H5N1

A serious attack on Boxun News

EastSouthWestNorth, a China-based English-language blog, has a pretty persuasive deconstruction—and discrediting—of a Boxun News story: The First Avian Flu Case In Beijing. Well worth reading.

I wish we could get a lot more commentary from inside China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Clearly, people there are swapping information and thinking hard about a problem that's a lot closer to them than it is to us. Yet we're hearing only a tiny fraction of it—and much of that comes from dubious outsiders like Boxun.

Australian business confronts pandemic hazards

Thanks to the reader who sent me the link to Bird Flu and Pandemics, a conference held in Sydney on November 22. I haven't had a chance to explore the links, but they look very promising.

Does family clustering mean human-to-human transmission?

CIDRAP mentions an important letter in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases on the CDC site: Family Clustering of Avian Influenza A (H5N1). The authors discuss the increase in the rate of family clusters of avian-flu cases:

Although reports of H5N1 family clusters slightly increased, the increase was not statistically significant. Nevertheless, we believe any cluster of cases is of great concern and should be promptly and thoroughly investigated because it might be the first indication of viral mutations resulting in more efficient person-to-person spread. Family clustering does not necessarily indicate person-to-person transmission, as it may also result from common household exposures to the same H5N1-infected poultry or from other exposures, such as to uncooked poultry products.

A pandemic's second front

Here's a good commentary from the New York Times, via the International Herald Tribune. Epidemiologist Michael Alderman discusses the problem of bacterial infection in flu cases: A pandemic's second front.

"Indonesia's response to emerging AIDS epidemic inadequate"

That's the UN verdict reported in the Jakarta Post.

HIV has infected an estimated 150,000 to 250,000 people in the country and is spreading quickly among injecting drug users, as well as sex workers and their clients, said UNAIDS chief Peter Piot.

But he noted the level of infections was still low given Indonesia's population of 220 million, and said the virus' spread could be stopped with stepped-up prevention programs.

When the country's already dealing with avian flu and a weak economy, that's easier said than done.

Crisis in confidence in US government widens

I've just discovered the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

At the top of its Press Releases page is a PDF of a November 21 release. A poll taken for the NCDP indicates US public confidence in the government's ability to cope with pandemic flu (among other disasters) has fallen. Katrina and Rita are among the chief causes.

The NCDP is an interesting site. Its emphasis is on natural disasters and bioterrorism, but much of its material seems applicable to pandemic problems as well.

Vietnam doesn't plan total cull

VietNam News reports the national bird flu prevention plan of the ministry of agriculture and rural development.

Hoang Kim Giao, deputy head of MARD's Animal Husbandry Department, said that culling of all poultry would not ensure safety since wild birds could carry the avian flu virus.

It could, on the other hand, pollute the environment and water resources, and put a massive financial burden on the Government in way of compensating farmers, he added.

For preventing another outbreak, the ministry has decided to destroy all poultry raised in infected areas, cordon off such areas and spray disinfectants on poultry farms.

Mapping avian flu news

Medical News Today has announced an "innovative and graphic way to monitor emerging news on bird flu." Read the story, follow the links, and let me know if it's a useful system.

Nine arrested over fake bird flu vaccine

China Daily reports that Nine arrested over fake bird flu vaccine.

With China trying to vaccinate billions of poultry, it's depressing but not surprising that some crooked business types would try to cash in. These guys won't be the last.

Indonesia's hospitals unprepared

Via Bird Flu Today, a Reuters story reports Indonesia hospitals struggle to prepare for bird flu.

Indonesia has appointed 44 hospitals across the world's fourth most populous country to take care of bird flu patients, with that number expected to more than double to 100.

But years of economic crisis have taken their toll on the health system, leaving hospitals short of funds and resources, let alone being ready for a disease that could infect countless numbers in the impoverished country of 220 million people.

Halid Saleh, head of team of doctors to treat bird flu patients at the Wahidin Sudirohusodo hospital in the eastern city of Makassar, said they had prepared two isolation rooms with two beds each to handle patients.

But there were no ventilators, monitors or emergency support equipment for the rooms because they were needed for intensive care units, he said.

All the more reason for the western nations to pour equipment and specialists into regions at risk.