H5N1

Indonesia: Boy dies of H5N1

Via Bird Flu Information Corner, a report from Indonesia's MetroTV: Bekasi, West Java: A boy died due to bird flu infection. Excerpt:

Andri Ruhiyat, resident of Kampung Kandang, Desa Sukaraya, Bekasi, West Java Barat, passed away at  Persahabatan hospital, East Jakarta, Saturday (28/2). Victim suggested died due to bird flu infection. 

Andri previously treated for 6 hours at Anisa hospital, then the hospital redirected him to Persahabatan hospital since laboratory examination resulted positive bird flu infection.

A techie note for flubies

Since adopting Google Analytics for this site, I've seen that the vast majority of visitors arrive here via Internet Explorer. I've been happily using Safari for almost four years, and last week Apple introduced Safari 4 (beta) for both Mac and Windows.

Well, after doing due diligence by checking the reactions of instant adopters, I downloaded it (it's free), and it's been working just fine. Safari 4 is dramatically faster than version 3, and apparently faster than Firefox also.

Probably the most impressive change is "Top Sites," which lets you see as many as 20 of your favourite websites on one screen. Safari takes them from sites you've recently visited, but you can delete them and let Safari find other sites instead. 

You can drag them around, so I've now got my top newspaper sites on the top row, follow by flubie sites including Avian Flu Diary, Effect Measure, Chen Qi, Bird Flu Information Corner, and NewsNow Bird Flu. The two bottom rows include political blogs and other often-visited sites.

Each mini-screen shows a white star when something new is on that site, so it also offers a quick way to keep track of what's going on. 

If you've got a computer that meets the requirements of Safari 4, you may find it's worth the trouble of downloading.

US: Sebelius to be new HHS secretary

Via the Washington Post: Sebelius accepts HHS post. Excerpt: 

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius accepted President Obama's nomination to become Health and Human Services Secretary this afternoon, according to administration officials.

Sebelius will replace former senator Thomas A. Daschle, who withdrew from consideration last month. 

"This evening, the President asked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to serve as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, and she accepted," one administration official said. 

"The President will formally announce the nomination on Monday afternoon at the White House."

Let us hope she is as concerned about pandemic preparation as her boss is.

In this month's Emerging Infectious Diseases

The January issue of EID is full of flu-related articles, including this one: Pandemic Preparedness in Developing Countries. The abstract:

Developing countries face unique difficulties preparing for an influenza pandemic. Our current top-down approach will not provide these countries with adequate supplies of vaccines and antiviral agents. 

Consequently, they will have to use a bottom-up approach based on inexpensive generic agents that either modify the host response to influenza virus or act as antiviral agents. 

Several of these agents have shown promise, and many are currently produced in developing countries. Investigators must primarily identify agents for managing infection in populations and not simply seek explanations for how they work. They must determine in which countries these agents are produced and define patterns of distribution and costs. 

Because prepandemic research cannot establish whether these agents will be effective in a pandemic, randomized controlled trials must begin immediately after a new pandemic virus has emerged. Without this research, industrialized and developing countries could face an unprecedented health crisis.

Japan: Aichi begins culling 260,000 quails after detecting H7

Via Japan Today: Aichi begins culling 260,000 quails after detecting H7 bird flu virus. Excerpt:

Aichi Prefecture began culling some 260,000 quails on Saturday at a farm in the city of Toyohashi following the confirmation Friday of a new outbreak of H7 bird flu virus there, prefectural government officials said. 

The quails being culled are among 320,000 bred at the farm and raised at the same premises as two quails that tested positive recently in a virus detection test during a regular sampling inspection by the prefectural government. 

The move comes a day after the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry confirmed the H7 virus as being attenuated in virulence.

Indonesia: Boy dies of suspected H5N1

Via the Jakarta Post: Bekasi resident allegedly dies of bird flu.

An eight-year-old Bekasi resident died Saturday morning after being hospitalized at Persahabatan Hospital in East Jakarta with symptoms that link the case to bird flu, kompas.com reports. 

The Bekasi health agency's head of disease control Rudi Ruhdiat said And, a resident of Sukaraya village, had been buried this afternoon. 

And was taken to Persahabatan Hospital Saturday morning after undergoing treatment at Annisa Hospital in Cikarang since Friday night. 

Doctors said the child had been suffering from pneumonia, fever and coughing. Family members reported some chickens had died and were buried around his home. 

And's death was the second in the village this month alone; the first death was reported early in February.

I wish we had more details about that other death in the village.

Nepal: Another B2B H5N1 outbreak?

Via Nepalnews.com: Bird flu feared as hundreds of chickens die near Biratnagar. Excerpt:

Two days after the government completed its culling and killing operation of poultry and poultry products in Sharanamati VDC of Jhapa to control bird-flu detected in the area a week ago, almost 1,000 chickens in farms in Tankisinuwari of Morang district have died sending a pang of panic among the locals. 

Some 400 chickens belonging to Dinesh Sitaula and 600 chickens belonging to Kiran Kafle died on Friday and Saturday, news reports said. The chickens started salivating and had swollen heads before they died, said the owners. The locals are scared of a bird-flu outbreak with flocks of chicken dying. 

Initial investigation on the samples have tested negative to bird-flu, according to technicians from the Regional Animal Disease Diagnosis Laboratory (RADDL), Biratnagar.

Republica has more details.

What does Canada owe the victims of SARS?

Via The Star, a report with implications for the healthcare workers who might lose their lives in a flu pandemic:  Justice sought for nurse who died of SARS.

Their lawyer calls it "SARS-gate." But to Kenneth and Grace Laroza, it's less about catchy names than loss of life. 

Their mother, Nelia, a nurse at North York General Hospital, died in June 2003 at age 51 from the second wave of SARS to hit Toronto. 

So it was hard for the Larozas to listen from the benches of a Toronto court yesterday as an Ontario government lawyer tried to get their lawsuit tossed before a trial. 

Nobody was immune from SARS, but the province is immune from SARS lawsuits, Crown counsel Lise Favreau told Ontario Court of Appeal judges, arguing provincial health officials owed no "duty of care" to hospital workers or patients exposed to the deadly disease. 

That didn't sit well with Kenneth Laroza, 22, who told reporters he is suing to ensure health-care workers will be better protected during future public health crises. 

"I want to make sure once something like this happens again, the people who are taking care of us are being taken care of," said Laroza.

Abbotsford update

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency published an update today: Avian Influenza - Events and News. In brief, the affected premises have been disinfected; 43 other farms are still quarantined. If all goes well and we have no further outbreaks, Canada will regain its birdflu-free status in three months—which would be late May.

Branswell on the contaminated vaccine

Via the Toronto Sun, a CP story by Helen Branswell: Baxter: Product contained live bird flu virus. Excerpt:

The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses. 

And an official of the World Health Organization’s European operation said the body is closely monitoring the investigation into the events that took place at Baxter International’s research facility in Orth-Donau, Austria. 

“At this juncture we are confident in saying that public health and occupational risk is minimal at present,” medical officer Roberta Andraghetti said from Copenhagen, Denmark. 

“But what remains unanswered are the circumstances surrounding the incident in the Baxter facility in Orth-Donau.” 

The contaminated product, a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses and unlabelled H5N1 viruses, was supplied to an Austrian research company. The Austrian firm, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, then sent portions of it to sub-contractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany. 

The contamination incident, which is being investigated by the four European countries, came to light when the subcontractor in the Czech Republic inoculated ferrets with the product and they died. Ferrets shouldn’t die from exposure to human H3N2 flu viruses. 

Public health authorities concerned about what has been described as a “serious error” on Baxter’s part have assumed the death of the ferrets meant the H5N1 virus in the product was live. But the company, Baxter International Inc., has been parsimonious about the amount of information it has released about the event. 

On Friday, the company’s director of global bioscience communications confirmed what scientists have suspected. 

“It was live,” Christopher Bona said in an email.