H5N1

West Java: New bird flu suspect

Via Bird Flu Information Corner, a report from Indonesian TV news and the newspaper Seputar Indonesia: Indramayu, West Java ::: New bird flu suspect. Excerpt:

Indramayu regional hospital received new bird flu suspect, Tarlam (60), resident of RT 04/02 Desa Telukagung, Kecamatan/Kabupaten Indramayu. 

Widiana, doctor of Indramayu regional hospital said that Tarlam was introduced to emergency room because of having breathing difficulty and high fever. His body temperature showed 40℃. 

Now victim is treated at Indramayu regional hospital isolation unit. Doctors are still waiting for x-ray and blood examination result. 

Tarlam’s sister, Dasinih (42) said that her brother had contact with dead fowls on their backyard. Tarlam was reported holding the fowls and disposed them to the river. Birds belong to Tarlam’s neighbors were found dead due to avian influenza virus previously.

Is H5N1 adapting to pigs in Indonesia?

Via CIDRAP, a report by Robert Roos: H5N1 virus may be adapting to pigs in Indonesia.

Scientists report that H5N1 avian influenza viruses may be adapting to pigs, as evidenced by the finding that H5N1 viruses isolated from pigs in Indonesia were less harmful to mice than were H5N1 viruses from chickens. 

The finding suggests that in growing in pigs, the virus may have become less harmful to mammals in general, the authors report. That sounds reassuring, but the authors say it may mean the virus is one step closer to turning into a human pandemic strain. 

In the study, scientists from Japan and Indonesia collected viruses from chickens and pigs in Indonesia, grew them in laboratory cell cultures, and used them to infect mice. They found that the viruses from pigs were less lethal to mice than the viruses from chickens, according to their recent report in the Archives of Virology. 

"We found that swine isolates were less virulent to mice than avian isolates, suggesting that the viruses became attenuated during their replication in pigs," the report states.

As always, the CIDRAP report has a link to the original source.

West Bengal: "Show us the money"

The cull has not gone smoothly in North Dinajpur. Via The Statesman: Agitation brings culling to a halt. Excerpt:

Culling in bird-flu affected Daspara and Ghinnigaon, under Chopra police station, North Dinajpur district, was delayed for hours yesterday due to an agitation by villagers demanding spot payment against the killed birds. 

Culling restarted only when the deputy director of the North Dinajpur animal husbandry department, Mr Sajal Bhuniya, conceded to the demands for on-the-spot compensation. 

After bird flu was detected in Daspara and Ghinni gaon in Chopra, the district administration decided to kill around 14,000 birds at several villages in the region. 

The animal husbandry department was to provide payment to beneficiaries from the local panchayat office after the completion of the culling. Demands by villagers that payment be provided on the spot against the culled birds were rejected by the concerned officials. 

However, when culling teams reached the villages yesterday evening and began killing birds, a section of villagers turned up and started an agitation, demanding spot payment against the culled birds. 

The agitation halted the culling process for several hours. Culling restarted only when the deputy director of the North Dinajpur animal husbandry department, Mr Sajal Bhuniya, conceded to the villagers' demands.

This happens so often in India and other countries that you would think even the dullest bureaucrat would get the point by now: Cull the chickens and ducks after you buy them, just like any other customer.

Egypt: Has a baby died of H5N1?

I missed this post on Saturday, when Zeinobia put it up on her site: Egyptian chronicles: The first fatal H5N1 Case in 2009. Excerpt:

45 days old “Basmallah" Mohamed Rabi’” died yesterday in the Fayoum general hospital because of H5N1, the baby girl could not be rescued especially that she was admitted to the hospital 24 hours before her death. 

The poor baby had a very weak immunity system compared to the virus. It could not resist it :( 

Already  I wonder how the hell this little baby contacted infect poultry !!! Did her mother carry her around the house or what ?? May God give strength to her parents and family. 

Basmallah was No. 61 I believe among the human infection case and No.24 in the death toll in Egypt. 

I hope Basmallah would be the last fatal case in Egypt. There are several suspicion cases across the country announced from this week but without confirmation of their infection and this is why I do not publish any news.

It would indeed be remarkable (but not impossible) for a baby this young to contract H5N1. What's more remarkable, to me, is the silence from other news sources. SAIDR (always a few days late) has nothing newer than March 26. Dutchy did pick it up on March 28 (I now see) on CurEvents.com, but it appears there to be only a suspected case.

Maybe this is a false alarm, but I'm surprised it wasn't picked up by any of the English-language media that pay attention to bird flu.

A confirmed H5N1 death in Indonesia

Via Mike Coston's Avian Flu Diary, a report originally from Dutchy at Flutrackers: Indonesia: Media Says Riau Fatality Was Positive H5N1.

As Mike points out, it's a "local" confirmation, not an official statement by the ministry of health, much less WHO.

I remain confident that many people know how many human cases have really occurred in Indonesia, but they're not telling.

FAO: Time to tackle transboundary animal diseases

This seems to be the end of the flu season and the start of the flu-conference season. Via IRIN: Urgent need to tackle transboundary animal diseases, says FAO. Excerpt:

Representatives from 32 countries have been meeting since 26 March in Bangkok at the biennial Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference for Asia and the Pacific to consider issues such as food security. 

A key discussion was the growing threat of transboundary animal diseases, which have gained prominence because of emerging zoonotic diseases - which can be transmitted from animals to humans - such as avian influenza. 

“Over the past 10 years, disease outbreaks have affected millions of poor households dependent on livestock for livelihood and food security; [their] occurrence is now considered an emergency,” Carolyn Benigno, animal health officer with the FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, told the conference.

Bangladesh conference deals with H5N1 issues

Via bdnews24.com: Vets told to curb trans-border animal diseases. Excerpt:

The conference would discuss issues on breaking out of bird flu in the SAARC countries, strategies of exchange of information, life saving methods, installing regional vaccine bank on animal diseases and forming surveillance team. 

It would also formulate work plan to curb trans border animal diseases and initiatives for effective development of livestock sector of the SAARC countries. 

A total of 40 delegations of the SAARC countries are attending the meet.

India sets up more labs to test for human H5N1

Via The Times of India: Govt sets up more labs to test human samples for bird flu. Excerpt:

Precariously positioned between countries that have reported H5N1 bird flu virus infection in humans, India is now on a major drive to step up its diagnostic capabilities for detection of human infection with Avian Influenza. 

While India had only one Bio Safety Level-III lab to test human samples for bird flu in National Institute of Virology (Pune) during the country's first H5N1 outbreak in February 2006 among poultry, at present it has in place three other BSL-III labs, each of which is capable of testing over 30 human samples a day. 

Brought from Hong Kong and each costing over Rs 2 crore, the three new labs are at National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (Kolkata), National Institute of Communicable Diseases (Delhi) and Regional Medical Research Centre (Dibrugarh). 

Two more BSL-III labs are also coming up at Central Research Institute (Kasauli) and Haffkine Institute (Mumbai) under the country's Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. They are expected to become fully functional in the next three months.

 A health ministry official told TOI that NIMHANS Bangalore is also being roped in to house a BSL-III lab for human sample testing. The official said, 

"Besides these, nine Avian Influenza labs to conduct preliminary tests on human samples are also being set up, equipment of most of which has already arrived. But these labs will not be of BSL-III standard."

As the report goes on to say, India has yet to identify its first human case of H5N1. But if New Delhi is going to this much trouble, it won't be shocked when that first case turns up.

Another bird flu suspect from Bandung « Bird Flu Information Corner

Via Bird Flu Information Corner, a report from Indonesia TV news, Seputar Indonesia: Another bird flu suspect from Bandung.

Urip Rahayu, 23, resident of Bukit Pelamungan IX Bekasi and Rajim, 50, resident of Kampung Pasirkunci RT 08/03,Kelurahan Sarijaya, Kecamatan Majalaya, Kabupaten Karawang, admitted to Hasan Sadikin hospital Bandung due to bird flu (avian influenza) suspect. 

Urip has been treated in Flamboyan room since 24 March because of having breathing problem and high fever. Rajim is treated at the same room since Sunday (30/3). 

This story is related to previous post from Detik news.

And with every new suspected case, usually with no follow-up, the real state of affairs in Indonesia grows more confused.

Bangladesh taking preventive measures

Via The New Nation: Avian flu situation under control. Excerpt: 

Various preventive measures of the government have been intensified further to check spread of avian influenza in the country's northern region, official sources yesterday told BSS. 

Following recent spread of the bird flu at places in Dinajpur, Taraganj in Rangpur and neighbouring country, the Livestock Department, administrations, poultry farm owners and other organisations have taken the measures. 

The situation remains under full control and no incident of any human infection has been reported from anywhere in the region and a high alert have been put along the border to prevent entry of poultry birds from outside, the officials said. 

Following detection of bird flu infection in Dinajpur on last Friday and at Mimi Poultry Farm at Taraganj Upazila town in Rangpur yesterday, the concerned authorities started hectic efforts in containing the further spread of the diseases. 

Sources at the land ports at Hilli, Burimari and Sona Masjid today informed BSS that since the recent outbreaks of the poultry bird disease, spraying of the incoming vehicles have been intensified at all entry points. 

The bordering sources told that special measures have been taken along the whole border on Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts to resist any intrusion of eggs, poultry birds and chicks. 

Officials at Hakimpur Upazila Livestocks Office in Dinajpur said each of the incoming vehicles through Hilli Land Port there is being properly sprayed for at the entry point to prevent entrance of bird flu viruses.

I posted an item yesterday from The Statesman about an outbreak in North Dinajpur, in West Bengal; Dinajpur is in Bangladesh. So it's understandable that the authorities are trying to seal the border.