UNCLASSIFIED
Avian Influenza Daily Digest
December 19, 2008 15:15 GMT
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Quid Novi
OIE: China, Immediate Notification
Bangladesh: Ministry Reports Outbreak of Avian Influenza in Gazipur
India: 2,000 chickens culled in Orissa over flu fear
India: Surveillance stepped up as bird flu grips Assam, Bengal
India: 9,000 birds culled in bird-flu hit Bengal district
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Taiwan: Poultry farmers complain of impact of unconfirmed bird flu reports
12/19/08 Taiwan News--Japan's decision to halt poultry imports from Taiwan following a news report about a suspected bird flu outbreak on the island has sparked widespread discontent among Taiwan's poultry farmers, who demanded Thursday that the government swiftly resolve the problem.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Bird Flu Outbreak
12/19/08 Epoch Times--Local Jiangsu resident revealed to Sound of Hope Radio (SOH) that the bird flu outbreak recently admitted by China?s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) actually started about one month ago, and dead chickens have been processed and sold to other provinces by underground factories.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Three countries report fresh H5N1 outbreaks
12/19/08 CIDRAP--Authorities from Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Egypt reported that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has struck poultry again, according to new reports.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Shanghai AI Prevention Measures Have Not Stopped Informal Chicken Sales
12/19/08 ARGUS--In ight of H5N1 avian influenza (AI) outbreaks in Hai?an and Dongtai regions of Jiangsu Province, the government of neighboring Shanghai announced 5 prevention measures. The unspecified measures are also a response to the recent sales of an estimated 100,000 chickens and ducks of uncertain origin at street-side markets across the city, the source said. Those vendors are reportedly known for avoiding sanitation procedures.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Cambodian ministry lists measures to combat bird flu recurrence
12/19/08 BBC, contributed by email--The Phnom Penh Agence Kampuchea Presse on 18 December carried a report on measures taken by the Agriculture Ministry to combat bird flu that recurred in Cambodia recently.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Avian flu threat--watch on migratory birds
12/19/08 The Hindu--Alarmed by the reports of bird flu infection in adjoining West Bengal extra watch is being kept on the health of migratory birds that have arrived in the Chilika lake.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Dead chickens get H5N1 mutation all-clear
12/19/08 Hong Kong Standard--The H5N1 virus found in dead chickens in a Yuen Long farm had not mutated, Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung told the Legislative Council's panel on food safety and environmental hygiene yesterday.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Over 16,000 chicken culled, culling operation to end today
12/19/08 Hindustan Times--Over 16,000 chicken have been killed in West Bengal's bird flu-affected Malda district where culling operation would end on Friday, a senior district officer said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Small Indian farmers exit poultry on bird-flu losses
12/19/08 Reuters--Crippled by repeated outbreaks of bird flu and a surge in poultry feed prices, small Indian poultry farmers are spurning the industry and the trend may accelerate as domestic consumption growth slows, officials said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Culling process in Assam to be over today
12/19/08 New Kerala-- The culling process of poultry in the bird flu affected areas in Assam is expected to be completed by this evening.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: We have to live with bird flu--West Bengal minister
12/18/08 Indopia--Bird flu may have taken alarming proportions in some parts of the country but West Bengal minister Anisur Rehman feels people have to live with it just like they do with malaria, chicken pox and polio.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Cambodia: Authorities rush to contain bird flu
12/18/08 Phnompen Post--one hundred people living in the immediate vicinity of Cambodia's first confirmed human case of the H5N1 virus in over a year have been tested as authorities scramble to determine the extent of the latest outbreak.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Taiwan: COA to release report on Kaohsiung bird flu case
12/18/08 Taipei Times--The preliminary results of the tests were inconsistent with health conditions, but the results of a second test will be available within two days. The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said that a report on whether a Kaohsiung County chicken farm had been affected by bird flu would be out in the next two days.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: 10,000 Bird Flu grips new areas in Malda
12/18/08 The Statesman--Amid slow-going culling efforts, Bird Flu is spreading in Malda. Hundreds of chickens have died in the Ratua block, about 10 km from Satgharia where the virus was first detected. The Malda district magistrate has asked the animal resources development department to collect blood samples of the dead and ailing birds in the block. ?Fresh bird deaths have been reported from Chandmoni I and II and Baharal GP in Ratua within 10 km radius from the Bird Flu affected areas. ARD officials have left for the spot,? the DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Bangladesh: Sea routes under vigil
12/18/08 Express News--The district administration has sealed the sea routes in the district to check entry of poultry through sea from West Bengal. District Collector Sishirkanta Panda said officials of Mahakalpada and Rajnagar have been directed to keep a tab on the sea routes after the State Government banned supply of poultry from West Bengal following detection of bird flu cases.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Farmers in Dark Over Bird Flu
12/18/08 Radio Free Asia--Chinese officials report an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus among poultry flocks in eastern Jiangsu province. Poultry farmers in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, site of a recent outbreak of avian influenza, say they know little about what is happening and have seen little help from the government.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India seals part of Bangladesh border over bird flu
12/18/08 Reuters--India sealed part of its border with Bangladesh on Thursday amid fears the latest outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus had spread to new areas, officials said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Science and Technology
Killer Peptide May Offer New Therapy Against Influenza A Virus
12/19/08 Eureka Alert--In a new study researchers identified what appears to be the first antibody-derived peptide that inhibits the activities of harmful microbes such as influenza A virus and HIV-1. They report their findings in the December 2008 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Science and Technology
China approves anti-bird flu drug for human clinical trial
12/19/08 Interfax, contributed by email--The Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), one of China's top drug research institutions, has recently obtained clinical trial approval for an anti-bird flu drug for use in humans, a SIMM official told Interfax on Dec 18.
Vaccines
Baxter Receives EMEA Positive Opinion for CELVAPAN, The First Cell Culture-Based Pandemic Flu Vaccine
12/19/08 MSN Money--Baxter International Inc. BAX today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has issued a positive opinion for the marketing authorization of CELVAPAN, the first cell culture-based H5N1 (avian flu) pandemic vaccine, in the European Union.
Vaccines
Pandemic Preparedness
Ireland: Infectious disease isolation unit opened
12/19/08 Irish Times--Ireland?s first National Isolation Unit for Infectious Disease has opened at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin.
Pandemic Preparedness
WHO: Addressing ethical issues in pandemic influenza planning
WHO/HSE/EPR/GIP/2008.2 WHO/IER/ETH/2008.1 Full Text [pdf 797kb] Contents Introduction I - Equitable access to therapeutic and prophylactic measures II - Isolation, quarantine, border control and social-distancing measures III- The role and obligations of health-care workers during an outbreak of pandemic influenza IV- Pandemic influenza planning and response - translational issues for governments.
Pandemic Preparedness
PandemicFlu.gov PlanFirst Webcasts on Pandemic Influenza
Join us for the next PlanFirst Webcast on Wednesday, January 28th at 2 p.m. ET. Details about the January 28th Webcast will be posted to the site in the near future. No registration is required. Email your questions for the...
Pandemic Preparedness
Public AI Blogs
Bird flu: 'tis the season
12/19/08 Effect Measure--It should surprise no one that bird flu is back in Asia, not just in poultry but in people. That's because it's flu season and the bird flu virus, has been "out there" all along, simmering in the rich broth of aquatic and landbased birds. There are new outbreaks in India, China, Cambodia, and Hong Kong and deaths in humans in Cambodia, Indonesia and Egypt.
Public AI Blog Discussions
Full Text of Articles follow ...
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Taiwan: Poultry farmers complain of impact of unconfirmed bird flu reports
12/19/08 Taiwan News--Japan's decision to halt poultry imports from Taiwan following a news report about a suspected bird flu outbreak on the island has sparked widespread discontent among Taiwan's poultry farmers, who demanded Thursday that the government swiftly resolve the problem.
Poultry farmers, particularly those in southern Taiwan, complained that their livelihood will be impacted and lashed out at what they called irresponsible media reports.
The problem was sparked Wednesday when the Liberty Times reported that a large number of chickens at a poultry farm in Tainan County were confirmed by a government laboratory to have died from the H5N2 bird flu virus last month. The report alleged that the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) sought to cover up the matter so as not to mar the launch of direct air, shipping and postal links between Taiwan and mainland China on Monday.
The COA denied the report. Huang Kuo-ching, deputy director of the COA's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said Wednesday that there is no H5N2 avian flu outbreak in Taiwan, except for an incident in late October at a poultry farm in Luchu township, Kaohsiung County.
As the fatality rate among chickens at the farm was below 3 percent, which is far lower than the average mortality rate in cases of the low-pathogenic H5N2 virus, the COA was hesitant to categorize it as an epidemic, Huang explained, adding that the council did not try to cover up any bird flu outbreak.
All the remaining 18,000 chickens at the farm were culled in an effort to prevent a spread, Huang said, adding that the situation was under control and that nothing unusual has been detected so far.
Despite the COA's explanation, Japan announced later Wednesday that it was immediately halting poultry meat imports from Taiwan on a temporary basis to prevent the H5N2 bird flu virus from entering its territory.
Tang Jung-sheng, chairman of the Kaohsiung County chicken-raising association, said Thursday that such unconfirmed reports will hurt the domestic industry, particularly at the current time of economic recession when consumers are paring back spending and buying less chicken.
Representatives of industry associations across the country will call a meeting Thursday in central Taiwan's Changhua County to discuss countermeasures in the face of the latest development, said Tang.
An executive at the Taiwan's largest frozen poultry meat exporting company said the Liberty Times report has dealt a heavy blow to Taiwan's frozen duck meat exports to Japan. One of his company's duck meat containers shipped to Japan has been destroyed there, he said.
Taiwan's frozen chicken meat exports are uncompetitive in the international market, but the company's duck meat exports are popular in Japan and are sold in the quality-conscious Japanese market at a similar price level as U.S. beef, he said.
Duck farmers urged the COA to quickly provide a clear explanation to Japan to help farmers reduce possible losses.
Chen Chien-chu, a duck raiser in Fongyuan township in Changhua County in central Taiwan said he felt very distressed after learning of the news, since most of his ducks are exported to Japan at a very stable price.
"Poultry farmers suffer a lot of monetary losses every time there are such news report," Chen complained. "I lost some NT$2 million (U$60,000) in just one month last time when there was a similar false report," he said.
The value of Taiwan's poultry meat exports to Japan totals around US$23 million per year, with frozen duck meat as the bulk.
In 2007, Japan imported 5,128 tons of poultry meat and 148 tons of chicken eggs from Taiwan, Japanese government statistics showed.
The COA is still trying to track the cause of the deaths among the dead chickens, and will publish the findings upon completion of tests, the COA's Huang said.
Meanwhile, the impact of the Japan's newest measure is relatively small in the rest of the country where the poultry industry is not prominent.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Bird Flu Outbreak
12/19/08 Epoch Times--Local Jiangsu resident revealed to Sound of Hope Radio (SOH) that the bird flu outbreak recently admitted by China?s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) actually started about one month ago, and dead chickens have been processed and sold to other provinces by underground factories.
Local residents complained the regime covered up news of the epidemic. They also said officials fell short on prevention plans and had no regulation or monitoring of the sale of chickens.
The staff of a veterinary station in Haian City confirmed to Sound of Hope (SOH) that Haian had a chicken plague ?about one month ago.?
Villagers of Guanba Village, Dongtai City, said that 70 percent of local chickens died of infection. The symptoms are fever, anorexia, excreting green feces, and dying on the next day. Hundreds of thousands of chickens have died.
A villager of Guaba Village told SOH, ?The chickens in our village have all died. We don?t know what disease they had. We could not cure them. Medicine served no use. The disease spread very fast.?
People of Tangyang Town, Dongtai City also complained the local regime did not take effective actions. No media reported on it. ?The government did not factually announce to the public the scale of the epidemic here and the level of losses. We lack a unified epidemic prevention system. There?s no unified treatment for chicken feces and no unified plans, so all kinds of germs spread in the air. The official figure for our region?s loss is 160 million yuan [US$23.4 million]. I am not sure whether it is the bird flu, but at least, it is a chicken plague. At present, the government continues to cover up the news. There are many sick chickens in this period of time as there?s no effective supervision.?
According to local residents, unscrupulous traders bought chickens that died of diseases for few yuan (approximately US$50 cents) and sold them to the entire nation after the dead chickens were processed. The processed dead chickens have been sent to Shanghai, Shandong, and Henan provinces. ?The government does not supervise the sale of chickens,? one local of Tangyang Town told SOH.
The local continued, ?I saw a police car and an excavator come here to bury and burn out the dead chickens. Some chicken farmers went to the government buildings because the government had promised to give 10 yuan [US$1.46] for burning a dead chicken as compensation, but the government sent anti-riot police there. In fact, the trading of chickens, ducks, and geese are easy, without any bit of supervision in any levels of the government.?
One source revealed that the dead chickens were soaked with hydrogen peroxide and quickly frozen after being killed. There are over a dozen processing factories around the outbreak area, where dead chicken processing goes on around the clock. Tens of thousands of dead chickens were sent to the entire nation or frozen every day to be sold during the Chinese New Year. There are hundreds of thousands of dead chickens in local cold storage.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Three countries report fresh H5N1 outbreaks
12/19/08 CIDRAP--Authorities from Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Egypt reported that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has struck poultry again, according to new reports.
Kao Phal, an agriculture ministry official in Cambodia, said the virus was detected in poultry in a village in Kandal province, where a 19-year-old man got sick after handling a dead chicken, according to an Associated Press (AP) report yesterday. The outbreak is Cambodia's first since April 2007, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The man's illness was reported last week.
The ministry said three ducks and one chicken tested positive for the H5N1 virus and that veterinarians have culled about 320 birds to stop the spread of the disease.
Ly Sovann, an avian flu expert with Cambodia's health ministry, told the AP that the man is recovering but remains hospitalized.
Meanwhile, livestock officials in Bangladesh reported yesterday that the H5N1 virus struck two commercial poultry farms, one in Rajshahi district, in the northwestern part of the country near the border with India, and one about 30 miles northeast of Dhaka, the capital, according to a report from the OIE. The country's last outbreak occurred in late September, striking a different poultry farm in Rajshahi.
Veterinary workers culled 3,781 birds at the two farms to contain the outbreak.
Elsewhere, animal health authorities in Egypt reported on Nov 27 that they had detected the virus in chickens in Minya governorate in central Egypt, according to a report that appeared today on the Egypt-based Strengthening Avian Influenza Detection and Response (SAIDR) Web site. SAIDR is a Johns Hopkins University project designed to help Egypt coordinate avian flu efforts with its international partners.
The outbreak involved 15 backyard birds in a village in Minya's Beni Mazar district, according to the SAIDR report. The birds had been vaccinated in August.
Though the H5N1 virus is endemic in Egypt, the country's last reported outbreak occurred in mid-June among backyard birds in Luxor governorate, according to the OIE. The country's most recent human case, in a 16-year-old girl whose death was confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Dec 16, was in Asyut governorate, about 50 miles south of Minya.
According to an incident report on the SAIDR Web site detailing the veterinary investigation that followed the girl's death, several birds near her home had been sick or died before she got sick. Neighbors had discarded the dead birds in a nearby drainage ditch. The girl's family said they had recently bought and eaten two ducks. After one of the ducks died, the family quickly slaughtered the second one.
In other developments, animal health officials in India today said they sealed part of its border with Bangladesh to help control the spread of the H5N1 virus, according to a Reuters report. Anisur Rahman, animal resource minister of West Bengal state, told Reuters the border closure affects the crossing between Malda district, where authorities have culled about 10,000 birds following recent outbreaks, and Bangladesh.
He said the virus could have been spread by chickens and ducks smuggled from Bangladesh, Reuters reported.
India is also battling outbreaks in Assam state.
Meanwhile, an official from Indonesia's agriculture ministry told the Jakarta Post yesterday that the government plans intensive measures against avian flu for the next 3 years hopes to stamp it out by 2014, Xinhua, China's state news agency, reported yesterday.
Tjeppy D. Soedjana, the ministry's director general for animal husbandry, told the Post, "If all goes well, the nation will be free of the highly pathogenic bird flu virus by 2014."
According to Xinhua, he said the ministry has stopped the spread of the virus in only two of its 33 provinces: Gorontalo, in North Sulawesi, and North Maluku..
Agriculture ministry records show that 294 regencies in 31 provinces have had avian flu outbreaks so far this year, which is up from 158 regencies and 25 provinces hit by outbreaks last year, according to the Xinhua report.
In other avian flu news, officials in Germany on Dec 12 reported an outbreak of a low-pathogenic H5N3 virus at a commercial turkey farm in Cloppenburg, in the northwestern part of the country, according to an OIE report. The virus sickened 45 birds, and 8,400 others were culled to control the outbreak.
Authorities did not identify the source of the virus. In October an H5N3 virus was detected at a zoo and another site in Leipzig in eastern Germany, according to OIE reports.
Pandemic Preparedness
Ireland: Infectious disease isolation unit opened
12/19/08 Irish Times--Ireland?s first National Isolation Unit for Infectious Disease has opened at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin.
The unit will be for patients who contact hazardous and highly infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis, SARS and pandemic influenza. The facility will also look after a number of patients with other infections including HIV, hepatitis B & C, meningitis, MRSA and malaria.
The facility, which was officially opened by Minister for Health Mary Harney this morning, includes six single isolation beds under negative pressure to prevent airborne transmission by microscopic droplets, which is the primary mode of transmission of tuberculosis and is also a contributory factor in SARS, influenza and possibly smallpox. There are also an additional six beds in shared accommodation.
The infectious diseases multidisciplinary team comprises of four consultants, nine non-consultant doctors, 18 nurses, two pharmacists, two social workers and four secretaries.
"As a team we have extensive experience in responding to the special difficulties associated with infection. With this state-of-the-art facility we are confident that we can offer the highest standard of care to our patients while maintaining optimal infection control. This investment is a great boost that enables us to face future challenging infections, both known and yet to emerge," said Dr Gerard Sheehan, consultant in infectious diseases at the Mater.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Shanghai AI Prevention Measures Have Not Stopped Informal Chicken Sales
Shanghai AI Prevention Measures Have Not Stopped Informal Chicken Sales
An international source reported on 18 December that in light of H5N1 avian influenza (AI) outbreaks in Hai?an and Dongtai regions of Jiangsu Province, the government of neighboring Shanghai announced 5 prevention measures. The unspecified measures are also a response to the recent sales of an estimated 100,000 chickens and ducks of uncertain origin at street-side markets across the city, the source said. Those vendors are reportedly known for avoiding sanitation procedures.
One vendor was quoted as saying that usually 10,000 to 20,000 live chickens are dropped off at these traditional markets, and sellers do not need to provide proof of the birds? origins. Another man was quoted as saying he had met one chicken truck driver who said he was from Dongtai, one of the outbreak regions.
All poultry product imports from affected Jiangsu regions are officially banned from the city, the source noted.
Article URL(s)
http://www.worldjournal.com/wj-ch-news.php?nt_seq_id=1819406
12/19/08 ARGUS--In ight of H5N1 avian influenza (AI) outbreaks in Hai?an and Dongtai regions of Jiangsu Province, the government of neighboring Shanghai announced 5 prevention measures. The unspecified measures are also a response to the recent sales of an estimated 100,000 chickens and ducks of uncertain origin at street-side markets across the city, the source said. Those vendors are reportedly known for avoiding sanitation procedures.
One vendor was quoted as saying that usually 10,000 to 20,000 live chickens are dropped off at these traditional markets, and sellers do not need to provide proof of the birds? origins. Another man was quoted as saying he had met one chicken truck driver who said he was from Dongtai, one of the outbreak regions. All poultry product imports from affected Jiangsu regions are officially banned from the city, the source noted.
Article URL(s)
http://www.worldjournal.com/wj-ch-news.php?nt_seq_id=1819406
Pandemic Preparedness
WHO: Addressing ethical issues in pandemic influenza planning
WHO/HSE/EPR/GIP/2008.2
WHO/IER/ETH/2008.1
Contents
Introduction
I - Equitable access to therapeutic and prophylactic measures
II - Isolation, quarantine, border control and social-distancing measures
III- The role and obligations of health-care workers during an outbreak of pandemic influenza
IV- Pandemic influenza planning and response - translational issues for governments.
Science and Technology
Killer Peptide May Offer New Therapy Against Influenza A Virus
12/19/08 Eureka Alert--In a new study researchers identified what appears to be the first antibody-derived peptide that inhibits the activities of harmful microbes such as influenza A virus and HIV-1. They report their findings in the December 2008 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Influenza A viruses continue to result in hospitalization and death, especially among infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients worlwide. The emergence of avian influenza A virus and its ability to transfer to humans has brought about new concerns of a pandemic outbreak. Although vaccination can be an effective strategy for preventing influenza, researchers are also placing great emphasis on the discovery and development of antiviral drugs.
A killer decapeptide (KP) represents the internal image of a yeast (Pichia anomala) killer toxin that has an antimicrobial effect against pathogenic organisms. In the study activities of a KP against influenza A virus were evaluated and results showed that KP demonstrated a significant inhibitory effect on the replication of two strains of influenza A virus. Further, mice infected with influenza virus A were inoculated with KP once a day for ten days resulting in an improved survival rate of 40% and significantly decreased viral levels in their lungs.
"Overall, KP appears to be the first anti-idiotypic antibody-derived peptide that displays inhibitory activity and that has a potential therapeutic effect against pathogenic microorganisms, HIV-1, and influenza A virus by different mechanisms of action," say the researchers.
(G. Conti, W. Magliani, S. Conti, L. Nencioni, R. Sgarbanti, A.T. Palamara, L. Polonelli. 2008. Therapeutic activity of an anti-idiotypic antibody-derived killer peptide against influenza A virus experimental infection. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 52. 12: 4331-4337.)
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Cambodian ministry lists measures to combat bird flu recurrence
12/19/08 BBC, contributed by email--The Phnom Penh Agence Kampuchea Presse on 18 December carried a report on measures taken by the Agriculture Ministry to combat bird flu that recurred in Cambodia recently.
The report said the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries on 16 December issued an announcement issued by Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun on 6 December 2008, determining bird flu zones and spelling out measures to combat the avian influenza.
Article 1 of the announcement says the Cambodia-Indonesia Friendship Centre in Krang Chek, Daeum Roes commune, Kandal Stoeng District, Kandal Province, is determined as a zone of bird flu caused H5N1 virus.
Article 2 asks the Department of Animal Health and Production to take measures to cull all kinds of poultries in the affected zone and suspend the trade in and transport of all kind of poultry within a three-kilometre radius of the bird flu zone. It should also monitor the bird movement within a 10-kilometre radius from the centre of the zone where the avian influenza recurred.
Article 3 mentions that the poultry farming in the bird flu zone is prohibited until further notice.
Article 4 indicates that those who act against the announcement will be punished according to the law.
Vaccines
China approves anti-bird flu drug for human clinical trial
12/19/08 Interfax, contributed by email--The Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), one of China's top drug research institutions, has recently obtained clinical trial approval for an anti-bird flu drug for use in humans, a SIMM official told Interfax on Dec 18.
"The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved the clinical trial of zanamivir capsule for inhalation and we have started preparing for the trial," an official from SIMM, surnamed Li, said.
The institute, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, started research into the anti-bird flu drug in 2005 and has five teams each responsible for drug design, chemical synthesis, virus screening, quality control and formulation development.
The research project is government-funded, although Li declined to reveal the subsidy amount SIMM has received.
"We have licensed Nanjing Simcere Dongyuan Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to produce the drug in the future," Li said.
Zanamivir, first developed in 1989, is used for the treatment of Influenzavirus A and Influenzavirus B. At present, it is the second known drug to treat bird flu after Roche's Tamiflu (oseltamivir). There are currently no zanamivir products available on the Chinese market.
Quid Novi
OIE: China, Immediate Notification
Highly pathogenic avian influenza,
China (People's Rep. of)
Information received on 19/12/2008 from Dr Yu Kangzhen, National Chief Veterinary Officer , Veterinary Bureau , Ministry of Agriculture , Beijing, China (People's Rep. of)
Summary
Report type Immediate notification
Start date 09/12/2008
Date of first confirmation of the event 18/12/2008
Report date 19/12/2008
Date submitted to OIE 19/12/2008
Reason for notification Reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence 07/2008
Causal agent Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Serotype H5N1
Nature of diagnosis Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to the whole country
New outbreaks
Outbreak 1 Xubei, Xunan, Dongtai, Yancheng, JIANGSU
Date of start of the outbreak 09/12/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Farm
Affected animals
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 160800 0 160800 0
Outbreak 2 Lingdong, Xinghe, Xihu, Hai'an, Nantong, JIANGSU
Date of start of the outbreak 09/12/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Farm
Affected animals
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 216198 0 216198 0
Summary of outbreaks Total outbreaks: 2
Total animals affected
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 376998 ** 0 376998 0
Outbreak statistics
Species Apparent morbidity rate Apparent mortality rate Apparent case fatality rate Proportion susceptible animals lost*
Birds ** 0.00% ** 100.00%
* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter
** Not calculated because of missing information
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection
* Unknown or inconclusive
Control measures
Measures applied
* Stamping out
* Quarantine
* Movement control inside the country
* Vaccination in response to the outbreak (s)
Administrative division Species Total Vaccinated Details
JIANGSU Birds 43973002 Reassortant avian influenza virus vaccine, inactivated (Re-4+Re-5)
* Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
* No treatment of affected animals
Measures to be applied
* No other measures
Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (national reference laboratory for avian influenza) (OIE?s Reference Laboratory)
Tests and results
Species Test Test date Result
Birds haemagglutination inhibition test (HIT) 18/12/2008 Positive
Birds intravenous pathogenicity index (IVPI) test 18/12/2008 Positive
Birds real-time reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) 18/12/2008 Positive
Future Reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Avian flu threat--watch on migratory birds
12/19/08 The Hindu--Alarmed by the reports of bird flu infection in adjoining West Bengal extra watch is being kept on the health of migratory birds that have arrived in the Chilika lake.
It may be noted that the State Government has already banned import of poultry and related products from neighbouring states and all district administrations have been cautioned against letting any poultry products from avian flu-infected areas enter their region. The Forest Department has been instructed to have extensive surveillance at the Chilika lake where lakhs of migratory birds have arrived.
According to CEO of Chilika Development Authority (CDA), Sudarsan Panda, the re-emergence of avian flu in eastern region has made the authorities extra vigilant about possibility of bird flu-affected migratory birds in the Chilika lake this winter. The blood samples of dead birds found in the lake area are being collected to be sent to High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory, Bhopal.
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has provided expert help to keep watch on bird flu infection among migratory birds in the lake. The CDA staff, forest and veterinary officials of the area have been trained for preparedness to fight bird flu by taking necessary measures to avoid infection while handling sick birds showing symptoms of suspected avian flu infection.
Special rescue units
Special veterinary medical rescue units for ailing birds are also operating inside the Nalabana bird sanctuary, one of the major perching areas of migratory birds inside the lake, said the CDA authorities. The birds showing symptoms of illness are brought to these rescue centres. Apart from their treatment their blood samples are collected. These samples are sent for testing for possibility of avian flu infection.
Till now it has been found that dysentery and exhaustion are the two major causes of death of migratory birds that arrive in the lake. Last year the blood samples collected from dead migratory birds found inside the lake did not show any signs of bird flu infection. It was found that some birds die due to the extreme fatigue caused by their long flight to reach the lake and some of them die of dysentery caused by food infection.
Vaccines
Baxter Receives EMEA Positive Opinion for CELVAPAN, The First Cell Culture-Based Pandemic Flu Vaccine
12/19/08 MSN Money--Baxter International Inc. BAX today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has issued a positive opinion for the marketing authorization of CELVAPAN, the first cell culture-based H5N1 (avian flu) pandemic vaccine, in the European Union.
The positive opinion precedes the licensure of the ?mock-up? vaccine, which allows CELVAPAN to be used if the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declares a pandemic. The positive opinion was based on results from a comprehensive clinical development program, including a Phase III clinical trial that demonstrated vaccines for two different H5N1 virus strains were well tolerated and generated a functional immune response.
?We are very pleased to receive the EMEA?s positive opinion for CELVAPAN,? said Hartmut Ehrlich, M.D., vice president, BioScience global research and development. ?This is another step towards our goal of supplying a safe and effective vaccine to protect the population against a possible influenza pandemic.?
A ?mock up? vaccine is identical to the future pandemic vaccine in composition and manufacturing; however, since the actual pandemic strain is not known, the vaccine contains another influenza strain not yet exposed to the general population. Once a pandemic is declared, this licensure allows for a fast track approval of the vaccine containing the actual pandemic strain.
CELVAPAN is made using Baxter?s proprietary Vero cell technology, which offers advantages against conventional egg-based vaccine technology. Baxter?s Vero cell manufacturing process is more rapid due to its ability to use the ?native? virus that does not need to be modified in order to grow in chicken eggs. The shorter time for vaccine production is critical in accelerating vaccine supply in response to an influenza pandemic.
CELVAPAN is produced in Bohumil, Czech Republic, at one of the largest cell culture vaccine production facilities in the world. Vero cell technology uses a well-established continuous mammalian cell line to produce the pandemic vaccine.
Baxter?s candidate avian flu vaccine is derived from the H5N1 strain A/Vietnam/1203/2004. Its antigen composition and structure are identical to the actual virus circulating in nature. This vaccine formulation alleviates the need to enhance the immune response by including adjuvants (additives) that may cause side effects. In the Phase III study, CELVAPAN induced an immune response that is similar to the body?s defense against a natural influenza virus infection.
Phase III Clinical Trial Results
The purpose of the randomized Phase III study was to evaluate safety and immune responses to 7.5 µg of the Vietnam strain vaccine in two age groups (adults 18-59 and elderly, i.e., older than 60). The antibody persistence and immune response to a booster with either the same or a different strain was also measured. The study also investigated the ability of the vaccine to induce cross-immunity against divergent H5N1 strains.
Overall, the vaccine was well tolerated after the first and second vaccination as well as after the booster, with a safety profile similar to currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines. The most common side effects were injection site pain and headache, fatigue or malaise.
A positive immune response was induced even after only one immunization as determined by measurement of functional antibodies using a microneutralization assay (50.7 percent in the adult group; 54.4 percent in the elderly group). Following the second immunization, 73 percent of subjects in the adult and 74 percent in the elderly age group demonstrated seroneutralizing levels of antibody, meaning the vaccine was found to be at least equally immunogenic in the elderly as in the adult age group. A six-month booster vaccination with either A/Vietnam/1203/2004 or A/Indonesia/05/2005 strain vaccines induced a substantial booster response. A booster vaccination using a different strain resulted in high levels of antibodies against the initial and the booster strain, which is indicative of cross-protective immunological memory.
Last June, The New England Journal of Medicine published data demonstrating CELVAPAN met Phase I/II trial endpoints for safety and immunogenicity (generating a functional immune response). This was the first peer-reviewed publication of study results for CELVAPAN, the first cell culture-derived avian influenza vaccine to undergo clinical evaluation.
About Pandemic Flu
A pandemic is a global disease outbreak caused by an agent for which there is little or no immunity in the human population and which can spread easily from person-to-person worldwide causing serious illness and death. Most cases of avian flu infection in humans have so far resulted from direct or close contact with infected poultry (e.g., domesticated chicken, ducks, and turkeys) or surfaces possibly contaminated from feces of infected birds. Avian influenza infection follows an unusually aggressive clinical course, with rapid deterioration and a high fatality rate.
About Baxter
Baxter International Inc. develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Dead chickens get H5N1 mutation all-clear
12/19/08 Hong Kong Standard--The H5N1 virus found in dead chickens in a Yuen Long farm had not mutated, Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung told the Legislative Council's panel on food safety and environmental hygiene yesterday.
The genetic sequencing of the bird flu virus detected in the farm on December 9 did not contain obvious differences from previous viruses, Leung told the panel.
Leung also said more tests were needed to find out how the chickens contracted the virus.
There was also good news for the public - live chickens can be sold again as early as December 30 if things go smoothly.
The early end to the normal 21-day no-chicken ban means the birds will once again be on the menu for Lunar New Year family festivities.
Meanwhile, an Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department spokeswoman yesterday explained why the government has been using an H5N2 vaccine manufactured in the Netherlands to protect local chickens from the flu since 2003, even though recent outbreaks showed the virus strain to be subtype H5N1. She said when vaccines were first introduced to local chicken farms, tests had shown the H5N2 vaccine to be effective against the viruses found in South China.
"The H5N2 vaccine is also effective against H5N1 viruses," the spokeswoman said, adding that in 2006, the government had let US authorities test the vaccine, which also showed it is effective for use in southern China.
"However, no vaccine is 100 percent effective. The government has set up an
investigation group on avian influenza to look into the matter," she said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Over 16,000 chicken culled, culling operation to end today
12/19/08 Hindustan Times--Over 16,000 chicken have been killed in West Bengal's bird flu-affected Malda district where culling operation would end on Friday, a senior district officer said.
District Magistrate Sreedhar Ghosh told PTI that 16,963 poultry have been culled till last night out of the target of 25,000 in English Bazar block of the district.
On Friday around 27 culling teams comprising 216 personnel have fanned out in 24 villages under Narhatta and Kotwali gram panchayat of English Bazar block to complete the culling operation, the DM said.
From Saturday mopping up operations would start in the affected villages, he informed.
Meanwhile, a two-member team of the National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) comprising Ramesh Agarwal and Jagbir Singh has reached Malda district, Ghosh said.
West Bengal Minister of Animal Resources Development Anisur Rehman had said on Thursday that the situation in Malda district was under control and there was no report of fresh outbreak of the disease.
Barring notified areas where culling operations were on, there was no ban on transport of poultry and poultry products outside.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Small Indian farmers exit poultry on bird-flu losses
12/19/08 Reuters--Crippled by repeated outbreaks of bird flu and a surge in poultry feed prices, small Indian poultry farmers are spurning the industry and the trend may accelerate as domestic consumption growth slows, officials said.
Since February 2006, when an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu was first reported in western state of Maharashtra, the country has been reporting the outbreak regularly in eastern and north-eastern regions.
Immediately after every outbreak, countries ban import of Indian poultry products, trimming exports. Panic in the domestic market also reduces consumption, leading to a sharp drop in poultry prices.
"Repeated declarations of bird flu outbreak in backyard poultry are scarring small farmers. They are leaving the business," Anuradha Desai, chairwoman of India's National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), told Reuters.
India confirmed outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in three eastern states since November-end and culling operations are still continuing in some parts.
Poultry prices became volatile in past few years due to the outbreaks and small farmers are giving up the business when prices go down, said Desai, also the chief of Venkateshwara Hatcheries, the country's largest poultry producer.
The poultry sector provides employment to 3.2 million people, as per NECC estimates.
"The price realisation has also gone down due to higher raw material prices. The industry is cutting production," B. Soundarajan, Managing Director of Suguna Poultry Farm Ltd, said.
The number of eggs hatched has fallen by 15.8 percent to 32 million a week, from 38 million a week a year ago, he said. Egg production is steady at 12 million eggs per day.
Prices of corn and soymeal, mainly used as poultry feed in India, have corrected in the last few months, but are still almost double compared to prices three years back, Vasant Kumar, managing director of Balkrishna Hatcheries, said.
Soymeal is ruling at 13,400 rupees per tonne in Indore, a main spot market, compared with 7,900 rupees in December 2005.
According to NECC, in 2006, nine poultry farmers committed suicide when wholesale price of chicken fell to 4 rupees a kg.
However, poultry product prices are unlikely to fall sharply now as consumption usually rises in India during winter season.
Also, the industry has already cut production since the birdflu outbreak in West Bengal in January, Kumar said.
Egg prices have fallen by 10 percent to 180 rupees ($3.82) per 100 eggs since the outbreak in November-end, while chicken prices are steady at 43 rupees per kg.
India exported about 10 million eggs per day last year, but now exports have tumbled to 2.5 million eggs, Desai said.
A slowing Indian economy is also hurting demand for poultry products as people cut spending by consuming less meat, Soundarajan said.
India is the world's second largest producer of eggs and the third largest producer of broiler chicken, according to NECC.
($1= 47.1 rupees)
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: Culling process in Assam to be over today
12/19/08 New Kerala-- The culling process of poultry in the bird flu affected areas in Assam is expected to be completed by this evening.
The disease has been identified in 12 locations in seven districts in the State.
According to State Director of vetenary Dr. Aswani Katoky, except few areas of Kharghuli, Sirang and Bongaigaon districts, culling has been completed in all other locations.
Around 450 thousand poultry birds have culled so far in the state. The affected districts will be kept under surveillance for at least three months to prevent recurrence of the bird flu.
No fresh report of spread of the disease has been received from anywhere in the State.
Veterinary officials have slaughtered over 300,000 chicken and ducks since late November, after the virus was detected in poultry last month in a village close to Guwahati.
The WHO has described the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal last January, when more than four million birds were culled, as the worst ever in India.
Public AI Blog Discussions
Bird flu: 'tis the season
12/19/08 Effect Measure--It should surprise no one that bird flu is back in Asia, not just in poultry but in people. That's because it's flu season and the bird flu virus, has been "out there" all along, simmering in the rich broth of aquatic and landbased birds. There are new outbreaks in India, China, Cambodia, and Hong Kong and deaths in humans in Cambodia, Indonesia and Egypt.
India:
Outbreaks have been confirmed in at least three states. In the last three days health authorities have ordered the culling of 9,373 birds in Malda (West Bengal) despite opposition by local residents, who have reacted to the measure by beating up veterinary officials and hiding their animals. They have complained that compensation for each bird culled (20 to 50 rupees or US$ 0.50 to US$ 1) is not enough.
Hundreds of thousands of poultry have already been culled in Assam and Meghalaya and hundreds of villages are being monitored to nip outbreaks in the bud.
In West Bengal alone, poultry farming is a five billion rupee (US$ 100 million) industry. Last January some four million birds were culled to contain an outbreak.
In Orissa poultry from other states have been banned with checkpoints along inter-state borders to enforce the policy. Thousands of birds have been culled as an unspecified "precautionary measure". (Asia News)
Elsewhere:
In China, poultry outbreaks in three areas; Hong Kong, 800,000 birds culled; Cambodia, a 19 year old man with bird flu; in Egypt a 16 year old girl died Monday; Indonesia, 2 cases.
The situation today seems much as it has the past several years. Bird flu is endemic in much of Asia and Southeast Asia and with flu season comes sporadic human cases. We have no idea if this is pattern will hold or change to something more benign or something much, much worse. Since we haven't done it for a while, here's a reminder list of a few things we don't know about in flu in general and bird flu in particular. We don't know:
* why some people get seriously and usually lethally ill while others as heavily exposed show no effects;
* all the places in nature the virus hangs out;
* the factors, genetic or otherwise, that make the virus transmissible from birds to humans or that would allow easy transmission from humans to humans;
* the factors, genetic or otherwise, that make the virus so virulent in human cases;
* the most important modes of transmission of flu, in general;
* whether vaccines will work for bird flu or how effective they are for human seasonal flu;
* what causes flu to be "seasonal".
If you are new here you are probably surprised we don't know some of these things. You (naturally) assumed we did. But you shouldn't be surprised there is bird flu around. It's flu season. Whatever that is.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: We have to live with bird flu--West Bengal minister
12/18/08 Indopia--Bird flu may have taken alarming proportions in some parts of the country but West Bengal minister Anisur Rehman feels people have to live with it just like they do with malaria, chicken pox and polio.
"We have raised a slogan. How to live with bird flu? We have to live with bird flu just like we live with malaria, chicken pox and polio,"Rehman, who is the state&aposs animal resource development minister, told reporters.
Rehman said culling was almost over in Malda district where the target was 25,000 birds. According to him, the situation was under control and there was no report of spread or fresh outbreak of the disease.
There was also no case of human infection, he said.
In Assam, seven districts have been hit by avian influenza and over four lakh of the targeted 5.40 lakh affected birds being culled.
Source: PTI
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Cambodia: Authorities rush to contain bird flu
12/18/08 Phnompen Post--one hundred people living in the immediate vicinity of Cambodia's first confirmed human case of the H5N1 virus in over a year have been tested as authorities scramble to determine the extent of the latest outbreak.
Blood samples from people who had contact with the 19-year-old man diagnosed with avian influenza have so far revealed no signs of the disease, a health official said.
The 19-year-old is the Kingdom's eighth known case of bird flu, and all previous cases have been fatal. Though the disease has killed fewer than 30 people worldwide this year, the threat lies in the flu's potential to mutate into a strain transferrable between humans that could set off a lethal global pandemic.
According to Sok Touch, the director of the Communicable Disease Control Department at the Ministry of Health, 99 villagers from Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces have been tested and, so far, no new cases have been found. Not all 99 blood samples, however, have been processed.
Kao Phal, director of the Animal Health and Production Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said Tuesday that they have collected 76 ducks, chicken and geese from the two provinces for testing and expect results to be ready later this week.
"We will take immediate action to destroy the birds if bird flu is found," he said.
According to Kao Phal, authorities have educated villagers throughout the country about how to avoid avian influenza by providing booklets and leaflets to villagers.
"We know that villagers understand how to protect themselves from bird flu, but still people get infected," he said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Taiwan: COA to release report on Kaohsiung bird flu case
12/18/08 Taipei Times--The preliminary results of the tests were inconsistent with health conditions, but the results of a second test will be available within two days. The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said that a report on whether a Kaohsiung County chicken farm had been affected by bird flu would be out in the next two days.
Responding to speculation that the examination process may have been delayed as the possible infection was reported almost two months ago, COA Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Deputy Director-General Huang Kuo-ching (???) said the examination process followed protocol.
Secondary results will be published this week, Huang said.
?On Oct. 21 we received a report about a possible H5N2 infection at a chicken farm in Kaohsiung County and went to collect samples for analysis; [we] had the results by Nov. 12,? Huang said.
Though the results were positive, because the death rate of the birds was less than 3 percent and the chickens did not have respiratory tract infections, the results were inconsistent with the health condition of the affected chicken population, Huang said, adding: ?The expert panel decided to collect a second sample on the same day [Nov. 12th] ? the result of which will be available in the next two days.?
All remaining 18,000 chickens at the farm were culled as a precautionary measure, the COA said.
The former chairman of the inter-ministy avian and pandemic influenza control committee, Chen Chien-jen (???), of the Academia Sinica, said that whether Taiwan has a bird flu epidemic or not, the COA should make comprehensive epidemic-prevention efforts upon the discovery of any strain of bird flu.
He added that the COA should make the information available to minimize public concern.
Chen said that while the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique can reveal whether an examination sample carries the H5N2 virus strain within a day, the separation and cultivation of the virus, which can further confirm PCR results, takes a month.
What is important is that, ?[In the meantime], a standard operating procedure [SOP] should be launched to prevent the possible spread of an epidemic [before results are out],? he said.
Chen said that a complete disinfection should be carried out at the affected chicken farm, and the chickens should be inspected and possibly slaughtered as soon as a possible epidemic is suspected.
H5N2 is a weak strain of the bird flu virus that is unlikely to be transmitted to humans and the law does not require that the discovery of the virus be reported.
However, as the news is now out in the open, Chen said, ?If the government had done [all it could to prevent an epidemic], it should tell people and let people know that the case has been dealt with and closed.?
When asked to comment, Huang said the culture separation and cultivation process takes between 19 and 40 days. While the first examination of the Kaohsiung chicken farm took 19 days, the second examination will also come out within the 40-day bracket.
In terms of prevention work, Huang said: ?We treated it as a crisis ? we launched the SOP on Oct. 21 and have been monitoring chicken farms nearby since.?
He said the affected chicken population was slaughtered on Nov. 14.
In related news, responding to Japan?s decision to temporarily stall poultry imports from Taiwan, COA poultry production section-chief Su Meng-lan (???) said Japan would lift the ban if the tests prove negative.
She said poultry exports to Japan brought in between NT$70 million (US$2.15 million) to NT80 million a year.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (???) urged the government to reinforce gate-keeping measures to ensure the quality of domestic poultry.
At a press conference, Lu said Japan?s reaction to the suspected bird flu case was ?within expectations,? but the government should take action to prevent similar cases.
Lu and another KMT deputy secretary-general, Yang Chiung-ying (???), challenged Chen?s comments that the PCR test could be completed within one day and that he found the COA?s slow progress ?strange.?
Yang also rebutted media speculation that the COA might have covered things up because of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin?s (???) visit early last month.
?Not everything is political,? she said.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India: 10,000 Bird Flu grips new areas in Malda
12/18/08 The Statesman--Amid slow-going culling efforts, Bird Flu is spreading in Malda. Hundreds of chickens have died in the Ratua block, about 10 km from Satgharia where the virus was first detected.
The Malda district magistrate has asked the animal resources development department to collect blood samples of the dead and ailing birds in the block. ?Fresh bird deaths have been reported from Chandmoni I and II and Baharal GP in Ratua within 10 km radius from the Bird Flu affected areas. ARD officials have left for the spot,? the DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh said.
Meanwhile, culling operations were being hampered due to stray incidents of resistance from villagers. One member of a culling team was allegedly assaulted and heckled by villagers at Anandipur late this evening following an altercation. The incident prompted culling team members to demand police protection for the operations tomorrow.
Though the district administration has targeted to cull at least 16,500 birds in the affected villages, the progress is slow due to the villagers? resistance. Rapid response team members have been able to cull about 3,000 birds so far. Yesterday, 18 culling teams had been able to cull only 155 birds till late evening. Today, the district administration has added four more culling teams to complete the operation quickly. The district magistrate said that at least 12 more teams would join the exercise tomorrow.
The CMOH, Malda, Dr Srikanta Roy, said isolation wards have been set up in the district but till evening no avian flu affected human case was reported.
In Kolkata, state ARD secretary, Mr Dilip Chakraborty denied that there was any resistance from villagers to the culling operations. He said the problems yesterday had occurred as the administration could not arrange for funds to pay the villagers for their birds.
The West Bengal Poultry Forum meanwhile claimed that it is not bird flu, but a common disease which is afflicting chickens in the state. Mr Madan Mohan Pramanik, general secretary of the forum, meeting Mr Dilip Chakraborty, principal secretary, ARD, today at Writers? Buildings, alleged that some multinational companies were floating the bird flu theory to create panic and damage the price advantage poultry farmers of the state enjoy in the market.
Pandemic Preparedness
PandemicFlu.gov PlanFirst Webcasts on Pandemic Influenza
Join us for the next PlanFirst Webcast on Wednesday, January 28th at 2 p.m. ET. Details about the January 28th Webcast will be posted to the site in the near future.
No registration is required. Email your questions for the Webcast panelists before and/or during the program to hhsstudio@hhs.gov. Please include your first name, state and town.
For anyone unable to attend yesterday's Webcast on the new HSS guidance on antiviral drug use and stockpiling, an archive of the Webcast will be available at http://pandemicflu.gov/news/panflu_webinar.html within the next two weeks.
Quid Novi
OIE: Bangladesh follow-up #9
Highly pathogenic avian influenza,
Bangladesh
Information received on 17/12/2008 from Dr Salehuddin Khan , Director, Department of Livestock Services, Department of Livestock Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Summary
Report type Follow-up report No. 9
Start date 05/02/2007
Date of first confirmation of the event 22/03/2007
Report date 17/12/2008
Date submitted to OIE 17/12/2008
Reason for notification First occurrence of a listed disease
Causal agent Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Serotype H5N1
Nature of diagnosis Suspicion, Clinical, Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced), Necropsy
This event pertains to the whole country
Related reports
* Immediate notification (30/03/2007)
* Follow-up report No. 1 (30/04/2007)
* Follow-up report No. 2 (24/05/2007)
* Follow-up report No. 3 (08/07/2007)
* Follow-up report No. 4 (17/12/2007)
* Follow-up report No. 5 (16/03/2008)
* Follow-up report No. 6 (24/04/2008)
* Follow-up report No. 7 (11/06/2008)
* Follow-up report No. 8 (20/11/2008)
* Follow-up report No. 9 (17/12/2008)
New outbreaks
Outbreak 1 Hamid poultry farm, Kamal Kachna, Rangpur, RAJSHAHI
Date of start of the outbreak 29/11/2008
Outbreak status Resolved (29/11/2008)
Epidemiological unit Farm
Affected animals
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 255 14 14 241 0
Affected population a commercial farm
Outbreak 2 Islamia poultry farm, Shalidha, Norsingdi, DHAKA
Date of start of the outbreak 10/12/2008
Outbreak status Resolved (11/12/2008)
Epidemiological unit Farm
Affected animals
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 3645 105 105 3540 0
Affected population a commercial farm
Summary of outbreaks Total outbreaks: 2
Total animals affected
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 3900 119 119 3781 0
Outbreak statistics
Species Apparent morbidity rate Apparent mortality rate Apparent case fatality rate Proportion susceptible animals lost*
Birds 3.05% 3.05% 100.00% 100.00%
* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection
* Unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comments Movement control was implemented within a 10-km-radius zone around the outbreak.
Control measures
Measures applied
* Stamping out
* Movement control inside the country
* Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
* Vaccination prohibited
* No treatment of affected animals
Measures to be applied
* No other measures
Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Savar, Dhaka (National laboratory)
Tests and results
Species Test Test date Result
Birds polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 11/12/2008 Positive
Laboratory name and type Field Disease Investigation Laboratory, Joypurhat (National laboratory)
Tests and results
Species Test Test date Result
Birds rapid tests 29/11/2008 Positive
Future Reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.
Map of outbreak locations
Quid Novi
OIE: India follow uip #2
Highly pathogenic avian influenza,
India
Information received on 17/12/2008 from Mr Natarajan Gokulram, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi, India
Summary
Report type Follow-up report No. 2
Start date 21/11/2008
Date of first confirmation of the event 27/11/2008
Report date 17/12/2008
Date submitted to OIE 18/12/2008
Reason for notification Reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence 11/2008
Causal agent Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Serotype H5N1
Nature of diagnosis Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to a defined zone within the country
Related reports
* Immediate notification (28/11/2008)
* Follow-up report No. 1 (11/12/2008)
* Follow-up report No. 2 (17/12/2008)
New outbreaks
Outbreak 1 Englishbazar, Englishbazar, Malda, WEST BENGAL
Date of start of the outbreak 13/12/2008
Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit Village
Affected animals
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Birds 2933 17 11 155
Affected population Rural backyard poultry.
Summary of outbreaks Total outbreaks: 1
Outbreak statistics
Species Apparent morbidity rate Apparent mortality rate Apparent case fatality rate Proportion susceptible animals lost*
Birds 0.58% 0.38% 64.71% **
* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter
** Not calculated because of missing information
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection
* Unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comments Epidemiological investigation is ongoing. Stamping out of all domestic poultry is being applied in an approximately 3-km-radius zone around the outbreaks followed by compensation of the owners.
An intensive surveillance campaign has been launched in a 10-km-radius zone including:
- closure of poultry markets and prohibition on sale and transportation of poultry products in the infected zone;
- disinfection of premises after culling and sealing of premises where appropriate.
Restocking will be applied in accordance with a specific protocol.
Control measures
Measures applied
* Stamping out
* Quarantine
* Movement control inside the country
* Screening
* No vaccination
* No treatment of affected animals
Measures to be applied
* Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
* Dipping / Spraying
Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal (National laboratory)
Tests and results
Species Test Test date Result
Birds real-time PCR 15/12/2008 Positive
Birds reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 15/12/2008 Positive
Laboratory name and type National Institute of Virology (National laboratory)
Tests and results
Species Test Test date Result
Birds reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 17/12/2008 Positive
Future Reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Bangladesh: Sea routes under vigil
12/18/08 Express News--The district administration has sealed the sea routes in the district to check entry of poultry through sea from West Bengal. District Collector Sishirkanta Panda said officials of Mahakalpada and Rajnagar have been directed to keep a tab on the sea routes after the State Government banned supply of poultry from West Bengal following detection of bird flu cases.
The district administration held a meeting Tuesday to chalk out plans to check entry of poultry. The Chief District Veterinary Officer (CDVO) and other senior officials of the district attended. A committee was formed under the chairmanship of the District Collector to take proper steps to prevent the spread of bird flu
from West Bengal to Kendrapara.
Rapid Response Team (RRT) was also formed in all nine blocks of the district. A veterinary assistant surgeon (VAS), two livestock inspectors, one ?Go Mitra?, Zilla Parishad members and social workers will constitute each RRT.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
China: Farmers in Dark Over Bird Flu
12/18/08 Radio Free Asia--Chinese officials report an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus among poultry flocks in eastern Jiangsu province. Poultry farmers in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, site of a recent outbreak of avian influenza, say they know little about what is happening and have seen little help from the government.
China's official Xinhua news agency said officials had culled 377,000 birds on farms around Dongtai city and neighboring Hai'an county after an outbreak was confirmed to have been caused by the deadly H5N1 virus.
But poultry farmers were unaware of the potential health risks of the outbreak, and local official news outlets said they hadn't reported the story.
"We lost about 40,000 or 50,000," a poultry farmer near Dongtai city said. "Now, even the chicks are getting infected. We are having to deal with this ourselves. We are burying them in pits."
Dongtai is home to an estimated 10 million farmed poultry.
"They haven't managed to come up with a vaccine yet, and we have had no help from officials. If, as you say, this disease could be a danger to human life, then we didn't know about it. The government should send people down here to take care of it," she added.
Lack of information
Another farmer in the area, surnamed Li, said he didn't know about the outbreak, or what caused it, despite announcements by the Agriculture Ministry in Beijing.
"Chickens die as a normal part of running a poultry business," he said.
"I'm not sure when this took place. There are so many poultry farmers in this region. I haven't heard anything locally about whether this was in fact bird flu. It is only one of the diseases that can affect poultry, after all," Li added.
The first farmer partially confirmed a report by the Hong Kong-based Information Center on Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China, which said some sick chickens had been taken to Shanghai, Shandong, or Guangdong and sold in the wake of the oubreak.
"All of the farms did this. A few would die every day, and then we would just sell them anyway."
She said the poultry merchants then realized there was a problem and started to drop the prices they would give for the chickens.
Local media silence
She said she had heard no announcement from the Agriculture Ministry, and had no idea where the chicken carcasses ended up eventually.
She had no idea that the central government was offering compensation of 10 yuan per chicken to farmers who slaughtered sick birds.
In the absence of any new vaccine, she said, she would be forced out of business.
Local news outlets said they hadn't reported the story.
"We haven't heard anything about this," a duty editor in the newsroom of the Dongtai Daily News said.
"Our reporters haven't said anything about it ... I don't know [if there is a reporting ban on this]. That's all I can tell you. I can't say if this is true or if it isn't. How many chickens actually died? What was the disease?"
An employee on duty at the Dongtai television station said they hadn't reported the story either, although he had heard the news.
"No, no. This is provincial-level news. I saw the report, but I don't know the actual details. No, [we didn't report it]."
Roadside checks
But local police said strict controls were being imposed on the movement of any poultry in the area.
An employee who answered the phone at the Sancang township police station, where a large number of poultry farms are concentrated, said the area had been placed under quarantine to ensure that no sick poultry was taken elsewhere.
"The government has dispatched people to every intersection in this area, and they are carrying out roadside checks to prevent infected chickens from being moved around. The checks are continuing [Wednesday]. They have been going on for some time now, although I don't know the details."
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed more than 200 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003, was found on a chicken farm in Dongtai city and in another farm in Hai'an county, China's Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on its Web site Tuesday.
The virus hasn't been reported in any other locations, and UN Food and Agriculture adviser Vincent Martin sought to play down fears of an outbreak of bird flu in China, which has already seen three confirmed human deaths from bird flu this year.
Martin said the FAO had been notified by Chinese authorities on Tuesday about the outbreak, which could have been triggered by migratory birds.
Quid Novi
Bangladesh: Ministry Reports Outbreak of Avian Influenza in Gazipur
12/18/08 ARGUS--The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock of Bangladesh reports an outbreak of avian influenza in Gazipur district. The agency further informs that H5 avian influenza has been confirmed in 291 farms in 47 districts of the country as of 16 December. Culling operations have been conducted in 551 farms since the outbreak began in the country in February 2007.
Article URL(s)
http://www.mofl.gov.bd/daily_birdflu_report.pdf
Quid Novi
India: 2,000 chickens culled in Orissa over flu fear
12/18/08 Hindustan Times--Authorities in Orissa on Thursday morning culled at least 2,000 chickens in Balasore district after they were detected in a bus coming from bird-flu hit West Bengal, officials said.
Veterinary officials spotted the poultry in a private bus at Laxmannath check post on the Orissa-West Bengal border early Thursday, Bishnupada Sethi, director of the fisheries and animal resource development department, told IANS.
The poultry was later culled.
Sethi blamed the West Bengal government for not checking the movement of poultry birds and products. "They should take measures not to allow movement of birds from their state to Orissa," he said.
The Orissa government Tuesday imposed a ban on the import of poultry from neighbouring states following the confirmation of the presence of H5N1 bird flu virus in West Bengal.
Sethi said the state government had collected blood samples from thousands of birds from various parts of the state but all of them tested negative for bird flu.
"We have asked the collectors of at least eight districts bordering West Bengal to remain alert," Sethi said, adding that instructions have also been given to personnel manning the check posts to search passing vehicles to ensure no poultry enters the state.
The West Bengal government Monday said strains of the dreaded avian flu virus were detected by the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory at Bhopal in blood samples collected from two dead poultry birds in Malda district.
Quid Novi
India: Surveillance stepped up as bird flu grips Assam, Bengal
12/18/08 New Kerala--With avian flu breaking out in West Bengal and Assam, the central government has stepped up surveillance to contain the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus in surrounding areas. The deadly virus has spread across six Assam districts, where the authorities say it has assumed epidemic proportions. It has reappeared for the second time this year in West Bengal's Malda district.
A total of 368,935 birds have been culled in the two states, according to the department of animal husbandry and dairying under the ministry of agriculture.
About 1,150 health workers are conducting surveillance in the two bird-flu affected states, a statement issued here by the health ministry Thursday said.
Although 143 cases of upper respiratory tract infection
with fever have been detected, none of these people had a history of handling dead or sick birds, it said.
Also, 122 cases of fever were reported from the various health facilities.
?Active house-to-house surveillance is being followed in a 0-3 km zone in all epicentres and in 3-10 km in phases,? the statement said.
A total population of 178,485 has been covered in the 0-3 km area while 145,317 people were covered in the 3-10 km area.
The department notified bird flu outbreak in English Bazar block in Malda district of West Bengal Monday and has taken containment measures, the statement said.
In Assam, bird flu was declared by the department in Block Gobardhana in Barpeta district and Block West Nalbari in Nalbari district Dec 4.
Quid Novi
India: 9,000 birds culled in bird-flu hit Bengal district
12/18/08 Hindustan Times----Over 9,000 poultry birds have been culled in West Bengal's Malda district after the latest bird flu outbreak there but some villagers are resisting the move, officials said Thursday.
"Veterinary workers have culled 9,373 poultry birds since Tuesday at Narhatta and Satgheria villages under the English Bazar police station in Malda," District Magistrate Sridhar Ghosh told IANS. The district is 350 km from here.
However, Ghosh said those involved in culling are facing some resistance from villagers, who are demanding higher compensation.
"Villagers are being paid a compensation of Rs.20-50 for each fowl and duck depending on its age. But they are demanding double the prices for grown-up chickens," Ghosh said.
According to district sources, villagers are hiding their poultry to avoid culling.
Ghosh said the state animal resources development (ARD) department revised its culling target Thursday.
"After inspecting all the poultry farms in the affected areas, the ARD authorities have increased the culling target to 20,000 from 16,000," the DM said. A two-day mopping up operation will begin after the culling operations are over.
ARD Minister Anisur Rehman had said that two blood samples of dead poultry sent to the High Security Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Bhopal had tested positive for avian flu.
Eighteen culling teams with a total of 90 workers - wearing white protective suits, gloves and masks - Tuesday started killing and burying chickens and ducks at Narhatta and Satgheria villages in Malda.
In January, over 200,000 poultry birds were culled when avian flu was detected in several districts. An outbreak of bird flu had been detected in Malda in March and more than 50,000 birds were culled.
The disease is caused by the H5N1 virus.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
India seals part of Bangladesh border over bird flu
12/18/08 Reuters--India sealed part of its border with Bangladesh on Thursday amid fears the latest outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus had spread to new areas, officials said.
Authorities in West Bengal state have killed about 10,000 birds in the Malda district which borders Bangladesh since Tuesday, despite resistance from villagers who want more compensation, after tests proved a new outbreak in the area.
"We have already sealed the border with Bangladesh along Malda district to check the spread of bird flu through chickens and ducks smuggled in from the other side," West Bengal's animal resource development minister Anisur Rahman told Reuters.
Hundreds of thousands of birds have also been culled in India's northeastern Assam state and neighbouring Meghalaya since an outbreak was detected there last month.
While there has been no recent outbreak in Bangladesh, India's impoverished neighbour suffered a severe bird flu epidemic starting in March 2007. Millions of birds were culled, costing the poultry industry hundreds of millions of dollars.
Malda authorities have sent more samples for testing after hundreds of chickens died in the past two days in a different area of the district, about 10 km (6 miles) away from the village regarded as the centre of the latest outbreak, officials said.
Authorities also increased the number of birds they plan to kill in West Bengal by 3,500 to 20,000 after discovering that there were more poultry farms in the area than first thought.
"We hope to complete the work by tomorrow," said N.K. Shit, a senior animal resource development official in Malda.
Health workers are also monitoring about 100 villagers in and around Guwahati city in Assam who had shown signs of H5N1 but tests so far indicated none had the virus, health officials said. There have been no human cases of H5N1 confirmed in India.
Neighbouring states have also been taking precautions such as banning birds from affected states. Authorities in Orissa state to the south culled 2,000 chickens as a precautionary measure.
Smugglers had tried to sneak the birds across the border from West Bengal into Orissa in a passenger bus, officials said.
Monday's confirmation marked the third outbreak of the disease this year in West Bengal, where 4 million birds were culled in January in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has described as India's worst-ever bird flu outbreak.
Experts fear the H5N1 virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people across the world.
According to the WHO, H5N1 bird flu has infected 391 people in 15 countries and killed 247 of them since the virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003. (Additional reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Matthias Williams and Dean Yates)
