
Thank you all for your time, it is very much appreciated.
Soon after the discovery, the provincial Veterinary Bureau to coordinate with the Ha Hoa district has directed the branches and localities in the district implement zoning measures, stamping services; advocating people not to panic, do not hide translation and guide the farmers to take measures to disinfect, disinfection, quarantine sick birds, dead bird disposal.
The Department has issued a mask, gloves, protective clothing and to make 48 liters HanIodine disinfection in the commune.
From 10 to 16-7, in the commune Chính Công (Ha Hoa district) appear bird mortality at 12 farms in 5 / 7 administration of the communal areas, killing 1,569 birds.
Accordingly, the Department has granted 436 liters of pasteurized issued 7,000 leaflets against avian influenza, 400 masks, 600 pairs of gloves and other supplies and equipment to prevent spread wide.
Thus, so far not arisen of dead poultry, the outbreak has been basically controlled.
Thus, to end on 19-7 Ha Hoa district had 2,340 sick birds. In particular, in the commune of the past two model tests on dead poultry were positive for avian influenza virus serotype H5.
Published : Friday, 02 Sep 2011, 7:56 PM CDT
(Newscore) - Pharmaceutical giant CSL has blamed a world-first blending of flu virus strains as the likely cause of fits in children immunized with its flu vaccine last year, The Australian reported Saturday.
CSL followed World Health Organization recommendations when it concocted its controversial Fluvax vaccine, which combined swine flu with two seasonal strains of influenza for the first time.
The vaccine has been banned for children under five in Australia, Europe and the US since it triggered convulsions in one out of every 100 children immunized in Australia last autumn.
CSL Friday revealed a breakthrough in its 18-month scientific investigation, which involves the federal government's Therapeutic Goods Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It said the interim findings pointed to a problem with how the three virus strains interacted.
"Our scientific studies indicate that the interaction between the particular virus strains used in the 2010 ... vaccine contributed to the reactions, but we are still working to understand the how and why," a CSL spokeswoman told The Australian.
"We have completed comprehensive investigations into our manufacturing operations [which] have not identified any change or deviation in our standard registered manufacturing process that could have contributed to the increased reactions."
America's Food and Drug Administration warned CSL in June that it could revoke its American license over what it described as manufacturing deficiencies and an inadequate investigation into the cause of last year's febrile fits.
Latest in parliament is the debate whether bats contain the bird flu virus which could spread in the humans.
The issue was raised in parliament by an independent member Burnett Rob Messenger during question hour round, in which he asked this question from Health Minister when he got the news of bird flu infection in Cambodia.
Health Minister did not reply there and then and has taken 30 days time in which he would do the research to give answer to Mr. Messenger. Issue is of concern as few days ago only FAO has warned countries against the comeback of avian flu which has become stronger due to the presence of resistant strain. This strain is immune to the existing vaccines in the market available for the flu.
If the report comes out positive then it could be a big problem as already these flying foxes have created havoc due to hendra virus spread. It is said that not hendra virus but flying foxes are host to many other serious infections like SARS, Nipah and Lyssa. So, if bird flu gets added to the list then it should soon be revealed to the public so precautionary measures could be taken up against it, rather than keeping this news under covers due to political benefits.
Sept. 2, 2011 -- Two U.S. kids -- an Indiana boy and a Pennsylvania girl -- are the first human cases of a new swine flu bug.
Both kids fully recovered after suffering usual flu symptoms.
The two children had no contact with each other. Each caught the new flu in separate transmission events. The boy's case was reported on Aug. 17; the girl's on Aug. 24.
"We have been able to detect a novel flu virus," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner tells WebMD. "It is an H3N2 swine flu virus that has picked up a gene from 2009 H1N1. We are investigating whether human-to-human spread is occurring."
Human-to-human spread appears possible, as the boy seems to have been infected by a caretaker who had contact with pigs. But so far there's no evidence of sustained person-to-person spread. A preliminary investigation in Indiana found no spread of the virus beyond the infected boy.
This is far from the first time humans may have caught swine flu viruses directly from pigs. The CDC knows of 21 cases from December 2005 to December 2010.
But it's the first time the 2009 swine flu virus currently circulating in humans has recombined with an older swine flu bug. The new flu is a reassortment in which the old swine H3N2 virus incorporates a single structural gene from the 2009 H1N1 virus, says CDC virologist Mike Shaw, PhD.
This 2009 H1N1 gene is unlikely to make the bug cause more severe disease or to make it more easy to catch, he tells WebMD.
Pigs actually got the H3N2 virus from humans. It's the flu bug that caused human disease in the 1990s.
Because the "H" and "N" components of flu bugs stimulate immune responses, many adults may already have at least partial immunity to the new H3N2 swine flu.
Not so for children. Both of the kids who came down with the new bug were under 5 years of age.
Both kids got their flu shots last September -- but it did not protect them against the new swine flu. The CDC confirms that the current flu shot is not expected to protect against the new virus.
While human spread doesn't yet seem to be happening, the CDC is on high alert. It's not yet flu season, but it is state fair season.
Shaw warns that people who come into contact with pigs -- particularly children -- may be susceptible to the new bug. People especially susceptible to flu -- including very young kids, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with suppressed immune systems -- should avoid contact with swine.
Why? If pigs in Pennsylvania and Indiana are infected, it's likely that pigs across North America are carrying the new flu bug.
"It is almost like the entire swine population in North America is one big herd," Shaw says. "That is because of movement the animals at many stages of production from breeding to slaughter."
People cannot get any kind of swine flu bug from eating pork.
Robert Roos News Editor
Sep 2, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – In separate instances, influenza A/H3N2 viruses circulating in swine picked up a gene from the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus and recently infected two young children, one in Indiana and one in Pennsylvania, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.
Both of the children recovered, though one was briefly hospitalized, and there is no sign that the viruses spread from the children to others, but any evidence of ongoing transmission would require a rapid response, the CDC said.
The agency also said one of the children had no direct contact with pigs, which suggests he caught it from another person. Both children are under age 5.
The two viruses are similar to eight other swine-origin H3N2 viruses found in humans in the past 2 years, but they are unique in that they contain the matrix (M) gene from the 2009 H1N1 virus, the CDC reported in an early online posting in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The two viruses are similar but not identical.
"I don't think these [viruses] have pandemic potential; it looks like both of these are sort of dead-end transmissions," Dr. Lyn Finelli, chief of the surveillance and outbreak response team in the CDC's influenza division, told CIDRAP News.
But she also commented, "One of the reasons we publish this data is that reassortment happens in swine viruses and in humans, so we always want to have surveillance in place so we can detect the next emerging reassortant. Viruses like these do have pandemic potential."
Though no further cases have been found, the report says, "If additional chains of transmission are identified rapid intervention is warranted [to] try to prevent further spread of the virus."
Case details
The first case involved an Indiana boy who got sick with a fever, cough, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and..
[continued, click on title]
Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (August 26) announced results of the regular influenza virus surveillance programme on pigs conducted by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for May to July at the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse. Among some 1,300 samples tested, no human swine influenza virus (pandemic H1N1) was detected. However, 16 samples taken in June and July were found to contain a virus that was essentially a swine influenza H3N2 virus but had picked up some genes of human swine influenza virus.Here are 3 more articles on a H3N2 & H1N1 combo:
Robert Roos News Editor
Sep 2, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – In separate instances, influenza A/H3N2 viruses circulating in swine picked up a gene from the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus and recently infected two young children, one in Indiana and one in Pennsylvania, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.
Both of the children recovered, though one was briefly hospitalized, and there is no sign that the viruses spread from the children to others, but any evidence of ongoing transmission would require a rapid response, the CDC said.
The agency also said one of the children had no direct contact with pigs, which suggests he caught it from another person. Both children are under age 5.
Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/sep0211swine.htmlOTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 2, 2011) - As wild birds begin their fall migration, Canada's seventh annual Inter-Agency Wild Bird Influenza Survey is underway. The survey is part of global efforts advocated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to detect highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses that could threaten the agricultural sector and human health.
"The wild bird survey is an important part of Canada's avian influenza prevention and preparedness biosecurity strategy," said Dr. Brian Evans, Canada's Chief Veterinary Officer. "It's an early warning system designed to detect highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses such as the Eurasian strain of H5N1. To date this highly pathogenic H5N1 strain has never been found in Canada."
Earlier this week the OIE and the FAO noted the emergence of a new strain of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus. While the OIE said that the genetic mutation is not an immediate cause for alert, both organizations recommended sustained monitoring of avian influenza viruses.
Canada's wild bird survey is carried out by the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Environment Canada, as well as provincial and territorial government partners and the US government.
If the survey were to detect a highly pathogenic virus in wild birds, the CFIA would alert producers in the area and conduct heightened surveillance in domestic poultry. The CFIA routinely monitors for avian influenza viruses in commercial flocks.
The survey includes testing of wild birds found dead, which is designed to detect highly pathogenic influenza viruses in the wild. The goal for 2011–2012 is to sample at least 3000 dead wild birds across Canada.
Anyone who finds a dead wild bird should contact the Canadian Cooperative Wild Life Health Centre at 1-866-544-4744 or visit the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre website at www.ccwhc.ca.
The survey also includes a live bird component intended to track the viruses circulating in the wild bird population, as well as the genetic changes and exchanges that occur in these viruses over multiple years. This year's survey will sample approximately 600 live ducks in the Prairies, and approximately 2000 in Quebec, Nunavut and the Maritime provinces.
Follow us on Twitter for the latest on animal health: www.twitter.com/CFIA_Animals.
September 1, 2011
Recent media coverage stemming from a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) press release has contained misleading information about highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses (“H5N1”) in Asia. Some of that media coverage has implied that there is a new, mutant variant H5N1 virus that is spreading in Asia, and that the risk to human health posed by this H5N1 virus has somehow been recently and dramatically raised. This is not true.
Highly pathogenic (deadly) avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infections in poultry and wild birds, resulting in high mortality, have been detected in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa since December of 2003. Currently, H5N1 viruses are widespread in poultry and wild birds in many countries in Asia, but rarely infect humans. When humans become ill with H5N1 virus infection, severe illness and death may occur. Sporadic human cases mainly occur after contact with infected poultry that were sick or dead, and have been reported in 15 countries. Like all influenza viruses, H5N1 viruses continue to evolve. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conduct routine surveillance to monitor influenza viruses, including H5N1 viruses, for changes that may have implications for animal and public health. CDC and WHO surveillance efforts are geared toward human health. FAO and OIE are concerned with issues affecting food and agriculture.
Over time, H5N1 viruses have evolved into different groups, called “clades.” Since 2007, 12 different clades of H5N1 viruses have been identified. The FAO report and subsequent media stories focused on an H5N1 virus that has been given a nomenclature (name) of “clade 2.3.2.1”. However, this virus is not new. It was first detected in poultry during 2009 in Vietnam and evolved from viruses that had previously been circulating in Vietnam since 2005.CDC has been watching the evolution of all H5N1 viruses closely. Changes in viruses that WHO and CDC look for specifically are those that could increase the threat to human health. There is nothing to indicate that clade 2.3.2.1 viruses pose any greater threat to human health than any of the other H5N1 viruses. The clade 2.3.2.1 viruses are very active viruses and are spreading more widely in poultry and wild birds. While this increases the possibility of human exposures to infected birds or poultry, it does not increase their ability to infect and transmit between people. However, as part of the U.S. government’s pandemic preparedness activities, a 2.3.2.1 vaccine virus candidate to protect humans against this virus already has been created so that vaccine production could begin rapidly if this virus were to change to infect humans and spread easily from person to person. The vaccine virus candidate is an exact match to currently circulating 2.3.2.1 viruses.
CDC does not believe the risk from H5N1 to humans has increased; however, the evolution of H5N1 viruses has implications for the poultry industry in parts of the world where H5N1 viruses are widespread among poultry. In many of these countries, poultry is routinely vaccinated to protect against infection with H5N1 viruses, which is frequently deadly to them. Vaccination of poultry against avian influenza viruses is a tool used to protect a food asset. The FAO report was drawing attention to the fact that the H5N1 poultry vaccines currently being used in Vietnam do not protect poultry against the new H5N1 clades. This is because the viruses have evolved since the H5N1 poultry vaccine viruses were chosen in 1996. While this development highlights the importance of updating the antigen composition of all influenza vaccines, it does not have any bearing on the issue of protecting humans from this virus.
In summary, H5N1 influenza viruses have been circulating among birds for many years, some are highly pathogenic, and infections in humans are uncommon. There have been no recent changes that pose any additional risk to humans.
More information on avian influenza can be found on the WHO website at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.htmlTACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, September 2 (PIA) -– An alert to all entry ports against the entry of wild birds infected with the deadly avian flu disease was recently issued by Regional Executive Director Rogelio T. Trinidad of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
In his directive, Trinidad instructed his field officers to “closely coordinate with other government agencies and local government units to monitor all entry ports” to make sure that no exotic birds and other wildlife are illegally transported from bird flue infected countries.
The alert issued comes in the heels of a heightened alert issued by the UN Food and
Agricultural Organization against a deadlier strain of avian flu virus, Ms. Purification Daloos, OIC Public Affairs Office said in a report.
On Monday, the UN warned of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, saying that wild bird migration could have brought back the virus (H5N1) to the previously virus free areas and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia.
In order to prevent any breakout of the avian flu disease in the Region, Trinidad has ordered enhanced surveillance of the seaports in Liloan, Southern Leyte for entry from Mindanao and in Allen, Northern Samar to prevent the entry from Luzon of any wilds birds suspected to be infested with the bird flu.
The attention of the Wildlife Enforcement Officers from partner agencies was also called for them to assist the DENR in the monitoring and surveillance of all entry points.
The Regional Executive Director called on the public to be vigilant and to help keep Region 8 bird flu free.
The public is advised not to buy, touch, hunt, kill or eat migratory birds and other wildlife as they may be carriers of bird flu.
More worryingly, the experimental results of the Veterinary Department of the validity of the H5N1 vaccine-Re5 shows the effect of protection against new virus is very low branches, almost no effect. The bird flu vaccine used in our country mainly imports, which, mostly from China. To prevent avian influenza virus clade 2.3.2 This new branch, at present, China is studying the H5N1 vaccine-Re6, but so far no experimental results.
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A nurse takes care of dengue fever patients at Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital No.1. |
The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City is going to test dengue fever vaccines at two Mekong Delta’s towns in September, following safe experiments on humans worldwide, the institute chief has said.
Doctor Tran Ngoc Huu, head of the institute and chairman of the research project, told the Tuoi Tre recently that dengue fever has been causing the most deaths and the third highest number of infections among 28 popular infectious diseases in Vietnam.
Figures from the Ministry of Health showed that Vietnam has reported around 30,000 dengue fever infections in Vietnam during the first eight months this year, mostly in the central and southern regions.
Experiment for the vaccine will be done on 1,402 children in Long Xuyen of An Giang Province and 934 in My Tho of Tien Giang Province.
Huu said the participants range in age between two to 14 years old, are healthy and join in the research voluntarily with their parents' agreement.
After the experiment, which is the last stage of the project, the vaccine will be assessed for its effectiveness and the research will be presented to authorities before wide use of the vaccine, he said.
Huu said that the vaccine, currently named as Dengue-CYD, was produced and has been studied for around 20 years by France-based Sanofi Pasteur, which has provided several vaccines being used in Vietnam.
The vaccine has been studied in 13 countries including the US and Australia, and in both infected and uninfected countries, he said.
After trials on animals, experiments on more than 6,200 people between one and 45 years of age have shown that the vaccine is safe and caused similar side effects like other vaccines in use such as swelling, redness and pain at the injection spot, fever and headache, the doctor said.
He also confirmed that the experiment result from each country is only announced after the result has been looked over by the National Council of Ethics on Human Research.
However, Huu said that the vaccine is not used widely in any country yet.
The doctor said Sanofi Pasteur has promised to sell the vaccine to Vietnam’s Ministry of Health at good price.
He said the vaccine will be widely used no sooner than 2014.
University of Hong Kong's top virologist Peres (Malik Peiris), said: "There are one kind of human H5N1 candidate vaccine, World Health Organization (WHO) recommended, but it can not completely control this mutant, but this situation is not uncommon because the H5 virus constantly changes, and we also need to develop new vaccines to the light. "
FAO said yesterday, H5N1 avian flu new variant is spreading within China and Vietnam, and the current vaccine is clearly unable to control this variation. FAO warned that bird flu may be "massive relapse."
Guangdong Province reported infectious diseases in accordance with health supervision guidelines, the relevant departments of medical institutions should have a "department of infectious diseases register."
Found in Group B infectious diseases and pulmonary anthrax, SARS, polio, highly pathogenic avian influenza cases or suspected cases, or find other infectious diseases and unexplained disease outbreaks should be within 2 hours to report infectious disease report cards through the network; no direct reporting responsibility to implement the network reporting unit should be within 2 hours with the fastest means of communication (telephone, fax) to the local county-level disease prevention and control report and sent out within 2 hours of report cards of infectious diseases.
The other B and C class infectious disease patients, and to report the suspected patients of infectious pathogen carrier in the diagnosis, direct reporting responsibility for the implementation of network reporting unit should be reported within 24 hours of the network; no direct reporting responsibility to implement the network reports units should be sent out within 24 hours of report cards of infectious diseases. Responsibility Report and the report were the fastest means of communication units to escalation. Meet public health emergencies should be reported within 2 hours
Millions of ducks are flying south from Siberia this week, and some are carrying a virus that could lead to a resurgence of H5N1 bird flu in poultry – and people – across Eurasia.
"We're issuing an alert because we expect in the coming weeks to see the virus pop up in unexpected places across a wide area," says Jan Slingenbergh, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's early warning system for animal diseases.
H5N1 has cost poultry farmers an estimated $20 billion so far. It has also infected 565 people, of whom 331 died. Virologists are trying to discover the mutations that could enable H5N1 to spread between people and go pandemic.
The FAO is concerned about a strain of H5N1, called 2.3.2.1, which has been circulating for several years but is now emerging as dominant in birds in Asia.
It is no more virulent than previous strains but it is well adapted to many wild migratory species, so the virus has been carried to countries where H5N1 had been eliminated from poultry, including Bulgaria, Romania and Israel.
H5N1 outbreaks in poultry peaked in 2006, with 4000 across Eurasia and Africa. Extensive culling and vaccination quelled the virus, and by 2008 there were just 302 outbreaks. With the spread of 2.3.2.1, outbreaks are back on the rise. Some samples of the strain in China and Vietnam show its continuing evolution.
"The more cases you get in birds, the more it might spill over into humans," says Slingenbergh.
Robert Roos News Editor
Aug 31, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) took pains today to downplay the significance of a new H5N1 avian influenza variant that another major international organization warned about this week.
In an Aug 29 statement, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said a new H5N1 strain called clade 2.3.2.1 had emerged recently in Vietnam and China and that existing poultry vaccines were ineffective against it. The statement also cited recent increases in H5N1 bird outbreaks and warned about a possible major resurgence of the virus.
The WHO said today that its Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System recognized the H5N1 variant in February. "Based on available information, this evolution of the H5N1 virus poses no increased risk to public health," the WHO statement said. "It is not considered unusual because influenza viruses are constantly evolving, especially in areas where they circulate regularly in poultry."
The agency further said clade 2.3.2.1 does not change the public health implications of H5N1 viruses, given the available information. "Human cases of H5N1 infection remain rare and sporadic events, occurring mostly in areas where H5N1 viruses circulate regularly in poultry," the statement said.
The OIE made similar points in a statement today. It said the emergence of clade 2.3.2.1 is a result of minor genetic changes that typify the natural evolution of the virus.
"This is not immediate cause for alert but, as with the emergence of any new strain, reinforces the need for sustained monitoring of viruses in animal populations so that changes in viruses circulating in the field are detected at an earliest stage and that most appropriate disease control strategies are chosen to best protect animal and public health, the OIE said.
The agency also commented that avian flu vaccines, like human flu vaccines, need to be tested regularly to see if they are effective against the viruses in circulation. The OIE reference laboratory in Harbin, China, has developed a vaccine that, in trials, has protected poultry from clade 2.3.2.1, the statement said. Once available for field use, the vaccine will be employed in countries where the new variant has been identified.
"Registration and manufacturing of a poultry vaccine with the new seed strain is in progress," the OIE said.
Meanwhile, a clade 2.3.2.1 virus caused the illness of a 59-year-old Hong Kong woman who contracted an H5N1 infection last November, probably while traveling in mainland China, according to a report today by The Standard, a Hong Kong newspaper. The story cited Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) as the source of the information.
Hong Kong health officials said at the time that the virus in the woman's case belonged to clade 2.3.2. She recovered from her illness, according to online information from the CHP.
30 August 2011 -- WHO closely monitors the evolution of influenza viruses and is aware of recent reports of an H5N1 virus (described as H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1) circulating in poultry in parts of Asia. Based on available information, this evolution of the H5N1 virus poses no increased risk to public health. It is not considered unusual because influenza viruses are constantly evolving, especially in areas where they circulate regularly in poultry.
The WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, the group of experts that studies animal and human influenza viruses that may impact human health, recognized this new clade in February 2011.
WHO also routinely assesses the public health risk from all animal influenza viruses. Based on available information, the identification of this newly-reported H5N1 virus clade does not change the current public health implications of the H5N1 avian influenza viruses for humans. Human cases of H5N1 infection remain rare and sporadic events, occurring mostly in areas where H5N1 viruses circulate regularly in poultry. Human cases could occur wherever the viruses are present in poultry and when humans might be exposed to infected birds or contaminated environments.
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