UNCLASSIFIED
Avian Influenza Daily Digest
October 21, 2008 14:00 GMT
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Article Summaries ...
Quid Novi
India: Fear of Bird Flu grips villagers
Bird flu alert sounded along Indo-Bangla border
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Iraq: LPAI Outbreak Controlled in Dahuk
10/21/08 ARGUS--A local source reported that an announcement by the Veterinary Department that it has brought the recent Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) outbreak under control. The Director of the Veterinary Department in Dahuk stated that a special committee including...
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Germany: Avian Influenza in Saxony
10/15/08 Situation report on AI in Germany [link to pdf]...
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
8 Arab Countries Train on AI Diagnosis
10/21/08 ARGUS--According to an international source, a training session on diagnosing avian influenza (AI) was launched this morning in Tunis by the Veterinary Research Institute in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Agriculture Development. Eight Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen and Iraq, are participating in this week-long workshop that will focus on the use of the latest technologies in diagnosing the disease.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Japan contributes antiviral Tamiflu supplies to Brunei
10/21/08 Brunei Online--Brunei's Minister of Health, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Bin Hj Osman, said that the Sultanate, like other Asean member countries, currently has "lack of resources" in dealing with an influenza pandemic outbreak.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Egypt / Health Access Continued Problem for Sudanese Migrants
10/21/08 African Press Org.--A study on influenza pandemic preparedness among Sudanese migrants living in greater Cairo has found that access to health care remains a major challenge in preparing for such a public health crisis in Egypt.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Avian virus new to Thailand found on chicken farms
10/21/08 Bangkok Post--An avian virus that is new to Thailand has been found in chicken farms in the central, western, and eastern regions, raising serious concerns about its impact on the country's poultry industry. The discovery of the virus, Avian Adenovirus Group 1, was revealed yesterday by a team of veterinarians from Kasetsart University's veterinary medicine's diagnostic unit in Nakhon Pathom province.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Science and Technology
3M and VaxInnate Collaborate to Develop Flu Vaccine Patch
10/21/08 3M--3M Drug Delivery Systems has entered into an agreement with VaxInnate Corporation to develop a flu vaccine patch for use against a pandemic flu outbreak. The non-exclusive license agreement provides VaxInnate with use of patented 3M microneedle technology, called 3M Microstructured Transdermal System (MTS) technology, to deliver its M2e universal flu vaccine using a convenient skin patch instead of a traditional injection.
Science and Technology, Vaccines
Pandemic Preparedness
Early Pandemic Flu Wave May Protect Against Worse One Later
10/20/08 Webwire--Evidence Shows Spring Outbreak in 1918 May Have Immunized Against Deadlier Second Wave. New evidence about the worldwide influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 indicates that getting the flu early protected many people against a second deadlier wave, an article co-authored by an NIH epidemiologist concludes.
Pandemic Preparedness
Google.org helps identify future disease hot spots
10/21/08 Medical News Today--Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has announced grants of more than $14 million to support partners working in Southeast Asia and Africa to prevent the next pandemic.
Pandemic Preparedness
Full Text of Articles follow ...
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Iraq: LPAI Outbreak Controlled in Dahuk
10/21/08 ARGUS--A local source reported that an announcement by the Veterinary Department that it has brought the recent Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) outbreak under control. The Director of the Veterinary Department in Dahuk stated that a special committee including concerned departments has been formed to follow up on the chicken farms. Necessary measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the disease. A ban on the entry of live chicken to the province is in effect unless a permit is obtained from the departments of Veterinary and Animal Wealth. The Director confirmed that strict measures have been taken against violators of health and veterinary standards.
Article URL(s)
http://iraqalaan.com/bm/Economy/9540.shtml
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Germany: Avian Influenza in Saxony
10/15/08 Situation report on AI in Germany [link to pdf]
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
8 Arab Countries Train on AI Diagnosis
10/21/08 ARGUS--According to an international source, a training session on diagnosing avian influenza (AI) was launched this morning in Tunis by the Veterinary Research Institute in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Agriculture Development. Eight Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen and Iraq, are participating in this week-long workshop that will focus on the use of the latest technologies in diagnosing the disease.
Article URL(s)
http://www.qnaol.net/QNAAr/News_Bulletin/News/Pages/08-10-20-2030_338_0135.aspx
Quid Novi
India: Fear of Bird Flu grips villagers
10/21/08 Statesman--Outbreak of a mysterious fever in Bari, Korei, Rasulpur and Dharmasala blocks have led to fear of Bird Flu here. But district health authorities say it is not bird flu but some other virus which is yet to be diagnosed ?Initially the patients complained to be suffering from high fever and later severe pain following swelling of all joints of the body. They are initially treated a malaria patients and then antibiotics meant for typhoid is also given to the patients," said Mr Surendra Kumar Panda, a social worker of Rasulpur block .
Sources said the fever was first reported from Brahmabarada village under Rasulpur block. Later it spread to residents of many gram panchayats in Bari, Korei and Dharmasala block of the district.
?It is viral fever and not Bird Flu. Earlier, we had collected blood slide and serum of many patients and sent it to the state laboratory for test," said doctors attending to patients at the block health care centre. Medical teams are treating and collecting the blood sample. There is no need of panic as the fever is the seasonal viral fever,? said Mr Raghunath Padhy, chief district medical officer of Jajpur.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Japan contributes antiviral Tamiflu supplies to Brunei
10/21/08 Brunei Online--Brunei's Minister of Health, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Bin Hj Osman, said that the Sultanate, like other Asean member countries, currently has "lack of resources" in dealing with an influenza pandemic outbreak.
Brunei is determined to overcome this by ensuring the sustainability of its influenza preparedness plan.
Even though Brunei Darussalam is currently free of any cases of avian flu, Pehin Dato Hj Suyoi said that the Ministry of Health will remain vigilant by stepping up its surveillance and monitoring.
He added that the stockpile project under the Japan Asean Integration (JAIF), which Brunei is also involved, will "definitely enhance" the Sultanate's capability in dealing with influenza pandemic.
Japanese Ambassador Mr Itsuo Hashimoto said that the Japanese government announced during the December 2005 Japan Asean Summit that US$135 million of assistance would be needed to address the outbreak of avian influenza and human pandemic influenza in the Asian region.
In May 2006, the Japanese government through the Japan Asean Integration Fund agreed to provide Asean with a regional stockpile of 500,000 courses of Tamiflu and 700,000 sets of personal protective equipment.
However, in November 2007, the Japanese government announced that it will provide
During the Japan Asean Summit meeting in November 2007, former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda announced that a total of 500,000 courses of Tamiflu would be "newly provided" to each Asean member state in response to a request from Asean.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Egypt / Health Access Continued Problem for Sudanese Migrants
10/21/08 African Press Org.--A study on influenza pandemic preparedness among Sudanese migrants living in greater Cairo has found that access to health care remains a major challenge in preparing for such a public health crisis in Egypt.
The study, commissioned by IOM and carried out by the Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo, found that of the more than 1,000 Sudanese migrants it surveyed, more than 47 per cent of them did not have regular access to health care services with a further 6.1 per cent having only occasional access.
In the event of a pandemic or any other public health crisis, the survey revealed that more than 20 per cent of the respondents would seek medical assistance or advice from non-health professionals such as religious and community leaders, neighbours and authorities.
The findings will be presented in detail at a seminar on 22 October organized by CMRS. Attended by a host of civil society and international organizations, the seminar will focus on examining ways to improve primary health care access for migrant and host communities in Egypt as part of efforts to prevent and control communicable diseases such as Avian influenza in the country.
Egypt has the highest rates of infection and deaths from Avian flu outside of Asia with 50 confirmed cases, 22 of which have been fatal. The disease has mostly hit rural areas in Egypt so far and although birds are not supposed to be raised in urban areas, people often do, mainly on rooftops.
The country is currently host to anywhere between 2.2 and four million Sudanese migrants, with the vast majority concentrated in Cairo and representing the largest foreign population in Egypt.
The study, part of a one year IOM pandemic preparedness programme in Egypt and funded through the Central Fund for Influenza Action (CFIA), also helped determine the migrants? knowledge of the virus and their practices and beliefs. The survey found that although nearly 97 per cent had heard of Avian influenza through the media or friends, none had in-depth knowledge of risk factors or prevention measures.
The information collected during the survey has been used to create specific education and communication materials to prepare communities against Avian flu and which will also be disseminated during the meeting.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Avian virus new to Thailand found on chicken farms
10/21/08 Bangkok Post--An avian virus that is new to Thailand has been found in chicken farms in the central, western, and eastern regions, raising serious concerns about its impact on the country's poultry industry. The discovery of the virus, Avian Adenovirus Group 1, was revealed yesterday by a team of veterinarians from Kasetsart University's veterinary medicine's diagnostic unit in Nakhon Pathom province.
The unit maintained that the virus, which causes inclusion body hepatitis in poultry, could not be transmitted to humans. Chicken meat and eggs are also safe to eat.
The virus was detected in breeder chicks, aged 3-7 days, which looked drowsy and exhausted. Many of them suffered convulsions and died in 12 hours. The chicks were sent to the unit for examination in April.
The deaths wiped out 10-15% of the flocks. In these cases, the disease lasted for a week and the surviving chicks' growth was stunted.
The disease broke out at six chicken farms in the three regions earlier this year. The spread of the virus had been contained at all of them, said Taweesak Songserm, the team leader.
Besides young chickens, the disease can be found in pigeons, geese, turkeys and partridges. Possible disease carriers include rats, flies and cockroaches.
The disease takes three to seven days to incubate and the symptoms become apparent in three weeks. The university urged chicken farmers to keep a watchful eye on their flocks.
Bird flu prevention and surveillance operations can be applied to combat the spread of the virus on chicken farms, the veterinarians said.
The virus causes weak egg shells. Chickens hatching from such weak eggs would become ill in three weeks.
Besides transmission from mother to baby chick via the egg, the disease could be transmitted between chickens via virus-contaminated food and drinks and farm equipment.
A test showed disinfectants in the glutaraldehyde category and effective disposal of infected nest floors could help contain the virus
Quid Novi
Bird flu alert sounded along Indo-Bangla border
10/21/08 Rediff--An alert has been sounded along the porous Indo-Bangla international border in Tripura following reports of bird flu in the neighbouring country, official sources said in Agartala on Monday.
Sylhet, Srimanagal and Habigunj districts of Bangladesh, bordering Khowai subdivision of west Tripura district and Kamalpur subdivision of Dhalai district, have recently been affected by avian influenza, the sources said.
The Border Security Force was keeping a close vigil along the 856 km-long border to prevent the entry of chicken and poultry in the border markets, the sources said.
The state government also alerted all the district administrations and was organising workshops with the employees on disease control, the sources said.
An assistant director of the animal resource department, posted at Khowai subdivision, Samarendra Das, told reporters that a coordinated effort was needed to stop the spreading of disease.
Pandemic Preparedness
Early Pandemic Flu Wave May Protect Against Worse One Later
10/20/08 Webwire--Evidence Shows Spring Outbreak in 1918 May Have Immunized Against Deadlier Second Wave. New evidence about the worldwide influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 indicates that getting the flu early protected many people against a second deadlier wave, an article co-authored by an NIH epidemiologist concludes.
American soldiers, British sailors and a group of British civilians who were afflicted by the first mild wave of influenza in early 1918 apparently were more immune than others to the severe clinical effects of a more virulent strain later in the year, according to the paper published in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseasesby medical historian John Barry, staff scientist Cécile Viboud, Ph.D., of the NIH?s Fogarty International Center and epidemiologist Lone Simonson, Ph.D., of The George Washington University.
"If a mild first wave is documented, the benefits of cross-protection during future waves should be considered before implementing public health interventions designed to limit exposure" the authors suggested.
Mark Miller, M.D., director of the Fogarty Center?s Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, said the finding could have implications for future pandemics. ?If a 1918-like pandemic were to repeat itself, the early circulation of less pathogenic pandemic viruses could provide some level of population immunity that would limit the full onslaught from the second wave.
"Together with historical data recently uncovered from Denmark and New York City, this study gives us a different look at the process of adaptation of novel pandemic influenza viruses to humans and the evolution of virulence" Viboud said.
The researchers pored over medical data from U.S. Army bases, the British fleet and several British civilian communities, applying modern mathematical models to study the pandemic. They determined that in the spring of 1918, influenza occurred at different levels of severity throughout the United States, and was not always recognized as a pandemic. By the fall, however, the rate of illness among soldiers was 3.4 times higher among those who had not previously had the flu, and the rate of death per case was about five times as high.
The disparity was not as great for the British sailors and civilians whose records were studied.
For people who were infected in the first wave, the risk of illness in the second wave was reduced by between 35 percent to 94 percent, about the same protection as for modern vaccines ? 70 percent to 90 percent. The risk of death was reduced between 56 percent to 89 percent.
The authors found that while there were variations in overall influenza cases among the 37 U.S. Army bases in the spring of 1918, soldiers who had been sick in the spring experienced lower rates of illness and death during the more lethal pandemic outbreak in the fall. At one base, a regiment that had transferred in from Hawaii where soldiers were exposed to the spring wave had a 6.6 percent incidence in the fall compared to 48.5 percent in a regiment transferring in from Alaska, where soldiers had not been exposed.
The study suggests two possible reasons for the difference in incidence and lethality between the first two waves: a relatively weak virus mutating into a stronger one or a respiratory bug in the fall making flu patients sicker.
The 1918-1919 pandemic killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide and was unusually deadly in young adults, including soldiers.
Fogarty, the international component of the NIH, addresses global health challenges through innovative and collaborative research and training programs and supports and advances the NIH mission through international partnerships. For more information, visit: www.fic.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) ? The Nation?s Medical Research Agency ? includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Science and Technology > Vaccines
3M and VaxInnate Collaborate to Develop Flu Vaccine Patch
10/21/08 3M--3M Drug Delivery Systems has entered into an agreement with VaxInnate Corporation to develop a flu vaccine patch for use against a pandemic flu outbreak. The non-exclusive license agreement provides VaxInnate with use of patented 3M microneedle technology, called 3M Microstructured Transdermal System (MTS) technology, to deliver its M2e universal flu vaccine using a convenient skin patch instead of a traditional injection.
3M?s innovative microneedle technology penetrates the skin with minimal discomfort, providing intradermal delivery for drugs, vaccines and protein therapeutics that are typically available only via injection. This application expands the range of active pharmaceutical ingredients that can be delivered via a skin patch while eliminating the need for sharps disposal.
?Our technology combines the ease, convenience and self-administration potential of a transdermal patch with the speed and efficiency of a traditional injection,? said Kris Hansen, PhD, MTS Technical Manager for 3M Drug Delivery Systems. ?Studies using model vaccines have validated the potential effectiveness of delivering vaccines with the solid Microstructured Transdermal System.?
?The ability to deliver VaxInnate?s M2e universal flu vaccine using 3M?s transdermal patch could make it possible to vaccinate people rapidly for seasonal flu or in the event of a pandemic flu, when doing so is critical to stopping the spread of disease,? added Alan Shaw PhD, VaxInnate CEO. ?Through this collaboration, we have an opportunity to make a major contribution to global public health.?
?MTS technology has the potential to improve vaccine potency, which would provide optimal vaccine efficacy and could make intradermal delivery superior for certain antigens,? said Mark Tomai PhD, head of Vaccine Business Development, 3M Drug Delivery Systems. ?In addition, this technology has the potential for reducing cold-chain storage, an issue with many current vaccines.?
VaxInnate has reported impressive results from early human testing of its M2e universal flu vaccine candidate, which could end the need for annual flu shots and provide protection against seasonal and pandemic flu strains. The vaccine candidate will advance into further human studies in 2009.
Pandemic Preparedness
Google.org helps identify future disease hot spots
10/21/08 Medical News Today--Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has announced grants of more than $14 million to support partners working in Southeast Asia and Africa to prevent the next pandemic.
Google.org's Predict and Prevent initiative is supporting efforts to identify hot spots where diseases may emerge, detect new pathogens circulating in animal and human populations, and respond to outbreaks before they become global crises. Several new lethal infectious diseases crop up every year. Examples include the well-known killers, HIV/AIDS, bird flu, and SARS, as well as drug-resistant strains of ancient scourges malaria and tuberculosis. Three-quarters of new diseases are zoonoses, meaning they've jumped from animals to humans.
"Business as usual won't prevent the next AIDS or SARS. The teams we're funding today are on the frontiers of digital and genetic early detection technology. We hope that their work, with partners across environmental, animal, and human health boundaries, will help solve centuries-old problems and save millions of lives," said Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org.
Knowing where to look is critical to disease surveillance. Climate change and deforestation increase human-animal contact, and with it, disease spreads. "The holy grail is to predict disease outbreaks before they happen. For Rift Valley fever and malaria, long-term weather forecasts and deforestation maps can show us where to look for outbreaks, up to six months in advance," said Frank Rijsberman, Program Director, Google.org.
The Woods Hole Research Center - $2 million multi-year grant to support high-resolution satellite mapping of forests to enhance monitoring of forest loss and settlement expansion in tropical countries. WHRC will create information to share with environmental and human experts so they can better anticipate the emergence of infectious diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.whrc.org/.
Columbia University International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) - $900,000 multi-year grant to improve the use of forecasts, rainfall data and other climate information in East Africa, and link weather and climate experts to health specialists so they can better predict outbreaks of infectious diseases. For more information, please visit http://portal.iri.columbia.edu/portal/server.pt.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research - $900,000 multi-year grant to build and implement a system that will use weather projections to inform and target response to disease threats in West Africa. For more information, please visit http://www.ucar.edu/.
Genetic detection filters viral information in DNA to uncover deadly new pathogens, and digital detection mines online data to reveal early signals of possible epidemics. "We want to stop viruses dead in their tracks - their animal tracks - before they jump to humans," noted Dr. Mark Smolinski, Google.org's Threat Detective.
Global Viral Forecasting Initiative (GVFI) - $5.5 million multi-year grant (with equal funding from the Skoll Foundation) to support the collection and analysis of blood samples of humans and animals in hot spots within Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Malaysia, Lao PDR and Madagascar. The GVFI team, headed by Dr. Nathan Wolfe, has demonstrated that potentially pathogenic animal viruses jump more frequently to humans than previously believed and will work to detect early evidence of future pandemics. For more information, please visit http://gvfi.org/.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health - $2.5 million multi-year grant to support research to accelerate the discovery of new pathogens, and to enable rapid, regional response to outbreaks by establishing molecular diagnostics in hot spot countries including Sierra Leone and Bangladesh. Dr. Ian Lipkin and colleagues have discovered more than 75 viruses to date, established critical links between infection and the development of acute and chronic diseases, including pneumonia, meningitis/encephalitis, cancer, and mental illness. For more information, please visit http://cii.columbia.edu/.
Children's Hospital Corporation supporting Healthmap and ProMED-mail - $3M multi-year grant to combine HealthMap's digital detection efforts with ProMED-mail's global network of human, animal, and ecosystem health specialists. Together, these programs will assess current emerging disease reporting systems, expand regional networks in Africa and Southeast Asia, and develop new tools to improve the detection and reporting of outbreaks. For more information please visit http://www.childrenshospital.org/, http://www.healthmap.org/en, and http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1000.
"On every continent, viruses move from animals into people. GVFI's mission is to monitor this viral exchange. Working in animal markets, with restaurant workers, and with hunters at the end of the road, we sort through this traffic to try to stop deadly diseases before they spread," said Dr. Nathan Wolfe, Founder and Director, Global Viral Forecasting Initiative.
For more information and a Google Earth Layer highlighting the grantees, please visit http://www.google.org/predict.html.
