H5N1

Tanzania on high alert after strange disease kills five

Via The Citizen: Tanzania on high alert after strange disease kills five.

Tanzania’s ministry of health has issued a public notice about an unknown disease that has so far killed 5 people in Bukoba, Kagera Region.  

The notice comes after 7 people were reported to have fallen ill, showing symptoms of fever, vomiting, bleeding, and kidney failure.  

The ministry has called on the general public to remain alert and advised that anyone who shows signs of nausea, weakness, bleeding, diarrhea, or fever to report to the nearest health centre. 

“Anyone who sees someone with the aforementioned symptoms should alert authorities by calling a toll-free number (199).”  

It is believed that the disease is infectious and samples from the dead bodies have been taken to determine what type of disease it is.  

The ministry also said that a rapid response team has been dispatched to the affected areas.

8 dead skunks found in Vancouver and Richmond test positive for H5N1 avian flu

Via CBC News, a story that's getting close to home: 8 dead skunks found in Vancouver and Richmond test positive for avian flu. Excerpt:

Eight skunks found dead last month in Vancouver and nearby Richmond, B.C., have tested positive for avian flu. 

The B.C. government says it is the same strain of avian influenza associated with the outbreak that began in April 2022.  

The skunks were found in residential areas in both cities and were taken to B.C.'s Animal Health Centre over concerns they may have been deliberately poisoned.  

British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture says the skunks were infected with the same H5N1 strain that has caused the deaths of millions of domestic poultry since the outbreak began in April last year.  

The ministry says in a statement the skunks may have contracted H5N1 by scavenging on infected wild birds.  

The statement says while avian flu in skunks is considered to be a low risk to human health, there are always risks when people or pets come into contact with sick or dead wild animals.

Avian influenza overview December 2022 – March 2023

ECDC has published Avian influenza overview December 2022 – March 2023. The abstract:

Between 3 December 2022 and 1 March 2023 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus, clade 2.3.4.4b, was reported in Europe in domestic (522) and wild (1,138) birds over 24 countries. An unexpected number of HPAI virus detections in sea birds were observed, mainly in gull species and particularly in black-headed gulls (large mortality events were observed in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy). The close genetic relationship among viruses collected from black-headed gulls suggests a southward spread of the virus. Moreover, the genetic analyses indicate that the virus persisted in Europe in residential wild birds during and after the summer months. 

Although the virus retained a preferential binding for avian-like receptors, several mutations associated to increased zoonotic potential were detected. The risk of HPAI virus infection for poultry due to the virus circulating in black-headed gulls and other gull species might increase during the coming months, as breeding bird colonies move inland with possible overlap with poultry production areas. 

Worldwide, HPAI A(H5N1) virus continued to spread southward in the Americas, from Mexico to southern Chile. The Peruvian pelican was the most frequently reported infected species with thousands of deaths being reported. The reporting of HPAI A(H5N1) in mammals also continued probably linked to feeding on infected wild birds. 

In Peru, a mass mortality event of sea lions was observed in January and February 2023. Since October 2022, six A(H5N1) detections in humans were reported from Cambodia (a family cluster with 2 people, clade 2.3.2.1c), China (2, clade 2.3.4.4b), Ecuador (1, clade 2.3.4.4b), and Vietnam (1, clade 2.3.4.4b), as well as two A(H5N6) human infections from China. 

The risk of infection with currently circulating avian H5 influenza viruses of clade 2.3.4.4b in Europe is assessed as low for the general population in the EU/EEA, and low to moderate for occupationally or otherwise exposed people.