires' disease.

"The disease, a type of pneumonia, is contracted by people breathing in small droplets of water contaminated with the bacteria -- often from ventilation systems. It is rare in Ontario, though the bacteria is common in the environment throughout North America.

"David McKeown, Toronto's medical officer of health, said most cases can be treated with antibiotics but older people with underlying health problems are more at risk of becoming seriously ill and dying." Click the title to read the article.

Recombinomics Commentary
October 4, 2005

"Dr. McKeown provided the following update:

- Since yesterday there have been four additional deaths,
for a total of ten in the outbreak.

- The outbreak has so far affected a total of 70 residents,
12 employees and two visitors at Seven Oaks.

- 40 residents from Seven Oaks have been admitted to hospital.

"The above update reveals a much more serious condition than yesterday. The number dead has increased to 10 from 6 and the number of residents admitted to Toronto area hospitals has increased from 30 to 40. Thus, 50 of the 70 residents infected have been hospitalized or died. The deaths are over 14% of the infected residents. In addition, the number of employees infected has risen form 8 to 12, suggesting more residents will show symptoms due to later exposure dates.

"There has still been no etiological agent identified, so negative data for H5N1 remains suspect. The increasing numbers of dead patients should provide sufficient autopsy material for identification of this deadly and highly infectious agent." Click the title to read the article.

US Hosts Meeting to Discuss Bird Flu Response

2005-10-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

USA: October 6, 2005
Planet Ark

"WASHINGTON - Health experts and other officials from around the world begin meeting in Washington on Thursday to discuss a coordinated response to the bird flu epidemic, the US State Department said.

"The event is aimed at developing ways to share information and resources in case the H5N1 avian flu virus mutates and begins to cause a human pandemic, which experts believe could kill millions within months.

"The H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed or forced the destruction of tens of millions of birds and infected more than 100 people, killing at least 60 in four Asian nations since late 2003.

"...But the biggest fears are about what would happen if it mutated enough to become easily transmissible among people, who have no immunity against it.

"To track this, scientists must keep testing samples of the virus, especially when people become infected. But some experts have complained that countries are not sharing their samples.

"...Some computer models have suggested that quick action could contain an epidemic, preventing it from becoming a pandemic. But all countries will have to share this information immediately and allow the immediate treatment of patients.

"Experts hope the two-day State Department meeting and others coming up can help lay this groundwork.

"'What this event does is it brings together 65-plus countries and international organizations that are concerned about preventing the spread of avian influenza,' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

"He said everyone taking part in the meeting had agreed to 'core principles,' or would shortly agree to them.

"...Australia will hold a regional meeting at the end of October to discuss an Asia-Pacific response to bird flu, Canada is holding an Oct. 25-26 meeting of high-level officials in Ottawa, and the WHO has called for a Nov. 7-8 meeting in Geneva to coordinate needed funding." Click the title to read the article.

H5N1 Bird Flu Cases in Indonesia Grow to 89

2005-10-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
October 6, 2005

"...The number of suspected H5N1 bird flu cases has grown to 89 as of Thursday. The breakdown of the 84 cases from Wednesday are listed above. The cases are increasing daily and media coverage of the specifics has diminished. Cases are increasingly being reported as composite numbers.

"The distribution shows that the cases are spread across the country (see Indonesia map), although most are in the Jakarta area (see Jakarta map). The number of cases reported a week ago was 42, so the increase in cases has been rapid.

"...The number of cases in the suspect category is high because many samples have not been confirmed by Hong Kong, but many mre test negative because of sample collection. Since samples are not collected at the primary hospital, the collections at the referral hospital test negative because they are collected too late after the onset of symptoms and the H5N1 has moved from the nose and throat to the lungs. Some of thes patients are positive for antibody, but others are negative because the serum is collected too early.

"Thus, the total number of suspect cases is more accurate than the lab tests, because of sample collection.

"The number of cases is rapidly increasing. Most of the more recent cases have links to dying poultry. However, many cases infected by people would not be transferred, so they would not be tested. Thus the number of suspect cases is a gross under-estimate of the true number of cases. Many are not detected because they do not go to hospitals because of costs.

"The monitoring of H5N1 should be more aggressive. Multiple samples can give a clearer picture of the true extent of the H5N1 in Indonesia. The testing should include patients who have symptoms, even if there is not a link to dying poultry. The large number of zoo visitors who had symptoms or tested positive for H5N1. indicated transmission of H5N1 was caused by casual contact. More aggressive monitoring and tracing of these infections will determine how easily H5N1 is transmitting human to human." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu found in 7 Russian towns, 19 more suspected

2005-10-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

18:28 | 05/ 10/ 2005
RIA Novosti - Russia

"MOSCOW, October 5, (RIA Novosti) - The bird flu has been registered in seven Russian towns, with 19 being watched for a possible outbreak, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight said Wednesday.

"'As of October 5, 2005 seven 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 six of Russia's Federation components, with 83 major cities suspected of contamination." Click the title to read the article.

Bird Flu Developing Resistance to Tamiflu and Other Anti-Flu Drugs According to Experts

2005-10-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

Date Published: October 2, 2005
Source: Newsinferno.com News Staff

"...CNN.com is reporting by way of Reuters that experts in Hong Kong have stated that the strain of H5N1 which appeared in Vietnam has proven to be resistant to Tamiflu. This has prompted a call for drug manufacturers to make more effective versions of the antiviral Relenza which has been effective in stopping the disease.

"General viral resistance to Tamiflu has also been reported in Japan where the drug has been routinely prescribed to fight the common forms of influenza." Click the title to read the article.

Novosibirsk H5N1 Wild Bird Flu Recombinants from Europe

2005-10-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
September 30, 2005

"Five partial HA sequences from the summer outbreak of H5N1 wild bird flu were deposited at GenBank.

"Included was a sequence from a health great crested grebe..., a sick domestic duck, ...and three dead chickens. All five sequences were very similar to each other and the sixteen H5N1 wild bird isolates from dead waterfowl at Qinghai Lake. The deposited sequences cover the highly pathogenic HA cleavage site and all sequences in this area were identical.

"The highly pathogenic sequence in the healthy great crested grebe demonstrates that highly pathogenic H5N1 is present in asymptomatic wild waterfowl. This is similar to the asymptomatic waterfowl in Vietnam, which harbor high concentrations of highly pathogenic virus that is lethal to humans and chickens, yet produces mild or no ill effects in the waterfowl.

"The ability of these wild birds to transport H5N1 over long distances was also support by sequence analysis.

"Two the polymorphism found in all five Novosibirsk H5N1 isolates, C934T and T940C were not found in other H5N1 isolates, including the H5N1 isolates from Qinghai lake. Instead, the polymorphisms were restricted to H5N2 sequences isolated in chickens and guinea fowl in Italy in 1997 and 1998. The polymorphisms were acquired by recombination, just as the PB2 polymorphisms in the Qinghai lake isolates were acquired from European swine.

"The acquisition of these polymorphisms is cited because each acquisition involves more than one polymorphism in a small area. However many of the polymorphism in the wild bird sequences are from Europe, even though the H5N1 sequences, including the highly pathogenic HA cleavage site, and the 20 amino acid deletion of NA are exclusively found in Asia.

"The recombinant sequences from Europe provide more evidence showing that the polymorphism are carried by wild birds. Dual infections by flu from Europe and flu from Asia lead to these recombinants with mixtures of polymorphisms. The European sequences also indicate the H5N1 will be migrating to Europe this season due to the widespread infections of H5N1 waterfowl in Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan." Click the title to read the article.

Four Human Bird-Flu Cases Confirmed in Indonesia

2005-09-30T06:02:00.000-07:00

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
29 September 2005
VOA News

"Health officials in Indonesia monitoring suspected bird flu cases, say as many as 48 people may be infected with the virus. But, the World Health Organization says the number of actual avian flu cases in the country may not be as high as initial reports suggest.

"At least four people have died from the H5N1 avian influenza virus in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta since July and dozens more have been admitted to local hospitals with symptoms of the disease, which include high fever and difficulty breathing.

"But the World Health Organization's spokesman for the Western Pacific, Peter Cordingley, says many of those now in hospital may not be infected with the bird flu virus at all.

"Mr. Cordingley says Indonesia sends blood from all suspected bird flu cases to Hong Kong for a Polymerase Chain Reaction, known as a PCR, test, and only four people - all now dead - have tested positive.

"'WHO figures are that there are four confirmed cases, only four confirmed cases in Indonesia,' he said. 'The reason for the discrepancy, apart from the fact that the media seem to be jumping on all kinds of incidences that might be just old-fashioned flu ... is that we have standards and the standards are that confirmation of a positive case has to be through a PCR test.'

"But Mr. Cordingley admits Indonesia does have a bird flu problem, with the H5N1 virus endemic in poultry across the archipelago.

"'... yes, quite clearly there is a problem in Indonesia and four cases will not be the final number - we are absolutely sure of that. But we do not think the problem is anything as large as the numbers suggest,' he said.

"...Health experts from the United States, Canada, and Australia are now in Indonesia to help the country tackle its bird flu problem." Click the title to read the article.

Twelve H5N1 Bird Flu Patients Linked To Ragunan Zoo

2005-09-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
September 24, 2005

"...The above machine translation indicates the number of patients at the Sulianti Saroso hospital with ties to the Rangunan Zoo is now up to 12. Three are zoo workers, including one, Karwati, who is in critical condition. She and tour guide, Aniek Setyonni, have both tested positive for H5N1 antibody.

"The hospital also is treating food vendor, Abdul Muntalib. Test result announced indicated only 4 of 27 zoo birds tested were negative. The positive samples were collected September 5 and 6, so workers and visitors had been exposed to infected birds for some time before the zoo closed on September 19.

"...Thus, the number of zoo visitors with symptoms may be significantly higher than the 12 patients admitted. Indeed 115 visitors were turned away earlier this week and a high school class of 30 had visited the zoo on September 18, and students soon developed high fevers. These patients have also not been admitted.

"The visit over an extended time period indicates that the infections were not due to an unusual event. It seems that multiple visitors where infected on several days and there had been little evidence of close contact.

"The transmission of H5N1 to zoo visitors over an extended time period indicates that H5N1 is now transmitting via casual contact, a strong signal that the pandemic has moved to phase 5." Click the title to read the article.

EU experts urge bird flu action

2005-09-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 22 September 2005, 18:12 GMT 19:12 UK
BBC News, World Edition

"Medical and veterinary experts from across Europe have advised EU states to coordinate their actions to deal with the threat of bird flu.
The experts' meeting in Brussels on Thursday was the first such EU summit to focus on the disease, which has killed dozens of people in Asia.

"There have been no cases of bird flu among humans in the EU, but the lethal H5N1 strain of it has reached Russia.

"There are fears the virus could mutate, jump species and cause a pandemic.

"The European experts warned that people at risk, such as poultry workers, should be given adequate protection against infection.

"They said EU member states should jointly "intensify the work to update and adapt their avian influenza contingency plans".

"They said the EU needed a 'synchronised rapid reaction for vets and doctors' to tackle any spread of the virus across Europe." Click the title to read the article.

Indonesia Plans Mass Poultry Culling to Halt Bird Flu (Update1)

2005-09-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

Bloomberg.com

"Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia will slaughter poultry and pigs in areas most infected by bird flu, 10 days after a fourth person died from the disease, a minister said today.

"The government also plans to draft a law that will allow it to punish farmers who refuse to kill their poultry, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono told reporters after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss ways to halt the spread of the avian influenza virus." Click the title to read the article.

Indonesia Declares Bird Flu Extraordinary National Case

2005-09-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sep 19 22:54
Antara News

"Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government on Monday declared the bird flu a "extraordinary national case" and called on all people to watch out for it.

"'I declared the case an extraordinary national case (KLB) which requires alertness,' Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said after attending a limited cabinet meeting here led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"Her statement came as three children were currently being treated on suspicion of having been infected with the fatal disease which had so far claimed four lives in the country.

"President Yudhoyono planned to hold a special meeting to discuss the case on Tuesday.

"Minister Siti Fadilah said she declared the case a KLB because her office has yet to find out which regions had been infected with the disease.

"'We cannot as yet state which regions are affected and which are not. So for the sake of alertness I declared the case a KLB,' she said." Click the title to read the article.

Indonesian woman with bird flu symptoms dies

2005-09-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 21:05 JST
Japan Today

"JAKARTA — A 37-year-old Indonesian woman died late Saturday with symptoms of bird flu, though health authorities are still waiting for the results of a blood sample test, Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said Sunday.

"The minister said that one of the blood samples taken from the woman before she died tested positive for avian influenza virus but others were negative. He said the samples have since been sent to a Hong Kong laboratory to confirm whether she was really infected with the virus. The results should be known within five days, he said." Click the title to read the article.

More H5N1 Wild Bird Flu Confirmation in Tomsk Region In Russia

2005-09-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
Septemeber 9, 2005

"Based on the results received from the Novosibirsk interregional veterinary laboratory genetic material of AI type H5 was found in four samples taken from wild ducks that were delivered August 30 (Kolpashevsky, Verkhneketsky, Krivosheinsky, Tomsky district).

"...Although there are no reports of domestic poultry infections in Tomsk, the H5N1 is clearly circulating in the wild bird population. The wild bird infections are of particular importance to countries that host the birds in the fall and winter. Migration has started and the level of H5N1 in Russia is underestimated in official reports, which appear to focus on regions where domestic poultry infections have been confirmed.

"This under-reporting diminishes the significance of the H5N1 in birds north of the east west line in southern Siberia and northern Kazakhstan (see map). Outbreaks to the north may reflect migration from northern Siberia to southern Siberia, which would suggest a much wider distribution in the upcoming months. Northern Siberia birds migrate to North America from the east and the west. Birds in the west migrate across Greenland into northeast Canada, while those in the east migrate across the Bering Straight into Alaska. Birds from both areas then migrate south into Canada, the United States, and points south, including South America.

"These routes from northern Siberia are in addition to the southern Siberia routes which direct birds to the Caspian and Black Sea areas as well as points to the south in the Middle East and Africa. Thus, the H5N1 in the wild birds is more significant that H5N1 in sparsely populated domestic poultry farms in Siberia, although most of the media and government reports have focused on southern Siberia and virtually ignored the significant implications of H5N1 in northern Siberia." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu confirmed in 47 Russian settlements

2005-09-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

17:14 | 07/09/2005
RIA Novosti

"MOSCOW, September 7 (RIA Novosti) - Bird flu was confirmed Wednesday in 47 Russian settlements, the Agriculture Ministry reported.

"According to data the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight cited in the ministry press release, another 80 settlements are suspected of having bird flu. The quarantine has been lifted from 9 earlier registered populated areas and four lakes in the Omsk region." Click the title to read the article.

Artificial infection suspected in Japanese bird flu outbreak

2005-09-06T05:29:00.000-07:00

Posted on Sat, Sep. 03, 2005
The Yomiuri Shimbun
HeraldToday.com

"TOKYO - (KRT) - Artificial infection, including the use of vaccines, could be behind a weak strain of avian influenza detected in poultry farms in Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture, according to a panel advising the agriculture ministry on bird flu. Unauthorized vaccines could have been used.

"Farmers, who have their hands full trying to contain the spread of the bird flu, were taken aback by the possibility of a man-made calamity caused by illegal acts.

"Since June, chickens in 28 poultry farms in Ibaraki Prefecture, a key production center of chickens in the country, and a poultry farm in Saitama Prefecture tested positive for the antibody of a virus, showing that chickens were infected in the past.

"...An analysis by the National Institute of Animal Health, an independent administrative corporation, found that the genetic makeup of the virus bore a strong similarity to a virus found in Central and South American countries, including Mexico and Guatemala. The virus did not exist in Japan, and it is highly unlikely it was carried to the country by migratory birds.

"There also are no indications live birds infected with the virus have been imported.

"...The ministry has a stock of vaccines in preparation for a massive bird flu outbreak, but it prohibits the general use of them, so vaccines approved by the ministry have not been distributed.

"As the virus detected in the farms has a genetic makeup different from that of vaccines on sale abroad, it could have been developed without going through due procedures and then imported, ministry officials said.

"Since the use of unauthorized vaccines violates the Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Instruments Law, the ministry is trying to determine the route of infection and plans to file criminal complaints if illegal acts are confirmed to have taken place. Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu kills a Vietnamese, emergency plan at work

2005-09-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

01 Sep 2005 05:11:06 GMT
Source: Reuters AlertNet
By Nguyen Nhat Lam

"HANOI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The deadly bird flu virus, now feared heading for Europe, has killed a Vietnamese, taking the number of deaths in Asia from the disease to 63, a senior official said on Thursday.

"The victim, whose gender was not disclosed, died from acute pneumonia on Sunday and tests showed the H5 component of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in the body, the Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan as saying.

"The victim was from Soc Son, a district on the outskirts of Hanoi, but the government had not spotted any outbreaks in poultry in August, Huan said.

"The death was announced as Agriculture and Health Ministry officials said they were finalising details of an emergency plan to tackle a flu pandemic, which international health officials fear could erupt if the H5N1 virus mutates.

"Now, it cannot pass easily from human to human, but the World Health Organization has been saying loudly for more than a year the virus could mutate into a form which could do so.

"...'Vietnam is vaccinating poultry so there is a great infection risk involving the H5N1 virus jumping from poultry to humans,' the newspaper quoted the Health Ministry as saying.

"There have been no reports so far of people contracting the virus from vaccinated poultry." Click the title to read the article.

Suspected bird flu hits Finnish gulls

2005-08-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

AFX News Limited
08.28.2005, 12:12 PM
Forbes.com

"HELSINKI (AFX) - Finland reported Friday its first case of bird flu, found in gulls in the northwest of the country, but said the strain did not carry any risks for humans.

"'Several gulls, living and dead, were taken at Oulu for analysis and the suspect virus was found in these birds,' agriculture ministry official Riitta Heinonen told the STT/FNB news agency.

"But she said the strain was not the H5N1 type which can infect humans and has killed 61 people in southeast Asia since 2003.

"The final results of the analysis should be known in three weeks." Click the title to read the article.

Co-circulation of H5N1 and H7N7 Bird Flu in Europe?

2005-08-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
August 27, 2005

"The announcement of bird flu in a seagull in Oulu, Finland on Friday will probably be followed by an announcement that H5N1 has indeed invaded Europe. Evidence from southern Siberia suggests H5N1 wild bird flu is in northern Siberia, and birds from northern Siberia migrate over Finland, so addition sightings will probably be reported next week (see map).

"Because H5N1 from Asia has a multi-basic HA cleavage site, it more easily infects birds, including wild birds such as mallards. Reasortants are created when the same host is infected with two different viruses and H5N7 arose from H5 and H7N7 infecting the same host. The poly-basic cleavage site in H5N1 from Asia gives it a selective advantage and it will probably replace most of H5 from Europe.

"The dual infection can also generate recombinants, which involve a mixing or portions of genes. The H5N1 from Qinghai Lake has acquired sequences from European swine via recombination, and its presence in Europe this year will lead to more dual infections and more recombination.

"...Although 30 million birds were culled in 2003 to halt the spread of H7N7, its potential return is quite real as is the possibility that H5N1 is already in Scandinavian countries, including Finland.

This potential co-circulation in Europe is clearly cause for concern." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu confirmed in 45 villages, unclear in 75

2005-08-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

RNA Novosti
17:35 | 24/ 08/ 2005

"Bird flu reports confirmed in 45 villages, situation unclear in 75"

"MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - Bird flu has been confirmed in a total of 45 villages, Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision said in a press release Wednesday.

"'Bird flu has been confirmed in 45 settlements, while the situation in another 75 remains unclear as of August 24,' the service said.

"Lab tests confirmed the virus had hit poultry flocks in eight villages in the Altai region, in the south of West Siberia on the Kazakh border. The disease could hit another four settlements.

"The virus, which could have been brought into Russia by migrating birds resting on Siberian lakes, was contracted by poultry flocks in seven villages and by wild birds on seven lakes in the Tyumen region, also in West Siberia. Birds in six villages were slaughtered.

"Poultry flocks in six villages and birds on four lakes in the Omsk region, West Siberia were also infected. Birds in another 18 villages could also have the virus.

"The disease was also detected in the Kurgan region in West Siberia, where poultry in six villages were infected. Fourteen more villages could have also been exposed to the virus.

"Bird flu spread to the Chelyabinsk region in the South Urals, where flocks in three villages were infected and a quarantine was imposed.

"Bird flu cases were registered in 15 villages in the Novosibirsk region in West Siberia, but the service warned that the disease could spread to another 37 villages. All poultry flocks were slaughtered in 11 villages. Click the title to rea the article.

Bird flu case detected at chicken farm in east Japan

2005-08-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

www.chinaview.cn 2005-08-18 21:32:49

"TOKYO, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Chickens at a farm in Konosu, Tokyo's neighboring Saitama Prefecture in east Japan, have tested positive for bird flu virus, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Thursday.

"The virus detected is of the H5 variety but is considered to bea weaker type because no mass deaths have occurred at the farm, according to the ministry.

"The Saitama prefectural government has decided to cull the farm's 98,300 chickens and ban the transfer of chickens and eggs within 5 kilometers from the farm, which produces eggs for processed food.

"Japan reported an outbreak of bird flu, the first in the country since 1925, in Yamaguchi Prefecture last December. Enditem Click the title to read the article.

Bird Flu Spreads Westward in Russia

2005-08-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

Created: 15.08.2005 19:32 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:50 MSK, 4 hours 29 minutes ago
Denis Bulanichev, Alina Chernoivanovà
mosnews.com

"Bird flu in Russia has reached the Chelyabinsk region from southern Siberia. This is the sixth region in the country where the AH5N1 strain of the virus has been discovered in domestic birds. And while it is potentially deadly for humans, no human cases have been registered yet.

"On Monday, the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals became the sixth to join the contaminated zone. Veterinarians registered the outbreak in the settlement of Oktyabrskoye, where 60 birds died over the weekend, the region’s vice governor, Andrei Kosilov, announced on Monday. And experts have already identified the cause — testing the dead birds revealed the deadly strain. To avoid spread, local authorities decided to cull 400 domestic birds, including 270 chickens, 60 ducks, and 70 geese.

"...According to the Emergency Ministry, meanwhile, over 10,000 domestic and wild birds died of bird flu in Russia since July 21, while hundreds of thousands of birds were culled.

"...As of August 14, no humans who came into contact with dead birds have contracted the virus, said the directorate.

Still, the story told by a Novosibirsk TV reporter, Maria Pashkova, sparked wide resonance. Click the title to read the article.

Russia: Planned vaccine offers little protection

2005-08-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

"H5N1 Wild Bird Flu Recombining Away From Pandemic Vaccine"
Recombinomics Commentary
August 14, 2005

"...the wild bird sequences from Qinghai Lake and Chany Lake are significantly different from the H5N1 sequence being used to develop a pandemic vaccine.

"...The Vietnam isolate was distributed worldwide for development of a pandemic vaccine. Thus, the vaccine planed for use in Russia next month will offer little protection for the H5N1 rapidly spreading in Russia...The rapid spread of the H5N1 wild bird sequences ahead of the migratory period suggests the wild bird versions of H5N1 may soon be spread throughout Asia and Europe, and probably beyond.

"This rapid spread of the novel H5N1 wild bird sequences indicates a pandemic vaccine against these sequences should be developed as soon as possible. H5N1 evolves via recombination, so it is likely that the wild bird strains will be strong contributors to an evolved pandemic strain.

"Current efforts focused on a single strain are inadequate. The vaccine has a low titer, requires large amounts of virus, and has little utility for the wild bird strain spreading toward Europe." Click the title to read the article.

H5N1 Wild Bird Flu Migration Explodes in Southern Russia

2005-08-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Recombinomics Commentary
August 13, 2005

"...As the weather cools more migration into Europe is expected. At Qinghai Lake, at least 5 species were affected, but that is probably a very low estimate. The H5N1 at Qinghai Lake was very virulent in experimental chickens, killing them with 20 hours. Similarly, experimental mice died within 3-4 days. Thus, it is likely that most species at the reserves can be infected, although some may be asymptomatic. In the OIE report from Novosibirsk, isolates from 13 locations were described. In addition to birds that had died and had H5N1 virus and antibodies, there were birds that were alive with virus and antibodies as well as birds alive with just antibodies. Thus, non-fatal infections were demonstrated, which is fueling the spread.

"Initial cases in Russia were clustered in the Chany Lakes region in Novisbursk. Now that regions has the highest number of suspected cases for this month, but the number of cases in adjacent Omsk and Kurgen provinces is evidence for significant movement west toward Europe.

"The H5N1 isolated from Qinghai Lake has been fully sequenced and the virus is clearly a recombinant, with portions of all eight genes matching isolates in Europe as well as Asia. The HA and HA protein have changed considerably from the isolates in Vietnam and the vaccine being developed worldwide against the 2004 H5N1 isolate from Vietnam is unlikely to offer much protection against the wide bird flu rapidly spreading along Russia's southern border. The H5N1 wild bird sequences at Novosibirsk are closely related to the Qinghai isolates." Click the title to read the article.

Journalist Hospitalized With Bird Flu Symptoms in Russia’s Siberia

2005-08-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Created: 12.08.2005 17:18 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:18 MSK
MosNews

"A Russian journalist who has been covering the recent bird flu outbreak in Siberia has been taken to hospital with symptoms of this disease, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

"...The journalist played down the report of her illness saying that hospitalization was a normal procedure for all who felt ill after visiting these areas and contacting infected birds.

"A local news agency said that doctors had already taken tests from the woman but no results were immediately available." Click the title to read the article.

WHO Says Bird Flu Should Disappear in 15 Days

2005-08-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, August 10, 2005. Issue 3227. Page 3
The Moscow Times.com

"ST. PETERSBURG -- The bird flu outbreak in Siberia is subsiding and should disappear altogether in 10 to 15 days, a World Health Organization specialist said Tuesday.

"'Things are quieting down,' Oleg Kiselyov, head of a research institute operating under the WHO's auspices, told reporters. 'It won't spread further because of changing weather conditions. It's never warm enough in Siberia in late August. ... The measures undertaken have helped localize the outbreak.'

"But the country's top epidemiologist, Gennady Onishchenko, said it was too early to draw rosy conclusions. 'We would've been drinking champagne by now if it had been pinned down,' he said in Novosibirsk." Click the title to read the article.

Mongolia reports bird flu at lake bordering Russia

2005-08-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

UPDATED: 02:11, August 09, 2005
People's Daily Online

"The Mongolian General Authority for Emergency Management (GAEM) said Monday the swans and wild geese which died at the end of July at a lake bordering Russia were proved to have been infected with the bird flu virus.

"...Director of the GAEM P. Dash said a total of 76 swans and wild geese had been found dead near the Erhel Lake in the Hovsgol province since late July but the strain of the bird flu has not been identified.

"No humans nor poultries have been infected, Dash said, adding all the contracted were migratory birds.

"Mongolia is taking all necessary measures to prevent the disease from being spread to domestic animals, the official said." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu vaccine passes U.S. clinical test

2005-08-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

"WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists announced they have successfully tested a vaccine to protect against bird flu, The New York Times reports.

"...Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the vaccine is ready for emergency use but further tests are needed before it will be available to the general public.

"He said the vaccine is to protect against infection, not help those who are sick.

"Fauci also said he doubts the vaccine industry's ability to make enough." Click the title to read the article.

Bird Flu Spreads Throughout Russia

2005-08-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2005 12:31 p.m. EST
Hector Duarte Jr. - All Headline News Staff Reporter

"Moscow, Russia (AHN) - Officials announce bird flu has been officially confirmed in two more Russian regions and the disease may have spread to Northern Kazakhstan.

"...The presence of H5N1, which can cause the disease in humans, has so far only been confirmed in the Russian region of Novosibirsk, while four other Siberian regions have been confirmed to have some type of bird flu virus.

"Russia's Agriculture ministry says the disease has been confirmed in wildfowl in two locations in the Kurgan region and one in the Omsk region. Bird flu has been confirmed in the Altai and Tyumen regions.

"...Russia has culled over 10,000 domestic birds during the last few days in attempts to halt the virus' spread. Click the title to read the article.

Europeans warned as bird flu heads west

2005-08-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

By Kim Murphy in Moscow
August 6, 2005
Los Angeles Times

"Russian authorities, struggling to contain an outbreak of avian flu that has killed thousands of birds in Siberia, have admitted that a spread of the virus into Europe seems inevitable.

"'It is quite likely that the flu will creep westward. What else can it do? The infection is picking up momentum,' said Viktor Maleyev, deputy director of the Russian Health Ministry's Institute of Epidemiology, on Thursday.

"Equally worrying, health officials confirmed the outbreak includes a strain - H5N1 -" that has been known to affect humans. Scientists fear expansion of the virus's geography increases the chances of a serious outbreak.

"While there have been isolated cases of avian flu around the world, the most dangerous strain of the virus until now has been concentrated largely in Asia, with human cases limited to Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

Some poultry farms on the west side of the Ural Mountains - the dividing line between European and Asian Russia - are on alert." Click the title to read the article.

CHRONOLOGY-Key dates in Asian bird flu outbreak

2005-08-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

03 Aug 2005 17:42:01 GMT
Source: Reuters

"LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Millions of courses of antiviral drugs and isolating people in an outbreak area will be needed to contain a human outbreak of avian flu and prevent a pandemic, according to new research.

"Here is a brief chronology of the spread of Asian bird flu:" Click the title to read the article.

Northern Vietnam province reports new bird flu case

2005-08-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last Updated: Tuesday, August 2, 2005 12:31:19 Vietnam (GMT+07)

"Vietnam's northern Ha Tay province reported a local woman tested positive for the deadly bird flu virus that has killed over 41 people in the country since late 2003, said local Lao Dong newspaper Tuesday.

"...The woman had bought a chicken at a local market and cooked it. Local healthcare agencies have kept close surveillance on areas where she lives and on those who have had close contact with her.

"Late last week, local media reported two people, a 26-year-old woman from southern Ho Chi Minh City and a 24-year-old man from southern Tra Vinh province, died of bird flu. They manifested symptoms of the disease after eating chicken.

"...To deal with possible outbreaks among poultry, Vietnam is vaccinating chickens and ducks against bird flu viruses including H5N1 in northern Nam Dinh province and southern Tien Giang province.

"Vietnam plans to vaccinate over 2.9 million fowl this month." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu moves towards Europe

2005-08-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

Published online: 1 August 2005; | doi:10.1038/news050801-1
Declan Butler

"The H5NI avian influenza virus has broken out in poultry flocks in Russia and in Kazakhstan, where a suspected human case is also being investigated.

"The outbreak hints that the disease is moving towards Europe. Past outbreaks have centred on southeast Asia and, more recently, parts of China. The new incidents risk opening a Eurasian front for the disease, increasing the animal reservoir that could spark a pandemic.

"'If we are seeing an expansion in range, that is something we should be concerned about,' says Ian Brown, head of avian virology at the UK Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey.

"Researchers also worry the outbreak may show that migratory birds are spreading the disease. Avian flu has struck in domestic poultry flocks close to Russia's large Chany Lake, a nesting ground for migrants." Click the title to read the article.

URGENT: Bird flu came from Southeast Asia -- consumer protection and health authority

2005-08-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

17:26 | 01/ 08/ 2005

"MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - The consumer protection and health authority has confirmed that the bird flu virus came to the Novosibirsk region (Siberia) from southern Asia.

"'Russia's state national center for virus studies and biotechnology, Vektor, has identified a À/Í5N1/ virus in a sample taken in the village of Suzdalsk in the Novosibirsk region (Siberia). The virus has been sequenced and its Southeast Asian origin has been confirmed,' a press release from the authority said." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu harmful to humans found in Siberia-paper

2005-07-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

"Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:47 PM BST

"MOSCOW (Reuters) - A strain of bird flu harmful to humans has been found in an outbreak of the disease in Siberia, a Russian newspaper said on Saturday, quoting official experts.

"The newspaper Kommersant quoted the state veterinary service as saying laboratory experts had found the H5N1 strain in samples from the Novosibirsk region, where an outbreak of bird flu was reported last week.

"Bird flu is split into strains such as H5 and H7, which in turn have nine different subtypes. H5N1 subtype is highly pathogenic and can be passed from birds to humans, although there have been no known cases of human-human transmission.

"...Officials were not immediately available for comment. There have been no reports about people contracting bird flu." Click the title to read the article.

Russia says bird flu outbreak no threat to humans

"MOSCOW, July 26 (Reuters) - Russia thinks a bird flu outbreak in a Siberian region is a strain that has never been known to affect humans but has taken emergency precautions just in case, a top doctor said on Tuesday.

"The outbreak in the Novosibirsk region announced last week was Russia's first and 1,135 farm birds have died from it, Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's top epidemiologist, said.

"'Our initial assessment is that this is H5N2 ... we must isolate it and synthesise it and then we will be able to give you a final answer,' he told reporters. Click he title to read the article.

Two more Vietnamese die of bird flu

2005-07-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

"Specimens from two young people in Vietnam, who died this week, have been tested positive to bird flu virus, local newspaper Youth reported on Friday.

"According tests by the Pasteur Institute in southern Ho Chi Minh City, the specimens from a 26-year-old patient from the city's Binh Tan district, who died on Wednesday, were positive to the virus strain H5, while those from a 24-year-old man from Cang Long district in southern Tra Vinh province, to the virus strain H5N1. The man named Le Hoang Anh died on Monday in a provincial hospital.

"Relatives of the two patients said they ate chicken before exhibiting bird flu symptoms. Anh and his relatives ate dead chickens. The 26-year-old patient bought half of a semi-processed chicken at a local market, and cooked it.

"...Vietnam's Preventive Medicine Department, in mid-July, confirmed that a total of 60 local people from 23 localities had been infected with bird flu since late December 2004, of whom 19 died." Click the title to read the article.

North Korea Has Bird Flu Under Control: UN official

2005-07-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

"BANGKOK, 2005.07.08

"BANGKOK—North Korea, which recently announced an end to the outbreak of avian influenza within its borders, has the deadly virus under control for the time being, an official with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said.

"'If you have no confirmed new outbreak for a 90-day period, you can declare your country free of bird flu,' Hans Wagner, bird flu expert at the FAO's Bangkok office, told RFA.

"'The North Koreans are continuing to carry out investigations. As far as we know, no new case has reported to us or to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE),' Wagner said in an interview with RFA's Korean service.

"He said the FAO had provided equipment, materials, and technical know-how to enable the North Korean authorities to monitor areas where the highly pathenogenic virus was still endemic in chicken and duck populations.

"The FAO said the bird flu outbreak in reclusive North Korea was caused by an H7 strain of the virus, which causes severe disease in chickens but is not directly related to the H5N1 strain circulating in other parts of Asia.

"The North first reported the outbreak in March, saying it had occurred at two bird farms in the capital Pyongyang.

"No outbreaks since February..." Click the title to read the article.

Indonesia opts for selective culling to counter bird flu

2005-07-29T05:28:00.000-07:00

"JAKARTA, July 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The Indonesian government has chosen selective culling instead of mass culling to counter the widespread bird flu due to financial strain, a minister said here on Thursday.

"The plan was canceled to mass cull all the poultry within the radius of three kilometers of all the bird flu affected areas, Agricultural Minister Anton Apriantono said.

"The Agriculture Ministry earlier said that it planned to slaughter all the poultry and pigs within the radius of three kilometers of the areas affected by the H5N1 virus across the country. It also announced that from August, 2003, to July 1, 2005,the virus had spread to 21 provinces and 132 districts or cities and already caused the death of 9.53 million chickens. Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu resurfaces in Japan

2005-07-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

"Japanese authorities say they have discovered a fresh outbreak of bird flu on a chicken farm in the east of the country. The farm is close to where several cases of the disease have been detected since late June.

"Officials say tests are under way to confirm the sub-type of the virus.

"All recent bird flu outbreaks in the region have so far been confirmed as less virulent than the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease, found in Japan early last year." Click the title to read the article.

Killer flu linked to bird feces

2005-07-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

"JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Three family members who died of bird flu earlier this month were infected by chicken droppings that contained the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, Indonesia's agriculture ministry has said.

"The three, a 38-year-old government official and his two young daughters, are the only people known to have died of the disease in Indonesia.

"Authorities earlier said they had no known contact with poultry but since found chicken feces in their backyard that 'positively contained the bird flu virus,' said Hari Priyono, an agriculture ministry spokesman. Click the title to read the article.

China Rules Out Bird Flu in Mysterious Deaths

2005-07-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

"The mysterious deaths of 17 farmers in China probably was caused by a bacterial infection that predominantly strikes pigs but can spread to people, government and international health officials said Monday.

"It was first feared that the farmers in southwest Sichuan Province had died of the deadly bird flu virus that has killed more than 50 people in other parts of Asia.

"A spokesman for the World Health Organization said doctors had identified the illness as streptococcus suis, a bacteria carried by pigs that can be spread to people." Click the title to read the article.

Bird Flu Outbreak Spreads to More Siberian Regions

2005-07-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

"The deadly bird flu virus has broken out in four rural districts of Siberia according to preliminary evidence, the head of Russia’s veterinary surveillance service was cited by Interfax as saying.

"Following the discovery of the initial outbreak last week in the village of Suzdalka, new evidence suggests outbreaks have occurred in three more districts of the western Siberian region of Novosibirsk — Dovolnoe, Kupino and Chistozernoe, the surveillance service’s head, Sergei Dankvert, said.

"'The flu virus... is circulating among bird stocks' in the three districts, Dankvert said. Click the title to read the article.

Siberian bird flu alarms Russia

"More than 300 birds have died in Suzdalka, in the Novosibirsk region, and transportation of poultry to and from the village is now banned.

An epidemiologist in the region said no humans had contracted the disease, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The strain of the virus involved is not the H5N1 type, which has killed more than 50 people in Asia. Click the title to read the article.

China farmers dead, possibly from bird flu:-

2005-07-25T05:18:00.000-07:00

"Chinese health officials are investigating a string of deaths they think may be the mysterious bird flu, The Washington Post reports.

"Nine farmers in the Sichuan province have died and 11 got sick between June 24 and July 21, a Health Ministry spokesman said Saturday, all of whom recently slaughtered sick animals. Click the title to read the article.

Widespread Human H5N1 Bird Flu Infections in China?

2005-07-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Patient's infection source is the chicken which edible includes the virus, the duck, the goose and its the egg product or the above living specimen contact..."

"The above machine translated boxun report suggests that large inflows of patients in China, including Guandong province, are due to H5N1 bird flu. Many of the infections originate in various forms of food (probably uncooked or undercooked) and have a long incubation period of about two weeks.

"...This latest boxun report, in conjunction with earlier reports of 10 different H5N1 strains in China is cause for concern.

"...These data strongly suggest that the pandemic stage is at five or six, although WHO maintains that it is at three indicating all of the familial clusters, including the latest in Indonesia, are mere coincidences and not due to human-to-human transmission (stage four is defined by small dead end human-to-human transmission clusters)." Click the title to read the article.

Also:
...China withholds vital information for tackling deadly bird flu virus

Deadly Bird Flu Comes to Tibet

2005-07-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

By Minnie Wood

At least 5,000 migratory birds have died from avian influenza at Tso-Ngon (Lake Kokonor) in the Amdo region of Tibet since early May 2005, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These deaths include several species of migratory birds, including bar-headed geese, great black-headed gulls, brown-headed gulls, ruddy shelducks, and great cormorants. This is the first instance of widespread deaths from avian influenza in migratory birds—rather than domestic birds—indicating that the avian influenza virus may have become more dangerous. The Chinese government has not reported any cases of avian influenza in humans in the region.

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a naturally occurring virus among birds. Wild birds are carriers of the virus but usually do not become ill from it. But avian influenza is extremely contagious and can cause domesticated birds like chickens and ducks to become sick and die. The particular subtype of bird flu that is currently circulating, H5N1, is deadly. Outbreaks of the disease have occurred in poultry in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos and South Korea.

Vietnam to vaccinate chickens against bird flu

2005-07-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

"HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam will use over 400 million batches of vaccine to inoculate its chickens and ducks against the deadly bird flu that has killed 40 people in the country, half of them since December.

"Agriculture Deputy Minister Bui Ba Bong said in a plan seen by Reuters on Tuesday that the government would use 415 million doses of Dutch and Chinese vaccines in a program starting in two provinces from August 1.

"Other provinces facing high risk of infection would follow between October 1 and November 10, before the arrival of the winter when the deadly virus seems to thrive best.

"Vietnam has an estimated 210 million poultry.

"The Chinese vaccine against the H5N1 virus, which international health officials fear could mutate into a form which might trigger a human pandemic, would be used on ducks.

"A Dutch vaccine against the H5N2 virus, a less virulent strain which is not widespread in Vietnam, will be used on chickens. Click the title to read the article.

Vietnam to test bird flu vaccine on humans

"HANOI, June 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam, in the next two months, is likely to vaccinate volunteers against bird flu virus strain H5N1 to test effectiveness of the vaccine it has developed.

"The National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology has asked the Ministry of Trade to allow bird flu vaccination experiment on a group of 10-20 local volunteers and then on 200-300 people who live in areas once hit by the disease, according to sources from the institute in capital Hanoi Monday.

"The experiment is expected to last from August to December, the sources said, noting that the bird flu vaccine developed by the institute has been proved effective on mice, monkeys and chickens." Click the title to read the article.

Avian flu in the Philippines not deadly H5N1

2005-07-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

"A bird flu virus discovered on a duck farm in the Philippines is not the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease, health officials confirmed on Monday." Click the title to read the article.

Bird Flu: Facts misrepresented

2005-07-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

"Human to Human Transmission of H5N1 Bird Flu in Asia"

"The victims, a 38-year-old man and his two girls, ages nine and one, would be the country's first human fatalities linked to the virus. They lived in a suburb of Jakarta and all died in the last week and a half, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said.

"But Dr. Georg Petersen, a WHO representative, said that while the three Indonesian family members had no known contact with poultry, a more thorough investigation could turn up evidence to the contrary.

"'In other countries, this is often the case,' he said.

"The comments above by yet another WHO representative misrepresenting the data on human-to-human transmission of H5N1 bird flu in Asia is unfortunate, but not unexpected. Today's Science has a figure showing that WHO places the flu pandemic at stage three, which was also stated last week in a Nature news story on the Qinghai sequences. Clearly, WHO is misrepresenting the stage of the current flu pandemic." Click the title to read the article.

China Bird Flu: More Variants

2005-07-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

"More H5N1 Bird Flu Variants in China"
Recombinomics Commentary, July 17, 2005

"...The above list is a translation of the boxun document describing 10 strains of H5N1 bird flu. The four above are not generally associated with human infections, but can be transmitted by various migratory birds and can cause additional problems due to transmissions in food chains as well as recombination and reasortment." Click the title to read the article.

"Unreported H5N1 Bird Flu in China in 2005"

"Phylogenetic analysis of these isolates and eight other H5N1 viruses, isolated from poultry markets in Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Yunnan provinces during 2005, indicated that the haemagglutinin (Fig. 1a), neuraminidase and nucleoprotein (data not shown) genes of the Qinghai viruses were closely related to the H5N1 virus A/Chicken/Shantou/4231/2003 (genotype V)."

"The above comment from tomorrow's Nature adds considerable evidence to suggestions that H5N1 is widespread in China and not being reported. Although China promptly reported the H5N1 outbreaks in Qinghai and Xinjiang in May and June, the prior OIE report was in the summer of 2004. Thus, prior to the three recent reports, there were no reported cases in China.

"However, a report to ProMed asking for help on diagnosing dying geese in Fujian Province suggested many H5N1 infections were not tested and not reported. The symptoms sounding like bird flu. The geese had been dying since the fall of 2003 and replenishment with geese from nearby province produced the same results. It is not certain that the geese were dying from H5N1 because there was no testing, even when bird were dying in 2004 when China did report outbreaks throughout the country." Click China to read the article.

Bird flu outbreak in Qinghai "under control": spokesman

"BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhuanet) -- A spokesman with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said here on Friday that the bird flu outbreak in Qinghai Province in northwestern China has been "brought under control."

"Jia Youling, the spokesman and also director general of the ministry's Veterinary Bureau, said the number of migrant birds killed by the disease has dropped to about 20 a day since June 8.

"Thus far, more than 6,000 migratory birds have died since the disease was reported on May 4.

"Jia said the ministry has reported the latest developments to relevant international organizations.

"The governments at all levels in China attach great importance to the prevention and control of bird flu and related departments have taken many measures to prevent the disease. Since the bird flu outbreak was reported in Qinghai, the local government has done a lot to prevent the epidemic from spreading, he said, adding that no fowl or human beings have been infected so far. Click the title to read the article.

World Health Organization and Chinese Investigate Misuse of Bird Flu Drug

"The World Health Organization is investigating a report that Chinese farmers are giving a drug meant for humans to their chickens, in an effort to prevent the spread of bird flu. The Chinese government says it's also investigating

"If large numbers of chickens are given medicine meant for humans to protect them against a lethal strain of bird flu, then the virus can become stronger and more resistant. That means the drug may no longer offer protection to humans.

"...Dr. Leon Lai is an infectious diseases specialist at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, 'If these are drugs that are supposedly only given to humans, why would these chickens be producing viruses that are resistant? And I think this is the answer to that mystery.'

"...Dr. Lai says that if the Chinese government did advocate using the drug in chickens, it must have known it was violating international guidelines. 'To flout that and to assume that you knew better than the worldwide scientific body of opinion would, I think, be very irresponsible.'" Click China to read the article.

Bird Flu found in Thailand

2005-07-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

"H5N1 Bird Flu Confirmed in Thailand"

"The Livestock Development Department has detected new cases of avian influenza in Suphan Buri, effectively shattering the country's hope of declaring itself 'bird flu-free' tomorrow and to boost poultry exports in the latter half of this year.

"...He was confident the latest outbreak was unlikely to spiral into a serious crisis, because the infections were limited to small locations.

Nirandorn said the department was checking whether the mass deaths of fowl in Pathum Thani, Chachoengsao, Prachin Buri, Kalasin, Lampang and Phetchabun recently were also related to bird flu." Click Thailand to read the article.

Bird Flu hits the Philippines

2005-07-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

"MANILA: The Philippines has reported its first case of bird flu after infected ducks were found north of Manila.

"...The Philippines, which had been the only country in Asia not affected by bird flu, has taken a number of precautionary measures – including strict bans on poultry imports – in an effort to keep it out." Click Philippines to read the article.

5 more Japanese farms may have bird flu

2005-07-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

"MITSUKAIDO, Japan, June 30 (UPI) -- Chickens at five Japanese poultry farms near one recently hit by the bird flu virus have shown signs of also being infected with the disease.

"The five farms are located about 0.3 miles from the area in Ibaraki prefecture where a diluted strain of avian flu virus was confirmed. The birds at the five farms were found carrying the antibody to the disease, indicating the birds had been infected with the virus, the Asahi Shimbun reported Thursday." Click Japan to read the article.

Update: First outbreak of H5N2 bird flu in Japan

"Officials in Japan have stated that earlier this week on a farm in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, agencies began a cull of more than 25,000 birds due to infection with H5N2 avian influenza. This is the first known outbreak of H5N2, which is less virulent than H5N1, in Japan. The initial outbreak on the farm is believed to have taken place from March to May 2005 but it was slow to be detected because it was a less virulent strain of bird flu." Click the title to read the article.

Indonesia confirms first bird flu deaths

2005-06-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:18 AM ET
By Muklis Ali and Karima Anjani

"JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia confirmed on Wednesday its first deaths from bird flu, saying tests on a father and his two young daughters who died recently showed they had the virus.

"...'Test results from a Hong Kong laboratory which I received this morning confirmed they were positive for the H5N1 virus,' Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari told reporters.

Asked if the three died from bird flu, Supari said: 'Yes.'

"'It is not yet known how they got infected, but we continue to conduct an investigation on the ground,' she said. 'The results show (the virus is) a conventional one, and not a new virus. Therefore, there is no need to worry about human-to-human transmission.'

"Authorities have taken samples of more than 300 people who had contact with the family on the outskirts of Jakarta." Click the title to read the article.

Indonesia Reports Human Bird Flu Case
"Farm Worker Is Country's First Human Infected by Virus"

By Alan Sipress
Washingotn Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 15, 2005; 8:54 AM

"JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 15 -- A farm worker in eastern Indonesia has tested positive for bird flu, marking the country's first human case of the virus that has already killed at least 54 people elsewhere in Southeast Asia, health officials in Indonesia said Wednesday.

"The worker from southern Sulawesi island is healthy and currently shows no symptoms of the illness but two tests at a Hong Kong laboratory confirmed that he had been infected by avian influenza, health officials said." Click the title to read the article.

Bird Flu (H5N1)

2005-06-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Vic scientists develop bird flu test

"Victorian scientists have developed a 24-hour test to detect various strains of avian flu in birds...Scientists will be able to conduct same-day tests for the 15 different types of flu, including the strains that are transferable to humans...The test will be useful in countries which are not currently affected but are at risk from migratory birds." Click the title to read the article.

WHO urges bird flu vigilance, warns virus unstable

"BEIJING, June 10 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation urged vigilance against the deadly strain of bird flu on Friday, saying the disease scientists warn could cause a global pandemic was moving in new and unpredictable ways.

Shigeru Omi, the WHO's Asia director, made the comments in Beijing a day after China said it had discovered the H5N1 strain in the far western province of Xinjiang, its second outbreak in as many months.

"All of this shows the virus remains unstable, unpredictable and very versatile," Omi told a news conference."It may have new and unpleasant surprises in store for all of us." Click the title to read the article.

S.E. Asia Sets Up Task Force to Tackle Bird Flu

"Southeast Asian nations agreed on Friday to set up a task force to coordinate the fight against a deadly bird flu which has killed 31 people and ravaged poultry flocks across the region.

"The avian influenza threatened "global public health, poultry production, trade and economic development," agriculture ministers of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) said in a statement after a two-day meeting.

"The H5N1 virus, which has killed 20 Vietnamese and 11 Thais, has proven resilient despite the slaughter of tens of millions of poultry since January.

"There was hope several months ago that the virus had been defeated, only to see it recur in Thailand and Vietnam in July. Click the title to read the article.

Photos of 1000's of Bird Flu Deaths on Bird Island Qinghai China

Recombinomics Commentary
June 3, 2005

"The latest report from Abundant News has two photos of dead or dying birds on Bird (Naio) Island in Qinghai Lake. In the close shot, few birds are standing and most that are not standing appear to be dead or dying. There are no birds flying. In the longer shot there appear to be thousands of birds on the ground and none in the air. It seems likely that the number dead or dying is in the thousands.

"The photos are dated May 27, and if accurate, would indicate that the die-off is continuing because the birds in the picture appear to be of recent deaths or birds that are suffocating. The initial reports indicated 150 bar headed geese were found dead on May 4 and another 28 were found in the following few days. Thus, it would seem that birds have been dying for three weeks and the number in these two pictures would suggest that the reported 8000 dead birds is a low number that may still be increasing." Click the title to read the article.

2 epidemics spreading among livestock and birds, China says

"BEIJING - After stonewalling for weeks, China acknowledged Friday that two epidemics had spread among its animal and bird populations, renewing questions about its readiness to provide prompt information about infectious disease.

"The belated announcement came amid fresh criticism that China's disease-surveillance system is inadequate to deal with an avian flu virus that scientists say may turn into a global pandemic among humans.

An outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease, which causes livestock to waste away, was detected in cattle in five regions of China, leading animal-health experts to slaughter 4,383 head, the nation's chief veterinarian, Jia Youling, said at a news conference." Click the title to read the article.

Bird flu death toll five times what had been reported, China
28 May 2005

"An official from China's agricultural department said the death toll from bird flu in the West of China is five times greater than official reports had stated. The number of migratory birds killed was much larger than people had thought, he said. He added that the reports refer only to the death of birds and that no humans have died." Click the title to read the article.

China treats 3m farmyard birds in avian flu fear

"The Chinese government moved into overdrive yesterday in belated reaction to an outbreak of bird flu in migrating geese, sending three million doses of vaccine to the vast north-west region.

"Last week, 178 geese that died on Lake Qinghai, a breeding ground on the Tibetan plateau, were confirmed as having died from the bird flu virus, H5N1...

"Officials have closed all China's nature reserves, including Bird Island, a tourist attraction on Lake Qinghai. They will attempt to vaccinate all three million farmyard poultry in Qinghai province within two days.

One specialist said: 'People do not need to panic and should be confident that the new cases will be brought under control as effective measures have been taken.'" Click the title to read the article.

Menacing changes seen in Vietnam bird flu

"The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain that has been plaguing southeast Asia appears to be evolving in a way that may signal a greater threat of a human flu pandemic, according to a World Health Organization report.

"Human cases of avian influenza in northern Vietnam in 2005 are showing an epidemiological pattern and virological features which differ from those seen in the 2004 cases. They also differ from those currently seen in human cases in southern Vietnam and other Asian countries.

"In particular, though not yet proven, the differences indicate the virus may have already been transmitted from human-to-human - a worrying prospect. It also suggests the viral strain in northern Vietnam may be more infectious but less virulent than elsewhere; more easily spread but less likely to cause death in sufferers." Click the title to read the article.

"Bird or Avian flu is an infection caused by avian influenza (flu) viruses. These flu viruses occur naturally among wild and domesticated birds. This section provides background information about avian influenza, including recent outbreaks, the viruses, and the risk to human health." from Bird Flu Center