Avian influenza viruses are pandemic mutation probability

2011 -08-31 06:35

Hungary's pharmaceutical laboratories (on) developed and produced to fight avian influenza H5N1 virus vaccine, but the variation of the virus has appeared, the original vaccine is effective remains to be seen. To prevent the spread of bird flu, South Korea, a large number of poultry slaughtered (down).

Headquartered in Rome, FAO issued a statement on August 29 said, any mutation of avian influenza H5N1 virus is being spread in Asia and other places, there may be a serious threat to human health.

Transmission of the virus and the migratory birds

FAO chief veterinary officer rubles Ross pointed out that China and Vietnam the situation deserves attention. Vietnam this spring to stop the vaccination of chickens, has been found in north-central Vietnam, the H5N1 virus variant....

...Ferrari World Health Organization officials in the reporter's telephone interview, said that the current understanding of the situation is that in parts of China and Vietnam has found out that the variation of the virus. As the virus mutate to the original vaccine is still effective, it needs to continue to observe. He believes that China's size and the large number of poultry from bird flu, the Chinese Government attaches great importance. He suggested that the emerging variant virus, should be highly concerned about China..

Prevention and control of the full deployment of China

China's chief veterinarian at the state health shock in the interview with this reporter, said that China has taken note of the Ministry of Agriculture officials on the recent FAO global avian influenza situation and China issued a warning. China has always attached great importance to highly pathogenic avian influenza prevention and control. Through these efforts, the Mainland of China bird flu in poultry epidemic intensity significantly decreased, significantly reduced the frequency of onset, significantly reduced the incidence of the scope of the epidemic is declining.

According to reports from the monitoring results, there are wild birds infected in China phenomenon, in poultry in some areas also detected the virus, the avian flu virus-contaminated surface is still very wide, the phenomenon of virus mutation. However, in autumn and winter, large-scale outbreaks in mainland China are less likely, but the point of the epidemic in some areas like distribution, sustained multiple risk remains significant, regional epidemic prevention task is arduous.

Kang Zhenjiang tune in for the current avian influenza situation, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has made prevention and control work on the autumn and winter full deployment. He said that on the domestic variant strain of bird flu detected the problem, the Ministry of Agriculture has asked the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory and other units continue to follow closely, increased scientific research, strengthen surveillance, prevention and control technologies and reagents to do research work.

(Rome newspaper, Hanoi, Beijing, August 30th)

It's Back: Bird Flu Returns, and This Time It's Mutated

By Alice Park Tuesday, August 30, 2011

..Health authorities aren't sure how the new strain will impact the upcoming flu season, but they aren't taking any chances. When the World Health Organization's influenza experts met in February to decide on the strains to include in the upcoming seasonal flu shot, they also selected virus strains that wouldn't be part of this year's vaccine but should be stockpiled in case of an outbreak. And they selected an H5N1 version of the same clade as the mutant strain now circulating among the birds in China and Viet Nam. That means that the virus is ready to go for testing and development into a vaccine should it suddenly emerge as a problem among people.

There are no vaccines against new variants of H5N1

31/08/2011 2:23


From here last year will not keep up production of vaccines against new variants of the virus causing avian influenza H5N1 (H5N1 - 2.3.2.1) and thus the U.S. needs to focus maximum resources to minimize the risk infection from the movement of poultry, especially in border provinces. It is the opinion of the Office of the UN Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) in Vietnam.
Youth has an interview with Mr. John Weaver, Chief Advisor of the FAO office in Vietnam on the issue.


Advisor of the Office of FAO John Weaver








Biggest concern for the H5N1 virus-2.3.2.1 What, sir?

That means the vaccine is not strong enough to resist the new viruses. The reason is that the antigens of the new virus has changed - literally as antibodies produced by the vaccine is no longer able to recognize the "face" of the new virus.

How long to make a vaccine against the new virus?

Using the methods of modern molecular manipulation will help the rapid development of new vaccines appropriate. However, the production and testing of vaccines need a certain time period. I'm afraid to go to next year we can use this new vaccine.

What are the main sources of infection and need to do to reduce this risk?
The preventive measures should focus on limiting the maximum virus spread to both poultry and humans. The path to the virus can spread from bird to bird. Fertilizer, feathers, the transportation and clothing as well as the way to spread viruses.

"The preventive measures should focus on limiting the maximum virus spread to both poultry and humans"
Ducks, chickens and risk is the main source of infection. It is remarkable when infected, they do not have the clinical manifestations and therefore could not be detected. The key when dealing with bird flu in Vietnam is the lack of hygiene and biosecurity on farms, from the purchase of poultry at markets, as well as the slaughterhouses. Need to promote improved processing and trade of poultry.

He recommends that those people directly involved in the process of breeding, slaughter and movement of poultry?

Absolutely isolated birds are breeding with people living in the same area. Upon entering the poultry sector, needs to be replaced immediately shoes, wear protective clothing and hand washing. Not for the purchase of poultry breeding areas into it. No delivery conducted in animal feed and poultry sector. Buy only the native birds and clear origin and separated them in two weeks to ensure they are completely healthy. Report immediately to authorities when birds died or have signs of abnormal health.

For buyers of poultry at markets and slaughterhouses, always wash your body and spray disinfectant.


Mr. Van Register - Head of Epidemiology (Department of Animal Health, MARD) - 8.30 pm for the flu virus in poultry in northern provinces has variations. Phu Tho has found the H5N1 virus - 2.3.2 branch B (FAO called H5N1 virus - 2.3.2.1), the virus appeared in Vietnam. Previously, scientists had identified the virus in poultry in the north. According to States, the new virus has been identified as highly virulent than the virus before. The Veterinary Department is to test the ability of antibodies of the vaccine produced by the U.S., if the meet will be used for mass vaccination.

Quang Duan




Vietnam has not recorded a variant of the H5N1 influenza virus in humans

Prior information about the bird flu virus H5N1 mutating, Wednesday 30/08, Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan said repeatedly over the years, scientists in the country is the study of the variability of this virus but have not been convincing evidence that the H5N1 virus in humans has been transformed into a new strain.
At this point, the U.S. had not received official information from the World Health Organization confirmed the H5N1 influenza virus in humans in Vietnam has changed.

Bird Flu Warning - WebMD

[This post is by WebMD, and will be helpful to those of you just becoming familiar with Bird Flu H5N1]

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
by Daniel J. DeNoon

Bird flu is on the rise, warns the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“[It] could mean that there will be a flareup of [bird flu] this fall and winter, with people unexpectedly finding the virus in their back yard,” FAO chief veterinary officer Juan Lubroth suggested in a news release.

Bird flu, for those who may have forgotten, is the bug that health authorities have been losing sleep over since it first infected humans in 2003. Officially called avian influenza, it’s caused by a virus known as H5N1. True to its name, bird flu has devastated chicken flocks in the 63 countries to which it spread.

There’s a lot of good news. Bird flu has never yet learned to spread easily from person to person. Nearly all human infections have come from close contact with poultry or consumption of raw (not cooked) chicken products. And thanks to drastic culling of infected chicken flocks, bird flu has been eliminated from most of the countries in which it has appeared.

The bad news is that when humans do get the bug, it causes a deadly illness. Of the 565 people known to have been infected, 331 have died — nearly a 60% mortality rate. And, the FAO says, bird flu “is still firmly entrenched” in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

What worries the FAO is that after winding down over the past five years, the last year has seen a rising number of poultry outbreaks, including outbreaks in countries that previously eliminated the virus or were never before affected.

“There is a legitimate concern we are seeing an upswing in the last year compared to the last five,” Lubroth said today in a telephone interview. “We are warning the world that this fall we may be seeing an increased geographical distribution.”

Lubroth suspects that wild bird migrations are spreading bird flu far and wide. He notes that the virus has recently popped up in faraway places such as Israel, the Palestinian territories, Bulgaria, Romania, Nepal, and Mongolia.

There’s another piece of potentially bad news. A mutant H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading in Vietnam. The mutant, dubbed H5N1 2.3.2.1, has evolved to escape the poultry vaccine currently used in Vietnam and perhaps elsewhere.

But there’s no sign that this mutant is more or less virulent than previous versions of H5N1, and no sign that it’s more easily transmitted from person to person. In fact, Lubroth suspects that humans already have been infected with the mutant strain, although the mutant’s genetic fingerprints have yet to be detected in an infected person.

How big a deal is this mutant? It’s nothing new for flu bugs to mutate, says virologist Ruben Donis, PhD, chief of the molecular virology and vaccines branch in the CDC’s influenza division.

“We are not extremely alarmed by this news,” Donis today told me. “This group of viruses has been circulating wildly in Vietnam, and so far there have been very few human infections. Vietnam had no human infections in 2011 so far.”

Lubroth agrees. “This [mutation] should not be interpreted as making the world a more dangerous place. Not at all,” he said.

New bird flu strain sparks warning for chicken farms

Mary Ann Benitez

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Chicken farms have been urged to repair bird-proof nets and adhere to strict biosecurity measures after the United Nations warned about a new mutant strain of the deadly bird flu virus in the mainland and Vietnam.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned about the appearance of the new mutant strain known as H5N1 - 2.3.2.1 that can "sidestep the defenses" of veterinary vaccines.

The Centre for Health Protection last night revealed that a 59-year-old woman, who returned from the mainland sickened by the H5N1 bird flu, had the mutant virus.

She was seriously ill when admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on November 14 with pneumonia. Her case prompted activation of the serious response level under the government plan to deal with an influenza pandemic.

A center spokeswoman said last night it has not detected any human H5N1 cases originating in the SAR this year.

Despite the warning regarding the vaccine, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will continue to use the Intervet Nobilis H5N2 jab in the mandatory program for chickens at local farms. This procedure has been in place since 2003.

In Vietnam, which suspended its springtime poultry vaccination campaign this year, most of the northern and central parts - where H5N1 is endemic - have been invaded by the new strain.

Eight dead wild birds in Hong Kong have been confirmed with the H5 virus this year. It was most recently detected in a goose in March.

"We will remind poultry farmers to strictly adhere to biosecurity measures such as repair the bird-proof nets in farms," a department spokesman said.

ABC News: Bird flu self-defense: 7 key questions answered

[Click on title for story. Click on the picture and the caption is the information]

No vaccine for the flu mutation H5H1

RFA 08.30.2011
The virologists yesterday warned no vaccine against the mutant strain of H5N1 bird flu virus is widespread in Vietnam and China, and called for strict supervision to prevent epidemic spread to humans.

The call was made after the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) UN warning on Monday about the possibility of avian flu back and the new variant is widespread in Asia and far more.
Currently scientists are not sure whether the new strain H5N1-2.3.2.1 is more dangerous in people or not, but it certainly is different from previous strains of virus to escape vaccine against H5N1 in humans.
It is known that H5N1 began to reemerge in recent months. Most notable is the 8 people in Cambodia died from H5N1 infection this year.
FAO said that Vietnam now has stopped vaccinating poultry for years, and new variants appear mainly in northern and central provinces.

Quang Ngai: confused because there is no influenza A/H5N1 vaccine

Sunday, 28/08/2011, 22:58 (GMT +7)

TTO - Deputy Agriculture and Rural Development Son Tinh district (Quang Ngai), said Dang Thanh Hau influenza A/H5N1 appeared on the household flock Men and Vi Pham Van Ngoc Dung has been destroyed. 28-8 am, however, remain in this community so dead duck district veterinary stations to coordinate the specialized agencies of the provincial samples sent four regional veterinary center for further testing.

The worrying thing is that after the outbreak occurs, the district petitions SDAH Quang Ngai for influenza A/H5N1 vaccine for vaccinating poultry enclosure. But now the source of this vaccine has not been granted the province to the district may only conduct disinfection and hygiene sector outbreak occurs.

The concern now than in summer-autumn rice crop, drop-duck status of the common run, while not A/H5N1 influenza vaccination should be easy to spread widely.

Bird flu may return big time in B'desh: UN

Dhaka/Rome, Aug 29
....
In Bangladesh, bird flu infections were widespread last year, and fresh cases are reported countrywide.
Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Prof Mahmudur Rahman said the UN alarm was justified.

"It's a hotspot for virus mutation as four strains – H5N1, H1N1, H3N2 and H9N2 – are circulating in the air," he said, but nothing can be predicted about virus mutation.

But if it (mutation) does not happen, then its fine, he said.

The H5N1 virus was eliminated from most of the 63 countries infected at its peak in 2006 after mass poultry culling, but since 2008 it has been expanding geographically in both poultry and wild birds, partly due to migration patterns, the FAO said.

"But we could not eliminate due to our poor bio-security measures in poultry farms," Prof Rahman said, adding, the virus is widespread in Bangladesh poultry.

"Even now, we are noticing outbreaks in unusual times," he said, referring to the Aug 27's outbreak in Chuadanga where over 21,000 chickens were culled.

H5N1 (virus) has the potential to cause severe illness in human with a high fatality rate.

"We are lucky as the strain (clade 2.2) of H5N1 which circulates in Bangladesh is less virulent, but can be changed into another class (2.1), which is highly infectious to human," the IEDCR director said.

Since the first outbreak in poultry in March 2007, Bangladesh has recorded three human infections so far...


The IEDCR director said livestock department should be "pro-active" to stave off the virus.

"They (livestock department) should encourage people to maintain bio-security in farms," he said, suggesting only those farms that ensure bio-security but still are affected by bird flu get compensated.

The government now compensates all farms after culling their bird flu-infected chickens.

The IEDCR advised people consume well-cooked poultry products and maintain personal hygiene - cough into the crook of elbow and wash hands with soap often - to keep the infection away.

WHO: Antigenic and genetic characteristics of influenza A(H5N1) and influenza A(H9N2) viruses for the development of candidate vaccine viruses for pan

Excerpts (click on title for full PDF file)

Influenza A(H5N1)
Since 2003, highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses have become enzootic in some countries and continue to cause outbreaks in poultry as well as sporadic human infections. The A(H5N1) viruses have diversified both genetically and antigenically leading to the need for multiple candidate vaccine viruses for pandemic preparedness purposes.

Despite the emergence of the pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) [A(H1N1)pdm09]2 viruses, the zoonotic and pandemic threats posed by A(H5N1) viruses remain. This summary provides an update on the characterization of A(H5N1) viruses isolated from birds and humans, and the current status of the development of candidate A(H5N1) vaccine viruses.
-snip-
Influenza A(H5N1) activity from 27 September 2010 to 15 February 2011
A(H5N1) viruses have been detected in birds in Africa and Asia. Human infections have been reported to WHO from Cambodia, China Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR), Egypt and Indonesia, countries, areas or territories that have also reported infections in birds (Table 1).

Antigenic and genetic characteristics
A nomenclature for phylogenetic relationships among the haemagglutinin (HA) genes of A(H5N1) viruses was devised in consultation with representatives of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and WHO. This nomenclature is updated when new genetic clades emerge and can be found on WHO website3.
Viruses characterized from 27 September 2010 to 15 February 2011 belonged to the
following clades.
-snip-
Clade 2.3.2 viruses were detected in wild birds in Hong Kong SAR, Japan and Republic of Korea, and in poultry in Japan, Nepal, Republic of Korea and Viet Nam. A human case was also detected in Hong Kong SAR. Although the recent viruses are genetically similar to viruses isolated in 2009 and 2010, viruses within clade 2.3.2 form two distinct phylogenetic groups represented by A/Hubei/1/2010 and A/barn swallow/Hong Kong/D10-1161/2010
(Figure 3). The human case from Hong Kong SAR in 2010 belonged to the A/Hubei/1/2010 group. Antigenically, the clade 2.3.2 viruses are heterogeneous and not all viruses react well to postinfection ferret antiserum raised to the candidate vaccine virus A/common
magpie/Hong Kong/5052/2007 (Table 3).
-snip-
Influenza A(H5N1) candidate vaccine viruses
Based on the current antigenic, genetic and epidemiological data, further clade 2.3.2 candidate vaccine viruses are recommended. Candidate vaccine viruses based on an A/Hubei/1/2010-like virus and an A/barn swallow/Hong Kong/D10-1161/2010-like virus are proposed. The available candidate A(H5N1) vaccine viruses are listed in Table 4. On the basis of the geographical spread, epidemiology and antigenic and genetic properties of the A(H5N1) viruses, national authorities may recommend the use of one or more of these candidate vaccine viruses for pilot lot vaccine production, clinical trials and stockpiling of A(H5N1) vaccines.

For pandemic preparedness purposes, new A(H5N1) candidate vaccine viruses will be
developed as the viruses continue to evolve and announced as they become available.
Institutions, companies and others who wish to receive these candidate vaccine viruses
should contact the WHO Global Influenza Programme at GISN@who.int or the institutions
listed in announcements published on the WHO website4.
-snip-
[Click on image to enlarge]

Bird flu deaths in Asia prompt call for scrutiny

Aug 30, 2011 5:24pm IST

(Reuters) - Virologists warned on Tuesday that there was no vaccine against a mutant strain of H5N1 bird flu now spreading in China and Vietnam and called for closer monitoring of the disease in poultry and wild birds to stop it spreading to people....

While scientists are uncertain if this new strain -- called H5N1-2.3.2.1 -- is more virulent in people, they said it was different enough from its predecessor to escape a human H5N1 vaccine that can tackle the parent strain....

"H5N1 cases in Cambodia always have high mortality because they are detected late," Peiris told Reuters in an interview."It doesn't necessarily indicate that this particular virus strain is more virulent to humans. But it is a threat because it has become more widespread globally."

UN issues mutant bird flu warning

August 30, 2011 21:21:04
The United Nations has warned of a possible major resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus and the spread of a mutant strain in Asia and elsewhere. VIDEO AT LINK.

Aussies urged to avoid chickens in Asia

• August 30, 2011 5:48PM

AUSTRALIANS travelling to South-East Asia are advised to avoid contact with live chickens following a UN warning about bird flu.

The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation on Tuesday said there were signs that a mutant strain of H5N1 was spreading in Asia.

One person has died in August in Cambodia, where the infection has killed another seven people this year.

Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos are also susceptible, health experts say.

The World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza has urged Australians travelling to southeast Asia to be careful.

"They should avoid wet markets ... selling poultry or live birds," the centre's Melbourne-based deputy director Ian Barr said.

Dr Barr said the chance of catching bird flu in Asia was low "but not zero".

"I don't think we need to be unnecessarily alarmed by this," he said.

Still, Nobel-prize winner Professor Peter Doherty, from the University of Melbourne's department of microbiology and immunology, said a global bird flu pandemic was possible.

"This is a dangerous situation," the former Australian of the Year said in a statement.

"The continued exposure of humans and pigs could lead to the emergence of a mutant, or a reassorted H5N1 virus, that could spread between people and trigger a global pandemic."

More info on the H5N1 mutation

‘The general departure from the progressive decline in 2004-2008 could mean that there will be a flare-up of H5N1 this fall and winter, with people unexpectedly finding the virus in their backyard,’ Lubroth said in a statement.

But leading microbiologist, Professor Hugh Pennington, says that while there is no evidence that the flu is yet mutating to spread from person to person it is a 'reasonable speculation' that it has become resistant to Tamiflu - the main drug used in the UK to fight the virus.

The British and Scottish Governments spent over £100m on over 50 million doses of Tamiflu - enough for 80 per cent of the population

The emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University had warned last year that deadly flu pandemics with special antiviral drugs could create an even more dangerous, untreatable 'superflu' after the UK expanded anti-viral stocks from 35 million to 50 million.

The Scottish government's effort to combat a possible pandemic is also heavily reliant on Tamiflu, an oral drug produced by the Swiss manufacturer Roche, despite warnings that it may be ineffective.

"Tamiflu should only be given to high risk cases. I think it is a reasonable speculation to make - given the new reports - that Tamiflu has been handed out inappropriately and the virus has developed a resistance to it. If that is the case that would mean that the UK's stocks of the drug would be largely ineffective,' said Professor Pennington.

'The idea that Tamiflu was a cure-all was plainly wrong.

'There is no need to panic yet because there is no evidence that the virus is spreading person to person and there are other anti-virals - such as Relenza - that do have an effect.

'There is also no evidence that the virus is becoming vaccine resistant. A new vaccine will have to be made, but that is to be expected. Flu is always changing and it would be staggering if this flu didn't. Vaccines have to be constantly updated.'

However, the UK Government has stockpiled only about ten million doses of Relenza and it is more difficult to take. While Tamiflu can be swallowed as a pill at home, Relenza is a powder that must be administered with an inhaler, normally under medical supervision.

But Professor Pennington warned that stocks of Relenza had to be increased. 'We have to get as much Relenza as possible because we don't know how effective Tamiflu will be,' he said.

'With flu the best advice is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.'

Prof. Pennington, a past president of the General Society for Microbiology, said it was also 'impossible' to predict when this year's flu would strike.

Dr Steve Gamblin, the joint head of molecular structure at the National Institute for Medical Research, has also previously warned that the mutation renders Tamiflu about 250 times less effective than it should be.

Sir William Stewart, the chairman of the Health Protection Agency, has also said that the widespread use of antiviral drugs to treat illnesses, including bird flu and seasonal influenza, is causing- viruses to mutate into drug-resistant-forms.

He has claimed that drug-resistant viruses now represented as big a threat to public health as antibiotic-resistant superbug bacteria, such as MRSA.

Concerns that a pandemic flu virus might develop resistance to Tamiflu first emerged in 2005, after reports from Vietnam that H5N1 virus was showing signs of decreased sensitivity to the drug.

Vietnam: H5N1 Clade 2.3.2 Article from July (translation)

Previous post:

[On July 18, we posted to this blog, an article on this subject:
Vietnam: H5N1 Virus Clade 2.3.2 Appears, Vaccine Almost No Effect
http://pandemicinformationnews.blogspot.com/2011/07/vietnam-h5n1-virus-clade-232-appears.html]

Here is an article from July 21, 2011:

H5N1 flu recurrence in the North
RFA 21.07.2011

The recurrence of bird flu across the two northern provinces - Phu Tho and Quang Tri.

At the Public commune, Ha Hoa district, Phu Tho, flu re-emerged again from July 10. Within 11 days, there were 2 thousand 300 birds infected with H5N1 influenza and died.

In Quang Tri, the virus appeared on July 6. Until now, local destruction of two thousand two hundred chickens, ducks infected.

Especially as the test bird flu samples in the two places are for a positive result with the new clade 2.3.2 viruses (called branch 2). The virus appeared last year and there is no preventive vaccine. According to experts, this new type of virus usually occurs in the northern provinces, while the virus clade 1 (old branch) still appear in the South.

Vietnam monitored the H5N1 virus changes

[Translated out of Vietnam]
Nam Nguyen, RFA reporter

2011-08-29

Veterinary Industry of Vietnam react to warnings of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization of the avian influenza virus can transform serious outbreak.

Nam Nguyen exchange rapidly with Dr. Van register, Head of Epidemiology Department of Animal Health of Vietnam, from Hanoi, said Dr. Van Sign:

TS Application for registration: bird flu vaccine now has problems of epidemiological characteristics, the virus has changed is the H5N1 clade (branch) 2.3.2 China has done the vaccine. This problem is very high risk, if you are not monitoring for early detection processing time, it will be spread without the vaccine will be very dangerous.

From May 9 / 2010 H5N1 virus had changed, before bird flu virus circulating in Vietnam and China are clade clade 2.3.4 is now 2.3.2. This is a very important issue, said a pandemic would spread to the extent it is not so, but still alert.

Nam Nguyen said Vietnam Information has stopped vaccinating poultry in northern and central ... what about in the South actually like?

TS Application for registration: The problem is that scientists find anti-viral vaccine for this new clade. We are interested in whether a vaccine to be prepared for vaccination because of round 1 round 2 were not vaccinated then. Now bird flu vaccines primarily given to the southern provinces, because this area is the virus H5N1 clade 1 vaccine-RE5 is effective vaccination. We have vaccinated 50 million doses and prepare 60 million doses needed for phase 2.

Wait for new vaccines

Nam Nguyen: The spread between regions in Vietnam are unavoidable as happened in the past, vaccinating older types can be wasteful and inefficient?

TS Application for registration: This is for the North instead! South vaccine still works normally be vaccinated against epidemic and in the South is the next vaccination and sampling to check the virus in the South is changing or not. We reported the minister (MARD) Epidemiological features of virus circulation in the South is still the clade 1 has been vaccinated. Particularly clade 2.3.2 does not work, we stop injecting, we're waiting to see China has devised the new vaccine or not either Mexico or another country are more domestic vaccine research. This is a problem we are interested in leading.

Nam Nguyen: Dear Dr., in the context of the current avian influenza was detected changes in the North is no longer vaccinated, while in the South is still vaccination. So the fact Vietnam is dealing with the risk of bird flu outbreaks like?

TS Application for registration: Of course now no longer a vaccine is to monitor their time ... occur in small outbreaks, but their findings will collapse sooner or recompiled. We have reported outbreaks in Phu Tho, we found early and treated immediately, it does not spread further to other places. There is no prophylactic vaccine, the problem is that we must strengthen surveillance systems, early detection, treatment destroyed immediately, but if we neglect to spread to other places where it will spread into higher great service. More than a year we do not have any outbreak of bird flu spreading to humans, so I think virulent virus to infect people was not high, so the past may no patients infected with H5N1.

Nam Nguyen: Thank you, Dr. Van registration interview.

Recombinomics: FAO Warns of Fujian H5N1 Spread In China and Vietnam

Recombinomics Commentary 14:20
August 29, 2011

At the same time, 2008 marked the beginning of renewed geographic expansion of the H5N1 virus both in poultry and wild birds.

The advance appears to be associated with migratory bird movements, according to FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth. He said migrations help the virus travel over long distances, so that H5N1 has in the past 24 months shown up in poultry or wild birds in countries that had been virus-free for several years.

"Wild birds may introduce the virus, but peoples' actions in poultry production and marketing spread it," Lubroth noted.

Recently affected areas are to be found in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Bulgaria, Romania, Nepal and Mongolia.

A further cause for concern, Lubroth said, is the appearance in China and Viet Nam of a variant virus apparently able to sidestep the defences provided by existing vaccines.

In Viet Nam, which suspended its springtime poultry vaccination campaign this year, most of the northern and central parts of the country -- where H5N1 is endemic -- have been invaded by the new virus strain, known as H5N1 - 2.3.2.1.

The above comments are in an FAO announcement warning of the spread of Fujian clade 2.3 (sub-clade 2.3.2.1), which was reported in the spring of 2008 in outbreaks in poultry in South Korea and Russia, as well as whooper swans in northern Japan. The sub-clade has a clade 2.3.2 HA reassorted with other genes from clade 2.3.4. This sub-clade was reported earlier in Hong Kong, and the spread to northern Japan, Korea and Russia raised concerns that it would migrate to Mongolia in the summer of 2008.

Sequences analysis confirmed this migration, and identified recombinants between clade 2.2.1 in Egypt and clade 2.3.2 in wild birds. Clade 2.3.2 was subsequently confirmed in poultry in Romania and a wild bird in Bulgaria.

The most recent public sequences are from a Feb 2011 isolate from a chicken in Vietnam, but this HA sequence is related to a 2010 human case in China (A/Hubei/01/2010). WHO has published an HA phylogenetic analysis, which includes the Hubei sequence, as well as poultry sequences from Vietnam. The is no current H5N1 vaccine against human clade 2.3.2 sequences, although the Hubei sequence has been selected as a candidate.

Full sequences for all 8 gene segments of the Hubei isolate are available at GISAID, and these sequences confirm matches with wild bird sequences from 2008.

Release of 2011 human sequences from China and southeast Asia would be useful.

S. Korea: H5N1 Found in Migratory Birds in 2011

It appears that the H5N1 2.3.2 clade has already entered S. Korea.
Excerpt from previous FAO article:

Viet Nam's veterinary services are on high alert and reportedly considering a novel, targeted vaccination campaign this fall. Virus circulation in Viet Nam poses a direct threat to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as endangering the Korean peninsula and Japan further afield. Wild bird migration can also spread the virus to other continents.
http://pandemicinformationnews.blogspot.com/2011/08/fao-bird-flu-rears-its-head-again.html#links

Virus Res. 2011 Jul 12. [Epub ahead of print]
Genetic characterization and pathogenicity assessment of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses isolated from migratory wild birds in 2011, South Korea.

Kwon HI, Song MS, Pascua PN, Baek YH, Lee JH, Hong SP, Rho JB, Kim JK, Poo H, Kim CJ, Choi YK.
Source

College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Chungbuk National University, 12 Gaeshin-Dong Heungduk-Ku, Cheongju 361-763, Republic of Korea.
Abstract

The continued spread of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus among wild birds and poultry has posed a potential threat to human public health. In the present study, we report the isolation of HPAI H5N1 viruses (A/Md/Korea/W401/11 and A/Md/Korea/W404/11) from fecal samples of migratory birds. Genetic and phlyogenetic analyses demonstrated that these viruses are genetically identical possessing gene segments from avian virus origin and showing highest sequence similarities (as high as 99.8%) to A/Ws/Hokkaido/4/11 and 2009-2010 Mongolian-like clade 2.3.2 isolates rather than previous Korean H5N1 viruses. Both viruses possess the polybasic motif (QRERRRK/R) in HA but other genes did not bear additional virulence markers. Pathogenicity of A/Md/Korea/W401/11 was assessed and compared with a 2006 clade 2.2 HPAI H5N1 migratory bird isolate (A/EM/Korea/W149/06) in chickens, ducks, mice and ferrets. Experimental infection in these hosts showed that both viruses have high pathogenic potential in chickens (2.3-3.0LD(50)s) and mice (3.3-3.9LD(50)s), but A/Md/Korea/W401/11 was less pathogenic in duck and ferret models. Despite recovery of both infection viruses in the upper respiratory tract, efficient ferret-to-ferret transmission was not observed. These data suggest that the 2011 Korean HPAI wild bird H5N1 virus could replicate in mammalian hosts without pre-adaptation but could not sustain subsequent infection. This study highlights the role of migratory birds in the perpetuation and spread of HPAI H5N1 viruses in Far-East Asia. With the changing pathobiology caused by H5N1 viruses among wild and poultry birds, continued surveillance of influenza viruses among migratory bird species remains crucial for effective monitoring of high-pathogenicity or pandemic influenza viruses.

Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

PMID:

21782862

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

hat-tip Giuseppi Michieli

FAO Warns of Spread of Fujian H5N1 Mutation

Another post on the FAO Alert, from Scott McPherson's Web Presence. One of my favorite sites. Thanks Scott! It's good to see you posting on H5N1 again.

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Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011
Back in 2008, flublogia announced the origins of a new clade, or substrain, of bird flu. And I joined right in, proclaiming that the new clade -- nicknamed "Fujian," after the province where it was subtyped -- would eventually cause major problems. The best blog of mine that I could remember on the topic, from 2008, can be read here. You might also be entertained by my original blog on the Chinese H2H case involving Fujian H5N1, here. I know I was; I have forgotten half of this stuff!

Fujian H5N1 was the cause of the father-to-son (or was it son-to-father) Chinese H2H infection back in 2008. The arrival of simultaneous Fujian B2B and H2H bird flu was extremely troubling to all of us.

[continued]

Additional Article regarding Bird Flu Virus Signs of Mutant Strain

From the Washington Post:

UN warns of possible resurgence of bird flu virus, signs a mutant strain spreading in Asia
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