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Avian Influenza Daily Digest
August 13, 2008 14:00 GMT
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Article Summaries ...
Quid Novi
Bird Die-Off Spreads to Tebing Tinggi City; Rapid Testing Confirmed the Presence of Avian Influenza
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Ghana calls for cross-border meeting on Avian Influenza
8/13/08 GNA--The Veterinary Services Directorate, has invited its partners from neighbouring Togo and Benin to a cross border meeting at Aflao to discuss common measures to prevent the incursions of the Avian Influenza (bird flu) following its outbreak in Nigeria last month.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Hong Kong resumes poultry imports from UK's Suffolk, Norfolk counties
8/13/08 Xinhua--Hong Kong has resumed importing poultry meat and products from Suffolk and Norfolk of the United Kingdom as the counties have taken control measures and no more avian flu cases have been reported, the Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong said here Tuesday.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Singapore financial sector to be tested for flu-outbreak readiness
8/13/08 Monsters and Critics--A two-week exercise to test the preparedness of Singapore's financial industry for a deadly flu outbreak is to start at the end of this month, organizers said Wednesday.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Science and Technology
PANDEMIC MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS: BIRD FLU IN WEST BENGAL
8/13/08 Wiley International--[abstract]--This paper examines the case of a recent H5N1virus (avian influenza) outbreak in West Bengal, an eastern state of India, and argues that poorly executed pandemic management may be viewed as a moral lapse. It further argues that pandemic management initiatives are intimately related to the concept of health as a social 'good' and to the moral responsibility of protection from foreseeable social harm from an infectious disease. The initiatives, therefore, have to be guided by special moral obligations towards biorisk reduction, obligations which remain unfulfilled when a public body entrusted with the responsibility fails to manage satisfactorily the prevention and control of the infection. The overall conclusion is that pandemic management has a moral dimension. The gravity of the threat that fatal infectious diseases pose for public health creates special moral obligations for public bodies in pandemic situations. However, the paper views the West Bengal case as a learning opportunity, and considers the lapses cited as challenges that better, more effectively conducted pandemic management can prepare for. It is hoped that this paper will provoke constructive bioethical deliberations, particularly pertinent to the developing world, on how to ensure that the obligations towards health are fulfilled ethically and more effectively.
AI Research, Regional Reporting and Surveillance
An Inhibitory Activity in Human Cells Restricts the Function of an Avian-like Influenza Virus Polymerase.
8/13/08 PubMed--[abstract]--Transmission of avian influenza virus into human populations has the potential to cause pandemic outbreaks. A major determinant of species tropism is the identity of amino acid 627 in the PB2 subunit of the heterotrimeric influenza polymerase; glutamic acid predominates in avian PB2, whereas lysine occupies this position in human isolates. We show that a dominant inhibitory activity in human cells potently and selectively restricts the function of polymerases containing an avian-like PB2 with glutamic acid at residue 627. Restricted polymerases fail to assemble into ribonucleoprotein complexes, resulting in decreased genome transcription, replication, and virus production without any significant effect on relative viral infectivity. Understanding the molecular basis of this species-specific restriction should provide strategies to prevent and treat avian influenza outbreaks in humans.
AI Research
Replication and Transmission of H9N2 Influenza Viruses in Ferrets: Evaluation of Pandemic Potential
8/13/08 PLoS--[full text]-- Abstract H9N2 avian influenza A viruses are endemic in poultry of many Eurasian countries and have caused repeated human infections in Asia since 1998. To evaluate the potential threat of H9N2 viruses to humans, we investigated the replication and transmission efficiency of H9N2 viruses in the ferret model. Five wild-type (WT) H9N2 viruses, isolated from different avian species from 1988 through 2003, were tested in vivo and found to replicate in ferrets. However these viruses achieved mild peak viral titers in nasal washes when compared to those observed with a human H3N2 virus. Two of these H9N2 viruses transmitted to direct contact ferrets, however no aerosol transmission was detected in the virus displaying the most efficient direct contact transmission. A leucine (Leu) residue at amino acid position 226 in the hemagglutinin (HA) receptor-binding site (RBS), responsible for human virus-like receptor specificity, was found to be important for the transmission of the H9N2 viruses in ferrets. In addition, an H9N2 avian-human reassortant virus, which contains the surface glycoprotein genes from an H9N2 virus and the six internal genes of a human H3N2 virus, showed enhanced replication and efficient transmission to direct contacts. Although no aerosol transmission was observed, the virus replicated in multiple respiratory tissues and induced clinical signs similar to those observed with the parental human H3N2 virus. Our results suggest that the establishment and prevalence of H9N2 viruses in poultry pose a significant threat for humans.
AI Research
New bird flu threat could be H9N2, researchers say
8/13/08 Reuters--Countries around the world may be preparing for a possible H5N1 bird flu pandemic, but another strain called H9N2 also poses a threat to humanity, researchers reported on Tuesday.
AI Research
Full Text of Articles follow ...
AI Research > Regional Reporting and Surveillance
PANDEMIC MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS: BIRD FLU IN WEST BENGAL
8/13/08 Wiley International--[abstract]--
CHHANDA CHAKRABORTI 1
1 Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
Correspondence to Chhanda Chakraborti, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India. chhanda@iitkgp.ac.in
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the case of a recent H5N1virus (avian influenza) outbreak in West Bengal, an eastern state of India, and argues that poorly executed pandemic management may be viewed as a moral lapse. It further argues that pandemic management initiatives are intimately related to the concept of health as a social 'good' and to the moral responsibility of protection from foreseeable social harm from an infectious disease. The initiatives, therefore, have to be guided by special moral obligations towards biorisk reduction, obligations which remain unfulfilled when a public body entrusted with the responsibility fails to manage satisfactorily the prevention and control of the infection. The overall conclusion is that pandemic management has a moral dimension. The gravity of the threat that fatal infectious diseases pose for public health creates special moral obligations for public bodies in pandemic situations. However, the paper views the West Bengal case as a learning opportunity, and considers the lapses cited as challenges that better, more effectively conducted pandemic management can prepare for. It is hoped that this paper will provoke constructive bioethical deliberations, particularly pertinent to the developing world, on how to ensure that the obligations towards health are fulfilled ethically and more effectively.
AI Research
An Inhibitory Activity in Human Cells Restricts the Function of an Avian-like Influenza Virus Polymerase.
8/13/08 PubMed--[abstract]--
Mehle A, Doudna JA.
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Transmission of avian influenza virus into human populations has the potential to cause pandemic outbreaks. A major determinant of species tropism is the identity of amino acid 627 in the PB2 subunit of the heterotrimeric influenza polymerase; glutamic acid predominates in avian PB2, whereas lysine occupies this position in human isolates. We show that a dominant inhibitory activity in human cells potently and selectively restricts the function of polymerases containing an avian-like PB2 with glutamic acid at residue 627. Restricted polymerases fail to assemble into ribonucleoprotein complexes, resulting in decreased genome transcription, replication, and virus production without any significant effect on relative viral infectivity. Understanding the molecular basis of this species-specific restriction should provide strategies to prevent and treat avian influenza outbreaks in humans.
AI Research
Replication and Transmission of H9N2 Influenza Viruses in Ferrets: Evaluation of Pandemic Potential
8/13/08 PLoS--[full text]
Hongquan Wan1#¤, Erin M. Sorrell1#, Haichen Song1, Md Jaber Hossain1¤, Gloria Ramirez-Nieto1, Isabella Monne2, James Stevens3, Giovanni Cattoli2, Ilaria Capua2, Li-Mei Chen3, Ruben O. Donis3, Julia Busch4,5, James C. Paulson4,5, Christy Brockwell6, Richard Webby6, Jorge Blanco7, Mohammad Q. Al-Natour8, Daniel R. Perez1*
1 Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park and Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, College Park, Maryland, United States of America2 OIE, FAO and National Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell'Università, Legnaro, Padova, Italy3 Molecular Virology and Vaccines Branch, Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America4 Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America5 Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America6 Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America7 Virion Systems, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, United States of America8 Department of Pathology and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Abstract
H9N2 avian influenza A viruses are endemic in poultry of many Eurasian countries and have caused repeated human infections in Asia since 1998. To evaluate the potential threat of H9N2 viruses to humans, we investigated the replication and transmission efficiency of H9N2 viruses in the ferret model. Five wild-type (WT) H9N2 viruses, isolated from different avian species from 1988 through 2003, were tested in vivo and found to replicate in ferrets. However these viruses achieved mild peak viral titers in nasal washes when compared to those observed with a human H3N2 virus. Two of these H9N2 viruses transmitted to direct contact ferrets, however no aerosol transmission was detected in the virus displaying the most efficient direct contact transmission. A leucine (Leu) residue at amino acid position 226 in the hemagglutinin (HA) receptor-binding site (RBS), responsible for human virus-like receptor specificity, was found to be important for the transmission of the H9N2 viruses in ferrets. In addition, an H9N2 avian-human reassortant virus, which contains the surface glycoprotein genes from an H9N2 virus and the six internal genes of a human H3N2 virus, showed enhanced replication and efficient transmission to direct contacts. Although no aerosol transmission was observed, the virus replicated in multiple respiratory tissues and induced clinical signs similar to those observed with the parental human H3N2 virus. Our results suggest that the establishment and prevalence of H9N2 viruses in poultry pose a significant threat for humans.
Quid Novi
Bird Die-Off Spreads to Tebing Tinggi City; Rapid Testing Confirmed the Presence of Avian Influenza
8/13/08 ARGUS--A national source reported unspecified number of birds have died of confirmed avian influenza in Deblod Sundoro sub-district (Padang Hilir district, Tebing Tinggi city, North Sumatera province). Rapid testing conducted by the local livestock agency confirmed the avian influenza diagnosis. Tebing Tinggi city is located close to Ashan regency and Labuhan Batu regency [where avian influenza confirmed bird die-offs and suspected human cases are currently ongoing]. No human cases has been detected in Tebing Tinggi. According to an official from the local livestock agency, the movement of poultry between districts in North Sumatera is unregulated and the area needs more stringent regulations for poultry movement to prevent further outbreaks.
Article URL(s)
http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/08/12/20010154/penyebaran.flu.burung.di.sumut.tak.terbendung
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Ghana calls for cross-border meeting on Avian Influenza
8/13/08 GNA--The Veterinary Services Directorate, has invited its partners from neighbouring Togo and Benin to a cross border meeting at Aflao to discuss common measures to prevent the incursions of the Avian Influenza (bird flu) following its outbreak in Nigeria last month.
Dr Enoch Koney, Acting Director of the Directorate said a similar cross border meeting had been planned between Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso within a couple of weeks on the issue.
Speaking at a day's simulation exercise on Avian Influenza in Kumasi on Tuesday, he said in view of the dangers the disease pose, the Directorate had notified all Regional Directors of Agriculture as well as veterinary officers about the new cases in Nigeria. He said the notification was to strengthen surveillance in all Avian Influenza risk-prone areas in the country. Dr Koney told stakeholders in the campaign against the disease not to be complacent in their prevention and control measures but rather intensified efforts at all entry points of the country's borders. He also urged them to have a constant check at all live bird markets and also monitor the staging posts of migratory wild birds at wet lands whilst they continued strict observances in the issue of import permits for poultry and poultry products. Dr Koney further charged stakeholders to encourage poultry farmers to increase their bio-security levels on their farms and continue with the awareness creation of the public not to panic about the disease.
He announced that MOFA was implementing a number of projects towards strengthening capacities of veterinary staff and other stakeholders to improve control activities such as bio-security training for stakeholders in poultry industry. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Douglas Akrofi Asiedu (Rtd), Co-ordinator, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), said the outbreak of the avian influenza was a real threat to the whole world.
He stressed the need for the nation to commit resources to educate and sensitize the public on its prevention and how to manage it if it does occur. Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister commended the nation's development partners whose collaboration with government helped to check the spread of the disease following its outbreak in the country last year. 12 Aug. 08
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Hong Kong resumes poultry imports from UK's Suffolk, Norfolk counties
8/13/08 Xinhua--Hong Kong has resumed importing poultry meat and products from Suffolk and Norfolk of the United Kingdom as the counties have taken control measures and no more avian flu cases have been reported, the Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong said here Tuesday.
The center suspended processing of applications from Suffolk and Norfolk counties after highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 cases were confirmed in poultry farms in November 2007. It has resumed British poultry imports last month, except from Suffolk, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire counties.
"However, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire counties are still under suspension since these two counties have been previously included in the surveillance zone due to confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza H7 cases in poultry farms in June this year."
AI Research
New bird flu threat could be H9N2, researchers say
8/13/08 Reuters--Countries around the world may be preparing for a possible H5N1 bird flu pandemic, but another strain called H9N2 also poses a threat to humanity, researchers reported on Tuesday.
Tests on the H9N2 strain of the virus show it is capable of infecting and spreading with very few changes, a team from the University of Maryland, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, and elsewhere reported.
"Our results suggest that the establishment and prevalence of H9N2 viruses in poultry pose a significant threat for humans," the researchers wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.
Most influenza experts agree that a pandemic -- a deadly global epidemic -- of some kind of flu is inevitable.
No one can predict what kind but the chief suspect is the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has infected 385 people and killed 243 of them since 2003. It is entrenched in birds now in some areas and has killed or forced the slaughter of 300 million.
Just a few mutations could turn it into a virus that people catch and transmit easily. But flu experts caution H5N1 is not the only virus with this potential.
H9N2, a virus seen mostly in birds, has infected at least four children in Hong Kong, causing mild illness, and is found in birds, pigs and other animals in Europe and Asia.
Maryland's Daniel Perez and colleagues tinkered with the virus and tested it in ferrets, animals whose biology is very close to humans when it comes to flu.
A single mutation made H9N2 more virulent and pathogenic, and also helped it transmit more easily from one ferret to another, they reported in their study, available on the Internet here
They also mixed H9N2 with an H3N2 virus, a type of influenza virus that causes seasonal flu in people. Scientists believe that if a human or animal is infected with two strains of flu at the same time, this "reassortment" can happen in nature.
The reassorted virus was easier for the ferrets to catch and transmit.
One reassuring finding -- neither of the lab-engineered viruses could be transmitted in the air, via aerosol. This might make them somewhat less transmissible, although people pick up flu from surfaces touched by an infected person.
"Although no aerosol transmission was observed, the virus replicated in multiple respiratory tissues and induced clinical signs similar to those observed with the ... human H3N2 virus," the researchers wrote.
There are hundreds of strains of avian influenza viruses, but only four -- H5N1, H7N3, H7N7, and H9N2 -- are known to have caused human infections, according to the World Health Organization.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Will Dunham)
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Singapore financial sector to be tested for flu-outbreak readiness
8/13/08 Monsters and Critics--A two-week exercise to test the preparedness of Singapore's financial industry for a deadly flu outbreak is to start at the end of this month, organizers said Wednesday.
Involving more than 140 banks, insurers, other firms and government agencies, the aim is to ensure that financial institutions are ready to cope with a potential flu pandemic, said Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of the association of banks.
The exercise is to evaluate the ability of banks, insurance companies and securities brokerage firms to respond to widespread flu infections, mass hospitalizations and deaths, the association said.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Exchange are also to take part in the exercise from August 28 to September 11.
The financial industry took part in a simulated terrorist attack two years ago.
