Vietnam-The first case of swine influenza A (H3N2) from pigs #h5n1 #birdflu

  - Report to the Government

 Chinhphu.vn) - Today (15/2), Department of Preventive Health (MOH) has officially notified of cases of influenza A (H3N2) derived from pigs in Long An.

  - Viện Pasteur TP. Specifically, as reported by the National Influenza Center - Pasteur Institute of Ho.  Ho Chi Minh, influenza surveillance system key national South 4/2011 has recorded a case of influenza A (H3N2) derived from pigs: two-year-old female patient address Duoc District, Long An, treatment at Children's Hospital 1 and was cured.

  On 1/10/2012, test results have been standardized laboratory at CDC WHO official - the United States confirmed.  Accordingly, the Ministry of Health has instructed the sentinel surveillance system countries strengthen influenza surveillance and early detection of cases of swine flu that originated in the people and coordinate with the Office of WHO held in Vietnam epidemiological investigation of this case.

 This is the first case reported in Vietnam infected with influenza A (H3N2) derived from pigs, mild changes and no evidence of transmission from person to person.. From May 4/2011 so far not found more cases of new flu strains.

 . Department of Preventive Medicine, said the current influenza A (H5N1) in poultry is happening in many places across the country. Therefore, to actively flu transmitted from animals to humans, the Preventive Medicine Department strongly recommends people implement some measures such as not killing, Poultry, pigs sick, died of unknown causes; not eat duck, do not eat poultry, pork is not thoroughly prepared; they have symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath related to exposure to poultry and pigs to the right medical facility closest to the examination and treatment. http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=vi&tl=en&u=http://news.go.vn/tin/470713/Truong-hop-dau-tien-nhiem-cum-A-H3N2-tu-lon.htm&usg=ALkJrhgzwVGqb8Ua_rfgMTQkncTqg3clCw

The first Vietnamese influenza A (H3N2) from pigs

  Updated at 15-02-2012 08:32:20 (GMT +1) This is a two-year-old girl, in Duoc, Long An and is now cured. For years, our country has recorded cases of infection with influenza virus A (H3N2) in humans, also known as regular seasonal flu, while flu patients is derived from pigs.

 Notification by the Department of Preventive Health (MOH), influenza surveillance system key southern countries recorded cases of this flu from 4/2011.  Recently, the test results were standard laboratory form of the World Health Organization confirmed in the U.S..

  This is the first case reported in Vietnam infected with influenza A (H3N2) derived from pigs.  Mild movements and no evidence of transmission from person to person. Từ From May 4/2011 so far not found more cases of new flu strains.

  Ministry of Health system requirements sentinel surveillance to strengthen national influenza surveillance and early detection of human cases of swine flu originated. Also, coordination with the Office of the World Health Organization in Vietnam to conduct epidemiological investigation of this case.

Ảnh: NP Photo: NP

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Actively A/H5N1 flu

Actively A/H5N1 fluWednesday, 02.08.2012, 02:44 (GMT +7)
Afternoon 7-2, at Steering Committee meetings prevention of dangerous diseases and emerging, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said: After 20 months, A/H5N1 flu has returned to our country. So, next time Vietnam has a risk of additional cases of influenza caused by husbandry practices of the people, slaughtering practices, use of poultry, especially duck use. However, people should not be confused, worried by the Ministry of Health has made positive measures and timely prevention in local areas have A/H5N1 flu appear in humans.
In 2012, the health sector focus A/H5N1 flu prevention. It is caused by A/H5N1 flu in poultry and humans in 2011 to now, the world and in Vietnam continues to be recognized so the risk of epidemic spread in poultry and infected people are very high.In particular, the phenomenon of A/H5N1 flu virus circulating in waterfowl flocks in some form of healthy people carry the infection makes it difficult to monitor and treat early influenza outbreak in poultry. In addition, habitual use of poultry products and frequent changes of the influenza A/H5N1 virus strains so the potential risk of transmission from poultry to humans as well as the risk of transmission from person to person very high and the poultry mixed with other animals such as pigs create opportunities for the virus could exchange genes and mutations create new strains.
....On 7-2, Quach Van West, The Director of the Veterinary Department of Soc Trang province, said the time has now discovered thousands of birds die in 4 local series include: communal Join London, Ngoc Dong (Xuyen district) Phu My (My Tu district) and Thanh Tan (Thanh Tri district - Soc Trang). Veterinary Soc Trang province has taken 90 samples of poultry sent to the Regional Animal Health in Can Tho to seven tests. As a result, there were two samples in poultry in Thanh Tan Commune, Thanh Tri district and Ngoc Dong Xuyen positive for H5N1 virus.Veterinary Department of Soc Trang province also directed the veterinary stations in localities associated with the management of the markets, people's committees of communes, wards and townships strengthen monitoring business situation of cattle, poultry, poultry products in the area ... sure have been quarantined. Strictly handle business cases transport of poultry, poultry products not quarantined animal health, determined not to happen the illegal slaughter of poultry in the area ...

Undo editshttp://www.sggp.org.vn/ytesuckhoe/2012/2/280510/

Captain veterinarians reject the decision of "agriculture" to restart the slaughter pigs in Cairo #H5N1 #BIRDFLU

Captain veterinarians reject the decision of "agriculture" to restart the slaughter pigs

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 14:44

Dr. Sami Taha captain veterinarians


Rejection of Dr Sami Taha, Captain veterinarians, decision of the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to open and run the lines of slaughter pigs governorates of Cairo and Alexandria, while not eliminated the government of the hotbeds of avian and swine, and continued: "The decision whether or not is not the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture, but the responsibility of Board of Veterinary Medicine. "
The captain veterinarians, in remarks for the "seventh day", that the body of Veterinary Medicine made ​​the decision after meeting pig farmers close all slaughterhouses to prevent the outbreak of the disease and the high pace to end the epidemic, and continued: "There are no farms pigs in Egypt, but mounds of garbage they live pigs, and thus there is no reason to restart the metaphor again. "
The Minister of Agriculture Mr. Mohammad Reza Ismail took the decision to open and run the lines of slaughter pigs governorates of Cairo and Alexandria, and was to send a picture for each of the two provinces the decision to work during the coming period.

The issue had been decision to close slaughter pigs since 2009 following the outbreak of swine flu.

http://www3.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=585607&SecID=97&IssueID=0

USA- High MRSA Bacteria Levels In Retail Pork Products #H5N1 #BIRDFLU

- 24 January 2012 08:43:42 GMT

Retail pork products in the United States have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. MRSA can occur in the environment and in raw meat products, and is estimated to cause around 185,000 cases of food poisoning each year. The bacteria can also cause serious, life-threatening infections of the bloodstream, skin, lungs, and other organs. MRSA is resistant to a number of antibiotics. The study, published 19 January in the online science journal PLoS ONE, represents the largest sampling of raw meat products for MRSA contamination to date in the US. The researchers collected 395 raw pork samples from 36 stores in Iowa, Minnesota, and New Jersey. Of these samples, 26, or about seven per cent, carried MRSA. "This study shows that the meat we buy in our grocery stores has a higher prevalence of staph than we originally thought," says lead study author Tara Smith, Ph.D., interim director of the UI Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases and assistant professor of epidemiology. "With this knowledge, we can start to recommend safer ways to handle raw meat products to make it safer for the consumer." The study also found no significant difference in MRSA contamination between conventional pork products and those raised without antibiotics or antibiotic growth promotants. "We were surprised to see no significant difference in antibiotic-free and conventionally produced pork," Ms Smith says. "Though it's possible that this finding has more to do with the handling of the raw meat at the plant than the way the animals were raised, it's certainly worth exploring further." http://www.poultex.com/news.asp?pageno=1

Egypt- Pig slaughtering allowed in Cairo #H5N1 #BIRDFLU

Minister of Agriculture issued a decision to restart the slaughter pigs

Sunday, January 22, 2012 - 00:15

 Confirmed Dr. Suad Khouly Director of Veterinary Medicine in Cairo, that the engineer Mohammad Reza Ismail, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation made ​​a decision a few days ago to open and run the lines slaughter pigs governorates of Cairo and Alexandria, and was to send a picture for each of the two provinces to work out the resolution in days.
She explained that they already received the decision to run lines, the slaughter of pigs in Cairo, pointing to the existence of groups of pigs older areas such as Nasr City and 6 October, Giza, including threatening slaughtered him out massacres and the threat to human health.

The Kholi, that this decision came after a hiatus of three years, pointing out that the Directorate was discovered more than one case of pork as the meat of mutton sold in markets not known to the consumer, adding it had been stepped up campaigns to eradicate this phenomenon.
It should be noted that it was a decision to close slaughter pigs since 2009 following the spread of avian Alkhnazi. http://www1.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=583456&SecID=65

New Flu Strain Puts Pork Industry on Alert After 2009 Pandemic #h5n1 #H3N2 #BIRDFLU

[This is also named S-OtrH3N2 and we have information on it located in the right side-bar]

New Flu Strain Puts Pork Industry on Alert After 2009 Pandemic

Wednesday, 04 Jan 2012 10:25 AM

A new flu virus thought to have originated in pigs has agricultural producers on alert two years after a swine flu pandemic caused sales to drop and disrupted U.S. pork exports.
Twelve people in five states have been infected, with three hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. At least six reported no recent exposure to pigs, suggesting “limited human-to-human transmission,” according to the report. Eleven of those stricken were children.

The virus may not become as prevalent as the 2009 variant, known as H1N1, which led to as many as 89 million cases and 18,300 deaths in the U.S. in the first flu pandemic in more than 40 years, according to the CDC. Still, livestock producers are concerned that consumers may fear they can get a potentially lethal disease from eating pork. Flu is transmitted through droplets of infected body fluids when people cough, sneeze or talk.

“It’s always something that we need to keep an eye on, that it doesn’t get more severe or spread more quickly,” Liz Wagstrom, chief veterinarian with the National Pork Producers Council, which has offices in Des Moines, Iowa, and Washington. “It’s very important the public understand you can’t get flu from eating pork.”

Import Ban
During the H1N1 pandemic, China and Russia closed their markets to U.S. pork and industry revenue was estimated to have fallen by nearly $2.2 billion in the last eight months of 2009, according to the council. The H1N1 strain contained genetic material from five different flu viruses, including North American swine and bird flu and two swine flu viruses found in Europe and Asia.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based National Pork Board, which conducts research on pork and promotes the food, has sent out alerts, said Wagstrom. Veterinary labs that test samples from sick pigs are on the lookout for the strain, she said.

U.S. agencies are not referring to the new strain as swine flu, mindful of the popular description of H1N1 that upset markets and producers. Such illnesses contain a genetic mix of viruses seen in pigs, birds and people and get the moniker because the overall structure is the type that affects pigs.

“We are aware of the pork industry’s concerns,” said Jeff Dimond, an agency spokesman, in an interview.
CDC has “gone overboard” not to use the description, he said.

Genetic Similarity
The new virus, called H3N2v, contains a gene from the 2009 variant, according to the CDC. The agency is “taking this situation very seriously” and has increased surveillance in areas where cases occurred, according to a Dec. 9 CDC report. As a precaution, a candidate vaccine has been developed and provided to manufacturers so they can begin production if necessary, according to the report.

The strain has been detected in Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, according to the Atlanta-based health agency.
Despite the added surveillance, government scientists haven’t made conclusions about the durability of the new strain.
All the people sickened have recovered and no continuing transmission has been detected, according to the CDC. Human immunity may be a concern because it’s a new virus.

‘Could Get Legs’
“This particular strain could get legs, so to speak, or just die out,” Dimond said.
The strain isn’t too worrisome because it doesn’t seem to be spreading quickly, said Peter Katona, associate clinical professor of infectious diseases at the University California, Los Angeles, in an interview.
The reported cases have prompted “concern, but I wouldn’t say it’s super high,” John Treanor, chief of the infectious disease division at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, said in an interview.
It’s important to track such viruses so the U.S. can respond if they begin spreading rapidly and become more virulent, he said.
“Will the viruses be able to emerge from pigs into humans and cause another pandemic in humans?” said Treanor. “That’s why we keep track of what kinds of viruses are emerging.”

Animal-Related Diseases Concern Scientists #h5n1 #birdflu

uary 04, 2012

Animal-Related Diseases Concern ScientistsHealth researchers and wildlife biologists say the number of infectious diseases that have jumped the boundary from animals to humans and between animal species is on the rise. Scientists believe the increase may be a result of more frequent contact between humans and wild animals, as well as the growing trade in wild animals, both legal and illegal.


Towards the end of the 1990s, several Asian countries lived one of their worst health nightmares. A new, highly pathogenic, strain of Avian Influenza known as H5N1 killed hundreds of people. Over the next years, more than 9-million chickens were destroyed in an effort to stem the epidemic. Scientists believe the H5N1 virus was transmitted from wild birds to domestic poultry and pigs, which then passed it to humans. H5N1 is just the latest of various influenza strains that have killed up to 100 million people over the last century.

Now scientists are concerned about the appearance of new illnesses. Jonathan Sleeman is the director of the National Wildlife Health Center at the U.S. Geological Survey.

"Human health, wildlife health and domestic animal health are all interconnect within the context of the environment," said Sleeman. "And environmental changes and changes in environmental quality will have negative impacts in all 3 groups."

Experts say there are many causes: the increasingly rapid ..  http://www.voanews.com/english/news/health/Animal-Related-Diseases-Raise-Concern-with-Scientists-136677768.html

India-Alert as pigeons fall prey to flu #h5n1

Alert as pigeons fall prey to flu

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mithilesh Kumar Bokaro civil surgeon Mithilesh Kumar on Thursday called upon the public to be careful and alert the district administration should they come upon any dead birds. Kumar said the avian flu virus H5N1, which was first detected in crows, appeared to have spread among pigeons as well in the last three days, as many as six birds of the latter variety had been found dead in Bokaro and Chas township. He added that it was feared that this disease could be transmitted to cats and pigs, as the stray animals feed from the same place as scavenger birds. In a bid to stop the spread of the virus, Kumar called for careful disposal of carcasses. People were advised to use plastic or rubber gloves while disposing the dead birds, and the carcasses had to be buried at least a metre below the ground after being covered in lime. The civil surgeon also asked people to get in touch with the district animal husbandry officer Dr Krishna Chowdhury at 9431315952 should they find any dead birds. In the event of any human contracting the virus, the symptoms of which include very high temperature, runny nose and severe body ache, Kumar said such patients needed immediate attention. Though the final results were awaited from Bhopal, where crow carcasses found in Bokaro were sent for testing, the civil surgeon said though the flu strain did not appear to be particularly virulent, precautions have to be taken.

http://telegraphindia.com/1111223/jsp/jharkhand/story_14917445.jsp

Pneumonia Causes Slaughter of 1,000 Pigs

Pneumonia Causes Slaughter of 1,000 Pigs

Monday, December 19, 2011

SWITZERLAND - More than 1,000 pigs in the canton of Lucerne will face slaughter after being diagnosed with a respiratory disease that can lead to pneumonia.

Twenty-one farms in the canton of Lucerne have been so far affected, reports World Radio Switzerland.

There is no risk of meat contamination or the disease being transferred to humans.

Nevertheless 200 pigs have already been slaughtered.

In other countries this disease is treated with antibiotics but according to the Pig Rearing Health Authority, this is not the case in Switzerland.   http://www.thepigsite.com/swinenews/28372/pneumonia-causes-slaughter-of-1000-pigs

India-Civic body told to ban rearing pigs in residential areas

Civic body told to ban rearing pigs in residential areas

Saturday, 17 December 2011 00:58

Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi

With fear of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) looming large in the Capital, the Delhi Government has directed the civic body to immediately stop rearing of pigs in residential areas. While there are slaughterhouses for other animals, there are no slaughterhouses for pigs. A proposal has been moved by Directorate of Health Services which suggested that Delhi Government should impose municipal laws banning rearing pigs in residential colonies and areas as it was applied in the case of banning cows and buffalos in the capital.
It has also suggested regulating their stay in Delhi for a minimal period for their slaughtering at designated places. Sources say the Urban Development department will have to direct MCD to immediately stop rearing of the pigs in residential areas or regulate their stay for a minimal period for their slaughtering at designated places.
“The pigs are being reared all over Delhi in slums and resettlement colonies. In addition, pigs are being brought from the other states in the Capital and there is no slaughter house for pigs. These are being slaughtered in various places,” the proposal said. A senior official of health department said on the condition of anonymity that there is a possibility that Japanese Encephalitis may be an endemic by next year if it was not controlled or checked. The note says JE infection has been reported from neighbouring state UP and Haryana though virus infection in pigs could not be established initially.

The proposal further states out of 81 pig samples drawn in November last month 17 tested positive from different areas. The epideminological investigation carried out by the Delhi Government, NCDC and MCD confirms the transmission of infection to be locals. The positive samples are from Civil Lines (8), Shahdara south (6), SP zone (3). It would be pertinent to mention that Delhi Government had earlier decided to segregate pigs in the affected resettlement colonies and keep them in separate enclosures under huge mosquito nets. Due to certain reasons, it has not materialised. It is estimated that there are over 25,000 pigs in Delhi.

According to proposal, seven confirmed JE cases (five children and two adults) has been reported from four different hospitals (MBH, SL Jain hospital, BL Kapoor hospital and RML) for the first time in Delhi in September-October. The cases were found in JJ colony Jehangirpuri, JJ colony Bawana, JJ colony Inderpuri, JJ cluster Gole Market and Sangam Vihar. All cases were showing mild to moderate symptoms and there was no death. “The epideminological investigation by various agencies also confirm local confirm transmission of the infection in all cases. The affected areas have presence of pigs and water bodies in the vicinity,” it said. “Eight samples which were drawn from pigs in September showed no virus”, the proposal said.
The symptoms of JE may be flu-like illness with sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, tiredness, nausea and vomiting occurs in one in 250 infected human. The illness can progress to encephalitis and can be fatal in 30 per cent of the cases if not treated early.  http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/28451-civic-body-told-to-ban-rearing-pigs-in-residential-areas.html