Saturday, February 19, 2011

Surveillance intensified to detect bird flu in Tripura

Agartala | Saturday, Feb 19 2011 IST


Lara Mahesh s Victorian wedding today!!

Surveillance has been intensified across Tripura to detect H5N1 virus and culling of birds done at R K Nagar poultry farm here, Commissioner (Animal Resource Development) Sriram Taranikanti said today.

Mr Taranikanti said the state government sought permission from Department of Animal Husbandry of Ministry of Agriculture to shrink the culling area from three kms to one km since there was no habitation around the area except the extension of the farm.

''The Belgachhia Eastern Regional Disease Digenetic Laboratory, Kolkata, and the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal, have confirmed the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the state-owned duck farm. As many as 3,000 birds were killed and buried accordingly yesterday,'' Mr Taranikanti said.

He informed that about 800 deaths were reported during the past three days, which prompted the authority to embark on culling of birds and destruction of eggs and feed material to control further spread of the disease.

The Centre has advised the state government to declare the infected areas, ban movement of poultry products within a radius of 10 km in those areas, he said. The administration was also asked to comply with the restrictions laid down in the Contingency Plan 2005 of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he added.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Teenager suspected death from influenza A/H5N1

15-year-old patient in the mountainous district of Nam Dong, Thua Thien - Hue province, was taken to the family at the Medical University Hospital, Hue, then move the Hue Central Hospital and died there.
Through diagnosis, doctors Hospital of Hue Medical University identified patient (hospital day 14 / 2) with signs of influenza A/H5N1 infection with symptoms such as fever, dyspnea, pneumonia, failure acute respiratory ... Health status is increasingly critical. The same day of admission, Hue University of Medicine decided to move patients to the Hue Central Hospital. However, only two half hours from when the referral, the patient died.

27 doctors, nurses, nurses and technicians of the University Hospital of Hue Medical and four patients share a room, contact with the sick, must be quarantined immediately and tamiflu medication within 10 days to prevent influenza A/H5N1 vaccine. On the same day, the University Hospital of Hue Medical and disinfection carried out the entire hospital.

Health Department of Thua Thien - Hue province has also sent its staff to the South East district conducted disinfection patient residence area, and isolation and to relatives of patients with preventive medication tamiflu.

Nguyen Dung, Director of Health Department of Thua Thien - Hue province, said the patient's samples were sent for testing and will result in 3 days.

HUE: A patient with suspected H5N1 influenza deaths


TT- (02/18/2011)



VH-day 17.2, the Hospital of Hue Medical and Pharmaceutical University, said Dinh Thi Hue patients (15 years, in Nam Dong district, Thua Thien-Hue) suspected influenza A/H5N1, each hospital admission in this mortality.

Earlier, about 16 hours 30 minutes 14.2 days, patients given emergency Hue Hospital at Hue University of Medicine with symptoms of flu such as H5N1 flu, shortness of breath, acute respiratory failure, pneumonia ... To 17 hours with 30 days, the patient was transferred to Hue Central Hospital and died the same day as 20 hours.

After the patient died Dinh Thi Hue, 27 doctors, nurses, nurses, technicians of the University Hospital of Hue Medical and Pharmaceutical been exposed to this patient and four patients with Hue were roommates for medication tamiflu and quarantined to prevent influenza A/H5N1.

The local health sector has sent samples to be tested, and conduct disinfection area of residence of patients, for relatives of patients taking precautions.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Wild Ducks in Siberia Found to Carry H5N1 Viruses

GLOBAL - Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the H5N1 sub-type have been found in the nesting lakes of migratory water birds in Siberia by researchers in Japan. The newly identified virus type appeared to be non-pathogenic in chickens, ducks and quail.

Naoki Yamamoto of Hokkaido University and colleagues there and at Japan Science and Technology Agency have published a paper in Virology Journal on their work characterising a non-pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus isolated from a migratory duck flying from Siberia in Hokkaido, Japan, in October 2009.

Infection with H5N1 HPAI viruses of domestic poultry and wild birds has spread to more than 60 countries in Eurasia and Africa, according to the researchers. This has raised concerns that HPAI viruses may be perpetuated in the lakes in Siberia where migratory water birds nest in summer.

To monitor whether HPAIVs circulate in migratory water birds, intensive surveillance of avian influenza has been performed in Mongolia and Japan in autumn each year. Until 2008, there had not been any H5N1 viruses isolated from migratory water birds that flew from their nesting lakes in Siberia. However, in autumn 2009, A/mallard/Hokkaido/24/09 (H5N1) (Mal/Hok/24/09) was isolated from a faecal sample of a mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) that flew from Siberia to Hokkaido, Japan. The isolate was assessed for pathogenicity in chickens, domestic ducks, and quails and analysed antigenically and phylogenetically.

Results

No clinical signs were observed in chickens inoculated intravenously with Mal/Hok/24/09 (H5N1). There was no viral replication in chickens inoculated intranasally with the isolate. None of the domestic ducks and quails inoculated intranasally with the isolate showed any clinical signs.

There were no multiple basic amino acid residues at the cleavage site of the haemagglutinin (HA) of the isolate. Each gene of Mal/Hok/24/09 (H5N1) is phylogenetically closely related to that of influenza viruses isolated from migratory water birds that flew from their nesting lakes in autumn. Additionally, the antigenicity of the HA of the isolate was similar to that of the viruses isolated from migratory water birds in Hokkaido that flew from their northern territory in autumn and different from those of HPAIVs isolated from birds found dead in China, Mongolia, and Japan on the way back to their northern territory in spring.

Conclusion

Mal/Hok/24/09 (H5N1) is a non-pathogenic avian influenza virus for chickens, domestic ducks and quails, and is antigenically and genetically distinct from the H5N1 HPAIVs prevailing in birds in Eurasia and Africa, concluded Yamamoto and co-authors.

H5 viruses with the HA gene of HPAI virus had not been isolated from migratory water birds in the surveillance until 2009, indicating that H5N1 HPAI viruses had not become dominant in their nesting lakes in Siberia until 2009.

Reference

Yamamoto N., Y. Sakoda, M. Motoshima, F. Yoshino, K. Soda, M. Okamatsu and H. Kida. 2011. Characterization of a non-pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus isolated from a migratory duck flying from Siberia in Hokkaido, Japan, in October 2009. Virology Journal, 8:65. doi:10.1186/1743-422X-8-65

Vietnam-Avian influenza return in birds


Tuesday, 15/02/2011, 00:07 (GMT +7)
(SGGP) .- On 14-2, Hoang Van Nam, Director General of Animal Health (MARD), said it has identified bird flu reappeared in two family farms in the commune of Minh Son (Huu Lung, Lang Son), to more than 2,000 chickens died.

DAH warnings, usually following the traditional Lunar New Year, demand, transportation of poultry increased again, particularly as a source of poultry smuggled into Vietnam, China flooding, increase the risk of outbreaks avian influenza.

Meanwhile, foot and mouth epidemic is still raging on the herd. Currently, 14 provinces nationwide have foot and mouth outbreak, mainly in the north, including Son La, Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Dien Bien, Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Kon Tum, Nghe An, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai and Quang Ngai.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Poultry culled in Gaibandha


Monday, February 14, 2011
National

Our Correspondent, Gaibandha
Around a thousand poultry of a private farm were culled following detection of Avian Influenza at village Enayetpur under Sadullapur upazila Saturday night.
Upazila livestock office sources said a few poultry of Moinul Hossain's farm died in the last 3-4 days. Suspecting outbreak of bird flu disease Sadullapur upazila livestock officer Dr Rahamat-un-Nabi collected samples of dead poultry birds and sent them to Gaibandha regional animal disease diagnosis centre and it tested positive.
On confirmation of bird flu attack, a special team led by district livestock officer Dr Md Jahanur Rahman rushed to the farm and culled nearly a thousand poultry birds.

N. Korea's FMD outbreak spreads across country: report

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has spread across many parts of the country after the first case was confirmed in the capital city on Dec. 25, a U.S. broadcaster said Sunday.

Radio Free Asia (RFA), quoting a report by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, said the communist country confirmed that since the first case hit a small cattle farm in Pyongyang, the highly contagious animal disease has spread to at least five provinces.

While there are no reports of animals being culled and buried to control further spreading of the disease, North Korea said 11,165 animals have been infected so far. Of these, 8,640 pigs have died along with 15 cattle, it said.

RFA also said that quarantine authorities had moved to vaccinate animals, but the locally produced drugs used had little effect in slowing down the disease. It added that emergency quarantine measures have been ordered to combat the spread of the animal disease that can be transmitted through the air.

FMD affects all cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, deer, goats and buffalo and is classified as a "List A" disease by the OIE.

Pyongyang first reported outbreaks to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization earlier in the week.

Related to the outbreaks in the North, Seoul said that it has tightened decontamination and inspections on cars and personnel coming over the demilitarized zone that separates the two countries. Belongings of people are being checked more thoroughly and decontaminated since they can carry the animal virus.

South Korean quarantine officials said the two transit offices along the eastern and western coasts have upgraded decontamination levels as of Friday, although no FMD outbreaks have been reported at the Kaesong industrial park and the Mount Kumgang resort.

Both the health ministry and the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service have checked procedures to make certain that tighter measures are followed, sources said.

The North Korean outbreaks, meanwhile, come as South Korea is trying to contain the severest FMD onslaught in its history. Seoul has ordered the culling of 3.30 million livestock, including 150,000 heads of cattle and 3.15 million pigs, since Nov. 29 when the first case was confirmed.