Bird-Flu-Blog

Bird flu patient in critical condition in Indonesia

2006-11-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

'A 35-year old woman, who has been treated in hospital since Nov. 8, is in a critical condition in Indonesia, a director at the Indonesian Health Ministry said in Jakarta Tuesday....

She is among the 74 people having contracted avian influenza in the country, 56 of which have died.

Indonesia, which has been affected the hardest in this regard, has become one of the front lines in the fight against the H5N1 virus.

The fact the country ranks first in terms of the number of victims of the virus has made bird flu top on the agenda of the forthcoming meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bogor, a town near Jakarta, on Nov. 20, Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal has said.'...more

Bird Flu Kills Third Indonesian in a Week, WHO Says (Update1)

2006-10-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu killed a 27-year-old woman on Indonesia's Java island, the third person to die of the virus there in less than a week, the World Health Organization said.

Tests on the woman from Central Java province showed she had the H5N1 strain of avian influenza when she died last week, the WHO said in a statement yesterday. A 67-year-old woman from West Java province and an 11-year-old boy from a southern suburb of the capital, Jakarta, also died from the disease. ...

The virus is reported to have killed a person every four days this year, more than double the 2005 rate, creating chances for it to mutate and spread easily among people. '...more

Clearly we are starting to see the beginning of the 2006 "flu season" with these three bird flu deaths in Indonesia. For an excellent commentary on where we are currently, please see "H5N1 and encephalitis in Indonesia" posted on October 17th by "Revere" on Effect Measure.

Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for continuing coverage on bird flu in 2006.

Study: Bird flu shot could get booster

2006-10-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
WASHINGTON — 'A unique study suggests there may be a way to kick-start people's protection against bird flu just in case it triggers a worldwide outbreak years from now.

If a flu pandemic began, it would take several months to tailor a vaccine to the precise strain causing illness and then to make enough vaccine for every American....

Scientists have long wondered if giving shots in advance might help - a vaccine that wouldn't fully protect but would introduce people's immune systems to a brand-new type of flu.

On Friday, University of Rochester scientists reported the first evidence that this "prime-and-boost" method could work.'...more

This is an important study that could provide critical protection for medical personnel on the front lines dealing with thousands of very sick people overnight if H5N1 becomes the next pandemic. We will continue to follow it at birdflubeacon.com.

Bird flu case in Thai dog raises questions about infection

2006-10-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

'Thai scientists have reported a case of H5N1 influenza infection in a dog, a finding that lengthens the unusually long list of mammals this avian flu virus can infect....

Since H5N1 flared up in Asia in late 2003, tigers, leopards, domestic cats and now dogs have become infected with the virus by eating infected chicken or duck carcasses. Other mammals — a stone marten, and a small number of pigs — have also been shown to be susceptible to infection, though in those cases the mode of transmission isn't yet documented...

The authors say the proof that dogs too can be infected with this virus “warrants concern and highlights the need for monitoring domestic animals during outbreaks in the future.”'...more

Those of us who have been following bird flu have known for a couple of years that dogs have died from the H5N1 virus. We are glad to see it is now being reported in the medical journals. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for continuing coverage.

Egypt detects new human H5N1 bird flu case

2006-10-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tue 10 Oct 2006 6:29 PM ET
CAIRO, Oct 10 (Reuters) - 'Authorities have detected Egypt's first human case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus since May, a World Health Organisation official said on Tuesday....

Hanan Aboul Magd, 39, has been in hospital since Oct. 4 and has been treated with the drug Tamiflu. Her condition was stable, state news agency MENA reported.'...more

Bird flu found in pigs in Indonesia's Bali

2006-10-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

Mon Oct 9, 2006 5:26 PM IST162
JAKARTA (Reuters) - 'The H5N1 bird flu virus has infected pigs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Monday.

"There were two pigs that were infected by bird flu in Bali. These were old cases that happened last July," Musni Suatmodjo, agriculture ministry director of animal health, told Reuters....

Pigs are a concern because they are susceptible to many of the viruses that infect humans. Swines can act as mixing vessels in which genetic material from avian flu viruses can mix with human influenza viruses, potentially producing new and deadly strains for which humans have no immunity.'...more

This is not good news. Scientists have long speculated that the H5N1 would mutate into a human to human form using pigs as a mixing vessel. This development should be watched closely. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com.

Cats can carry bird flu, study says

2006-10-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

'Recent studies have revealed that cats can contract the avian influenza virus and that there is no evidence that migratory birds are responsible for the spread of the disease.

A study conducted by the Indonesian Environment Information Center (PILI) in Yogyakarta found that stray cats had caught the H5N1 virus through contact with infected poultry at traditional markets. ...

A vet from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, I Wayan Teguh Wibawa, said separate studies had shown there was no proof anywhere in the world that migratory birds carried the virus.

Studies of migratory birds in Malaysia, China and Australia that have been carried out over the past six years have shown no migrant birds in the three regions had the H5N1 virus, he said. ...

"It is very important to vaccinate poultry and keep home environments free of poultry feces," he said.

A recent serology test conducted on 20 chickens around the houses of victims in Bandung showed that the virus could also be transmitted by healthy chickens.
'...more

The results of these studies are interesting for these countries, but at birdflubeacon.com, we seriously doubt that migratory birds are not responsible for some of the transmission of bird flu around the globe. Stay tuned for further coverage on this issue and other bird flu issues around the world.

Bird-Flu Festers in Indonesia as Deficit Hinders Disease Fight

2006-10-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

'...Fatalism, geography and a lack of money are hindering Indonesia's battle against bird flu, as public health officials say the struggle to avert a global pandemic may hinge on the Southeast Asian nation. ...

``It's the No. 1 place that we should be concentrating our efforts on identifying outbreaks and containing them,'' says Ira Longini, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and an adviser to the U.S. on influenza issues.

While Indonesia -- like China, Vietnam and Thailand -- has traced clusters of disease, vaccinated poultry, disinfected coops and culled infected birds, a widening budget deficit has limited spending on the bird flu fight. Corruption concerns have slowed international donations, says Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, vice chairwoman of the government committee on the disease.

Indonesia's sprawl also makes it difficult to combat the disease, says Burkhard Rieke, a doctor at the Center for Travel Medicine in Dusseldorf, Germany. ...'more

This is a very good article that explains why we should all be worried about bird flu becoming a pandemic out of Indonesia. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for continuing voerage of the global spread of bird flu.

New drug boosts bird flu survival in animals

2006-10-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - 'A drug being developed to fight bird flu and seasonal flu helps animals to survive H5N1 avian flu infection, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Saturday.

The drug, called peramivir, protected mice and ferrets, which are considered the species closest to humans in terms of susceptibility to influenza....

A single injection allowed 70 percent of the mice to survive, and five days of injections boosted survival to 80 percent. Only 36 percent of untreated mice survived, the researchers told the meeting.

Among the ferrets, 86 percent survived when injected for five days, versus 43 percent of untreated animals.'...more

We have been following this drug for over a year at birdflubeacon.com. These clinical trials are very promising. Stay tuned for further updates.

Indonesian flu victim’s sister also has virus

2006-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

jakarta • 'A 21-year-old Indonesian woman, the sister of a boy who died of bird flu earlier this month, is suffering from the same disease, the health ministry said yesterday.

The patient, currently being treated at a hospital in East Java province, had contact with sick and dead fowl, as had her brother, said Runizar Ruesin, the head of the ministry’s bird flu information centre.'...more

This is the third confirmed case in a week in this area (the other two died). A fourth victim was said to have tested negative initially for H5N1. This area should be watched closely for the possiblity of human to human transmission. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com.

Bird flu deaths hit 52 after man dies in Bandung

2006-09-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

'A 20-year-old man hospitalized here over the past week for infection with the deadly bird flu virus died Thursday, raising the nationwide death toll to 52, or roughly a third of the total deaths worldwide.

"The virus crushed his lungs and caused the creation of progressive pneumonia which led to breathing problems," Cissy Rachiana Prawira, director of Hasan Sadikin Hospital, said.

The government confirmed the 20-year-old was positive for H5N1 earlier this week. The man's 23-year-old brother died with bird flu symptoms on Sunday just before being admitted to the hospital. A third sibling, a 15-year-old female, is currently being treated at the same hospital even though she has been declared negative for the virus....

The Hasan Sadikin hospital has admitted another relative of the family showing bird flu infection symptoms. The 18-year-old is a niece of the brothers who lived with them at Kebonwaru, Batununggal district, Bandung.'...more

There has been no official report of this series of infections/deaths being a "cluster" with possible human to human transmission, but to those of us at birdflubeacon.com who have been following this for the last year, it sure LOOKS like a possible cluster. Stay tuned.

China shares bird flu samples in "breakthrough"-WHO

2006-09-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

GENEVA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - 'China has shared long-sought samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus, in what many scientists view as a breakthrough in cooperation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.

The samples, taken from some of the thousands of wild birds which died in Qinghai Lake in April 2005, have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a WHO collaborating centre in Atlanta, for further analysis, WHO officials said. ...

He said the animal samples, the first from China in 2-1/2 years, should help scientists understand the origin of a sub-type of the deadly H5N1 virus which later circulated in Turkey and Africa but is genetically different from the one hitting other parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.'...more

Indonesian patient with bird flu dies, raising country's toll to 52

2006-09-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, 'Indonesia A 20-year-old Indonesian man died of bird flu Thursday, medical authorities said, raising the death toll in the nation hardest hit by the disease to 52.

The man died in Bandung city in West Java, a densely populated province where many of the country's cases have occurred, said Dr. Hadi Jusuf.

His brother died Sunday with symptoms of bird flu before samples could be taken and is listed as a suspect case.

The man's sister, who has also been hospitalized with high fever and respiratory problems, tested negative for the H5N1 strain of the virus, said senior Health Ministry official Nyoman Kandun.'...more

Indonesia probes possible bird flu cluster in family

2006-09-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - 'Indonesia is investigating a possible cluster of bird flu cases after a man died and his brother and sister were hospitalised, one of them testing positive for bird flu, a doctor said on Tuesday.'...more

Bird flu 'may strike' in winter

2006-09-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

'Top influenza scientists warned on Friday of the big possibility of a major bird flu outbreak in China this winter or next spring....

Zeng said that the three major bird flu outbreaks over the past three years had all taken place during the winter or spring.

Great attention must be paid to the possible occurrence of common flu and bird flu peaks at the same time, Zeng told a forum jointly held by Sanofi Pasteur and the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association in Beijing. ...

Flu pandemics generally take place three or four times per century.

The last major pandemic took place in 1918-1919 and killed an estimated 40-50 million people across the globe.'...more

Indonesian boy dies of bird flu, official says

2006-09-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA (Reuters) - 'A nine-year-old Indonesian boy has died of bird flu, an official of the health ministry's bird flu information centre said on Sunday, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 51. ...

His death comes after the health ministry said on Friday that bird flu killed an 11-year-old boy from East Java province. The boy died last week after chickens died around his house. The ministry said it was sending a team to investigate the case.'...more

The death of two boys so young within a couple of days seems particularly worrisome. Infectious disease experts have long said that Indonesia is the most likely place for the bird flu virus to mutate into a pandemic global strain that is spread easily from human to human. We will watch Indonesia particularly carefully as we enter the traditional "flu season" of fall and winter.

Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for continuing coverage around the world as we monitor the spread of the H5N1 virus.

Official: Kids most at risk for bird flu in Indiana

2006-09-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

...'Dr. Virginia Caine said statistics suggest an infection rate as high as 40 percent for youngsters exposed to the virus -- far higher than the rate for adults.
Immature immune systems and poor hygiene habits account for the increased vulnerability of children, she said. While there have been no confirmed cases of avian flu in the U.S., Caine said an outbreak among children "could very well be the first sign that something is going on in a community."...more

WHO takes bird flu as top health danger

2006-09-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

WELLINGTON, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- 'Avian influenza remains the No.1 danger for global public health, said Richard Nesbit, World Health Organization's Acting Regional Director for the Western Pacific, on Friday.'...more

Indonesian boy dies of bird flu, tests show

2006-09-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 22, 2006
JAKARTA (Reuters) - 'An 11-year-old Indonesian boy has died of bird flu, the health ministry said Friday, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 50.'...more

Uganda: Bird Flu Threat Nearer Home

2006-09-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

September 19, 2006
Fred Ouma
Kampala

'A POSSIBLE outbreak of the H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza (bird flu) in Uganda is now real, public health experts have warned. On September 5, authorities in southern Sudan confirmed the presence of the deadly virus in poultry in the capital city, Khartoum as well as Juba, 180km from the Uganda boarder....

The warning comes at a time when many Ugandans are rushing to Southern Sudan, especially Juba, for business opportunities.

Although Uganda has not reported a single incidence, health experts believe the increased traffic flow to and from the Southern Sudan elevates the country's chance of being slapped by the highly infectious virus....

Uganda is particularly considered at risk due to the close proximity between poultry and human beings on small farms such as the affected homesteads in Juba.'...more

The global struggle for public health and bird flu

2006-09-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

'Nick Zamiska had an interesting piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the difficulty WHO is having encouraging a sense of urgency about a possible pandemic of avian influenza and the many other programs and problems with which they are daily engaged in a (literally) life and death struggle in many places in the world most of us have never heard of. The problem is made more difficult because of the roulette-wheel like nature of an emerging pandemic. We don't know when or if our number will come up or how much we should invest in the event it does. So far it hasn't happened, which is a far cry from saying it won't happen. It could be the next spin of the wheel, the hundredth spin, or the wheel could break before it comes up, ever. Meanwhile, TB, malaria, HIV/AIDS, schistosomiasis and many others exact a frightful toll around the world.'...more

This is a very interesting commentary on the current state of pandemic preparedness in the world, posted on the premier blog on this issue (Effect Measure, written and maintained by public health officials and infectious disease specialists). This particular post also has a fabulous colored graph that shows the explosion of bird flu by country in the last three years. We recommend you check it out.

Sanofi tests H7N1 flu vaccine for pandemic readiness

2006-09-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Sep 19, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Sanofi Pasteur today announced the start of the first clinical trial of an H7N1 influenza vaccine, intended to guard against the threat of a pandemic caused by H7 strains of avian influenza....

The vaccine is a split-virus product grown in cell culture rather than in eggs, the method usually used to produce flu vaccines.

Development of the H7N1 vaccine is part of a European Union (EU) collaborative effort, called FLUPAN, to boost pandemic preparedness in the EU. ...

H7 avian flu viruses that have infected humans include the H7N7 strain that swept through Dutch poultry farms in 2003, forcing the destruction of about 30 million birds. The virus infected 89 people and caused generally mild symptoms, but one veterinarian died. In addition, two people were infected and suffered mild flu-like illnesses during a poultry outbreak of highly pathogenic H7N3 virus in British Columbia, Canada, in early 2004....

H5N1 and H7N1 are not the only avian flu strains considered to have current pandemic potential. Chiron Corp., now part of Novartis, is developing an experimental H9N2 vaccine under a contract with the US government. That strain caused serious illness in three people in Hong Kong in 1999 and 2003.

Sanofi Pasteur is producing an experimental H5N1 vaccine for the US government under a $150 million contract awarded in September 2005. '...more

H5N1 replicates more strongly than common flu-study

2006-09-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - 'The H5N1 bird flu virus replicates far more aggressively in people than common human flu viruses, a study of patients in Vietnam has found, offering further insight as to why the virus is so deadly....

"During H5N1 infection, the (cytokine) response seems to be very, very intense. Cytokines want to get rid of this intruder but if you have very high levels of cytokines, it can also damage the body ... it can be directed against your own cells and organs," de Jong told Reuters in an interview.

The study involved 18 people infected with H5N1 and 8 with human flu in 2004 and 2005 in Vietnam....

Scientists found far higher viral loads in the nose and throats of those infected with bird flu than human flu.

Thirteen of those infected with H5N1 died and the virus was found in the blood of at least 9 of them, implying it could have been transported out of the respiratory tract.

The virus was also found in the rectums of most of those with H5N1, suggesting it could have spread through the blood stream into the gastrointestinal tract.

Those with common flu had no virus in their blood or rectum. No one died in that group.'...more

State formula determines who gets shots during bird flu pandemic

2006-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

By Scott Lindlaw
ASSOCIATED PRESS

11:44 a.m. September 9, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO – 'California health officials have settled on a formula for resolving a wrenching question that would arise if a bird flu pandemic strikes the state: who gets doses of scarce vaccine? ...

Vaccine factory employees and front-line health workers head the Bush administration's own list, but there is no consensus on who would get vaccinated next.'...more

Study adds new details on bird flu in humans

2006-09-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday September, 10, 2006 "When bird flu infects people, the virus is more concentrated in the throat than the nose, the opposite of human flu, according to a new study. This finding may help doctors more quickly diagnose the bird flu in people."...more

HO recognises three bird flu cases in Indonesia

2006-09-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

GENEVA, Sept 8 (Reuters) - 'The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that it had recognised three more cases of bird flu in Indonesia, one from June and two dating to 2005.

"The retrospectively confirmed cases bring the total in Indonesia to 63. Of these cases, 48 have been fatal," the WHO said in a statement. The national toll is the highest worldwide.'...more

New bird flu outbreak hits Cambodian ducks

2006-09-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Sep 5, 2006 — PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A new bird flu outbreak has been found in ducks in eastern Cambodia where the virus re-emerged last month, officials said on Tuesday....

"We are worried that more bird flu will be found in ducks because our survey experience showed that up to 15 percent of live ducks carried the virus," Yim Voeunthan said.'...more

Blood Plasma From Bird Flu Survivors May Fight Virus (Update2)

2006-09-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

By Jason Gale and Vesna Poljak

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- An infusion of blood products from bird flu survivors may help fight the virus, according to doctors who studied such treatments used during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic that killed 50 million people.

Treating patients in 1918 with blood, plasma or serum obtained from people who recovered from Spanish flu cut mortality of seriously ill patients by 50 percent, the doctors said a report in the online edition of next month's Annals of Internal Medicine. The finding is based on an analysis of studies conducted more than 86 years ago....

``While these may be interesting ideas, and they may have biologic plausibility, they have very little supply chain and logistic possibility,'' said Michael Osterholm, head of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in Minneapolis....

``Formidable logistical hurdles would complicate the ability to obtain, characterize, and prepare these materials for use in the midst of an outbreak,'' John Treanor, professor of medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, wrote in a review of the study, also appearing in October's Annals of Internal Medicine.'...more

The part that strikes us as partucularly interesting in this article is that so many creative ideas are being explored to help prepare for a pandemic bird flu. This one seems worth considering despite the extremely difficult logistics.

Five in Indonesia's Sulawesi tested for bird flu

2006-08-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - 'Five people have been admitted to hospital on Indonesia's Sulawesi island with bird flu-like symptoms and local authorities have sought funds from the government to help cull poultry, officials said on Wednesday....

Indonesia has so far recorded 60 bird flu cases, 46 of them fatal. The country's death toll is the highest in the world.'...more

CDC announces test distinguishing bird flu

2006-08-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

ATLANTA (AP) — 'Scientists have developed a biological microchip test designed to help laboratories better identify if a person has bird flu....

The new test, which takes about 12 hours, can identify the specific subtype of the disease and name the virus's geographic origin....

The test can help identify emerging viruses, and can be designed to distinguish between the genetic groups — or "clades" — of bird flu, said Dr. Nancy Cox, director of the CDC's Influenza Division.'...more

Gene Database Gives Researchers Access To Bird Flu, Other Virus Info

2006-08-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Aug 25, 2006 09:25 AM

'Fortunately, flu season is still a few months away. However, researchers and scientists who study flu viruses--including those developing vaccines for Avian flu--have a new online resource to access the genetic blueprints for several hundred influenza viruses.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Public Health Laboratories are contributing genetic sequencing data on more than 650 flu viruses to a database. '...more

Bird Flu Infects Child, Marking 60th Indonesian Case

2006-08-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- 'Indonesia reported its 60th human case of bird flu after a 6-year-old girl tested positive for the virus, which has killed an average of one person a week in the country this year....

This year, 64 people in nine countries are confirmed to have died from H5N1, with more than half the fatalities occurring in Indonesia. The virus has killed four of every five people infected with the disease in the Southeast Asian nation..'...more

No Evidence Indonesia Bird Flu Spreading

2006-08-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

By ZAKKI HAKIM
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 22, 2006; 11:40 AM

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- 'Investigators found no evidence that bird flu was spreading among humans in a remote part of central Indonesia where two people died from the virus and a third was sickened, local and international health workers said Tuesday....

"Though some of the undiagnosed deaths occurred in family members of confirmed cases, the investigation has found no evidence of human-to-human transmission and no evidence that the virus is spreading more easily from birds to humans," the statement added.'...more

As much as I respect the Washington Post, I find this report hard to believe in light of other reports about bird flu in Indonesia. Only time will tell. I hope I am wrong.

Bird flu claims new Indonesian victim

2006-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Jakarta (dpa) - 'An Indonesian woman who died just hours after being rushed to a hospital last week tested positive for bird flu, and 12 other people from her home town have also been infected with the deadly H5N1 virus, a senior health official said Sunday. ...

Lina is Indonesia's 46th bird flu fatality, which is the highest in the world. Vietnam has 42 deaths, but has not recorded one this year, while Indonesia has 34.

Bird flu is endemic in 27 of Indonesia's 33 provinces with millions of chickens and ducks infected.'...more

Indonesian woman dies of suspected bird flu

2006-08-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - 'A 35-year-old woman with bird flu symptoms from an Indonesian village which has seen a number of other confirmed or suspected cases of the disease in humans has died, a hospital official said on Friday.'...more

WHO changes H5N1 strains for pandemic vaccines, raising concern over virus evolution

2006-08-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Lisa Schnirring * Contributing Writer

Aug 18, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – 'The World Health Organization (WHO) today changed the H5N1 avian influenza strains recommended for candidate vaccines for the first time since 2004, causing some experts to question how far the virus has evolved.

The WHO's new prototype strains, prepared by reverse genetics, include three new H5N1 subclades.'...more

Indonesia probes possible cluster after 45th bird flu death

2006-08-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA (AFX) - 'Health authorities here began investigating whether a nine-year-old girl who died this week of the H5N1 strain of bird flu belonged to a cluster of human cases. ...

The victim came from Cikelet, a remote area in West Java's Garut district, and lived not far from the home village of 17-year-old Umar Aup, who tested positive for the virus and remains alive.

The boy's 20-year-old cousin Misbah however died earlier this month while exhibiting signs of the virus, which has run rampant across the archipelago nation of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country.'...more

Indonesia: Bird flu claims girl, 9

2006-08-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

'JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A 9-year-old girl has died of bird flu, bringing the number of Indonesians killed by the H5N1 virus to 45, a senior health official said Thursday.'...more

Bird flu kills 1,800 ducks in China, 210,000 culled

2006-08-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

'BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - About 1,800 ducks have died from bird flu at a farm in central China and more than 210,000 have been culled, the online edition of Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday....

About 40 bird flu outbreaks in poultry have been reported in a dozen Chinese provinces in the past year.

On Monday, the Health Ministry said a 62-year-old farmer from Jimsar county in the northwestern region of Xinjiang died on July 12 from the H5N1 strain, bringing the nationwide bird flu death toll to 14.

It was 21st human case of bird flu in China.'...more

Two Michigan swans have avian flu; experts quell concerns

2006-08-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Aug 14, 2006 (CIDRAP News) –'The federal government announced today that two swans in Michigan tested positive for both the H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes, but initial genetic sequencing suggests that it is a low-pathogenic type rather than the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain spreading through birds in Asia, Europe, and Africa and causing deaths in humans.'...more

WHO confirms China's 14th avian flu fatality, Indonesia's 57th case

2006-08-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

Aug 14, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – 'A World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory confirmed today that a 62-year-old Chinese man from the far northwestern province of Xinjiang who died Jul 12 had H5N1 avian influenza. The WHO also confirmed another H5N1 case in Indonesia.

The Chinese man developed symptoms Jun 19, according to a WHO update today, and initial tests were negative. Tests repeated in July and August, however, produced positive results. ...

Meanwhile, in Indonesia a 17-year-old boy has tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza, which represents the country's 57th case, according to another WHO update today.'...more

Indonesia confirms new bird flu case

2006-08-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

08.13.2006, 09:45 AM
' JAKARTA (XFN-ASIA) - A teenager has been confirmed as the latest bird flu case in Indonesia, the country worst hit by avian influenza with 44 human deaths recorded, health officials said.

The 17-year-old youth, who lives in an isolated area of West Java's Garut district, has refused treatment at a hospital designated for bird flu cases,...'more

Bird Flu - Are we ready?

2006-08-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

'...Schaffner is a professor and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University.

He is waiting and cautiously watching the bird flu.

"I must tell you frankly I would have thought we were going to see bird flu in northern Alaska and Canada. Which is where the fly aways intersect from Asia into the United States and northern Canada. Hasn't happened yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed," says Dr. Schaffner.

Many in the medical community are already preparing for a worst case scenario in the event of a bird flu outbreak.

At Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, they have had three drills and are already preparing for a fourth. '...more

States scrape up bird flu drug funds

2006-08-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
'Some states are scrambling to find money to pay for anti-flu drugs, so orders from states may fall short of the federal government's goal of stockpiling enough to treat 25% of the population in a flu pandemic.

States had to indicate by last week how many anti-virals they intended to buy and stockpile through a federal contract that makes the drugs available to states at a discount. States must confirm those numbers by Dec. 29 to be sure to get a federal subsidy covering 25% of their cost....

At least 43 states have told the federal government they intend to purchase their full allotments or have asked for them to be reserved. Others have also warned that funding is uncertain.

Colorado, Montana, Connecticut, Nebraska and North Dakota have said they are unlikely to buy full allotments....

Under the federal contract for state purchases, one course of Tamiflu costs $19 and one of Relenza costs $22, about one-third to one-fifth the Internet retail price. States pay 75%; the federal government pays 25%. If states buy all 31 million treatments, their cost will be roughly $465 million....

HHS says the drugs must be used only for a pandemic. They have a five-year shelf life'...more

Thailand declares bird flu a national threat

2006-08-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK (XFN-ASIA) - 'The government declared bird flu a national threat and vowed united efforts to tackle the deadly virus, which has claimed 16 lives in the country since its first outbreak here in 2004. ...

Bird flu has badly hurt Thailand's poultry industry. It was the world's biggest chicken exporter until countries around the world slapped bans on raw Thai chicken in the wake of bird flu fears in 2004.'...more

Indonesian teenager dies of bird flu

2006-08-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA (Reuters) - 'A 17-year-old Indonesian girl has died of bird flu, results from a local test showed, the second teenager to die of the disease this week in the country that has now recorded the highest number of human bird flu deaths.'...more

Cats infected with bird flu in Iraq -report

2006-08-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - 'Cats that died during an outbreak of bird flu in Iraq last February were infected with the H5N1 virus, U.S. naval medical researchers reported.

Any cat that becomes ill or dies when suspected bird flu is circulating should be tested for the virus, the Navy team reported in the August issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases....

People told the WHO team about cats that had died in a house near the city of Erbil where 51 chickens died. The researchers got the bodies of two of the cats and a sick goose from next door.

The animals had flu virus throughout their bodies, Yingst and colleagues reported. The virus found in the cats and goose strongly resembled the virus from a person who died in Iraq, suggesting it had not become adapted to cats....

The Iraqi cats were infected with a distinct strain of the H5N1 virus known as Clade II, which was first found in migrating birds in Qinghai Lake in western China in 2005, the NAMRU team said. "To our knowledge, this is the first report of a Qinghai-like virus detected in domestic cats," the report reads.'...more

Indonesian teenager tests positive for bird flu - local tests

2006-08-07T05:48:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA (XFN-ASIA) - 'A 16-year-old Indonesian tested positive for bird flu, according to local test results, but is now in a stable condition, a health ministry official said.'...more

Bird flu kills Thai man, Bangkok area on risk list

2006-08-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - 'A 27-year-old Thai man has died of bird flu, the country's second death this year, officials said on Saturday, as they put eight more provinces, including the Bangkok area, on a bird flu watchlist.'...more

Bird flu data now open to all

2006-08-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

'Bowing to international pressure, Indonesia has said foreign scientists can have full access to the country's data on bird flu, the infectious disease that has claimed 43 lives here.'...more

This is a significant step in the global fight against bird flu and one that we are all glad to see.

German zoo finds H5N1 bird flu in dead swan

2006-08-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

BERLIN (Reuters) - 'A swan found dead in a zoo in the eastern German city of Dresden was infected with the highly infectious H5N1 strain of bird flu which is dangerous for humans, the local government said on Friday....

H5N1 bird flu was discovered in wild birds in Germany in February and in domestic fowl in April.'...more

Thai Bird Flu Case Suggests Under-Reporting in Fowl

2006-08-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- 'A 17-year-man who died of bird flu in Thailand last week, the country's first case this year, suggests the virus is being under-reported in poultry, the influenza team at the European Centre for Disease Surveillance and Control said....

The case ``could be an example of the phenomenon of a sentinel human already seen in other countries, where it is only the severe illness or death of a person from H5N1 that triggers detection or reporting of H5N1 in poultry,'' the team in Stockholm said in a report. ``This suggests under-detection or under-reporting of poultry deaths.''...more

We have long suspected underreporting in other countries like China, but adding Thailand to the list is worrisome. The greatest threat in Thailand right now is that they are in the middle of large seasonal flu outbreaks in some areas that also have avian flu outbreaks. The problem is that a person with seasonal flu could become infected with H5N1 allowing it to mutate in that person to a pandemic form of bird flu that would rapidly spread from human to human.

There is also concern in Vietnam. 'Deputy Agriculture Minister Bui Ba Bong said bird flu, which erupted across much of Asia in late 2003, often hit Thailand first and broke out in Vietnam next, the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported.

"This year the situation is similar and it will be hard for Vietnam to escape," Bong was quoted as saying as another senior official fretted about ducks, which can carry the virus without showing symptoms.'...more

Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for further updates on Thailand and other countries around the world.

New Asia outbreaks fan fears bird flu spreading

2006-08-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

By Darren Schuettler
Reuters
Thursday, August 3, 2006; 9:40 AM

BANGKOK (Reuters) - New outbreaks of bird flu in Thailand and Laos are fanning fears the disease is flaring up again in Asia, although concerns the virus was mutating in Indonesia have subsided....

And there were signs on Thursday bird flu may be spreading into central Thailand after outbreaks in the north and northeast exposed weaknesses in the country's defenses against a virus known to have killed 134 people.'...more

Preliminary tests clear Indonesians of bird flu

2006-08-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

By Fitri Wulandari and Yoga Rusmana

JAKARTA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - 'Preliminary tests have cleared six Indonesians from North Sumatra province of suspected bird flu, the health minister said on Thursday.'...more

This is very good news, if it is accurate.

New bird flu outbreaks test Thai defences

2006-08-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

By Darren Schuettler

BANGKOK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - 'Thailand, among the countries hardest hit by bird flu, appeared to turn a corner this year in its fight against the virus.

The disease had not shown up in humans or chickens for nearly eight months, fuelling hopes that a widely praised government and industry campaign had finally brought the H5N1 virus to heel.

But a new human death and fresh outbreaks in poultry in late July have exposed serious gaps in Thailand's defences and forced officials to rethink their battle plan.'...more

Bird-Flu Outbreak Suspected in Northern Sumatra

2006-08-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

By VOA News
02 August 2006

'Indonesian health officials say seven people from a village in northern Sumatra are being treated for what doctors suspect may be bird flu.

The villagers come from the same district where bird flu killed seven members of an extended family in May.'...more

This will be a very important case to follow as the seven members of a family who died in May in this area are strongly suspected to have infected each other, as opposed to catching the disease from diseased poultry. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for further updates on this story.

China Reports New Bird Flu Outbreak

2006-07-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

By VOA News
22 July 2006

China's official Xinhua news agency says a new bird flu outbreak has killed more than 3,000 chickens in the northwest....

Nearly 40 outbreaks of the virus have been reported across the country over the past year. Nineteen people have been infected, and 12 of them have died.

The World Health Organization says H5N1 has killed at least 132 people worldwide since reappearing in Asia in 2003.'...more

Lone Bird flu survivor goes home after 7 relatives die

2006-07-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

MEDAN, North Sumatra (AP): 'Jones Ginting can't remember much of his battle with bird flu, and it's probably for the best.

For the first two weeks, he slipped in and out ofconsciousness at a hospital. His skin stuck to the sweaty sheets as his fever raged up to 39.5 C (103.1 F). He slept with arms stiff as pipes. When he did come to, he was delirious, angry even, fighting nurses who tried to give him the antiviral drugTamiflu. Always struggling to breathe....

Ginting, 24, initially was scared and confused and refused to believe bird flu was to blame. When first admitted to Adam Malik Hospital in early May, the orange farmer went with his gut instinct and ran away. His wife, Amnestia Tarigan, and their twosmall boys climbed into a taxi and raced to a nearby doctor who was a trusted relative. Ginting took some medicine and then drove two hours to a town near his home village where he visited a traditional healer. His condition worsened and he was eventuallybrought back to the hospital in Medan....'more

Bird Flu Death Pushes Indonesia Toll to No. 1

2006-07-23T05:43:00.000-07:00

By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer
July 22, 2006

'The Indonesian Ministry of Health confirmed Thursday the country's 42nd human death from avian influenza, a toll that gave the nation, along with Vietnam, the most deaths from the virus.'...more

States hesitant to buy bird flu drugs

2006-07-19T09:14:00.001-07:00

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
'At least six states plan to buy smaller quantities of antiviral drugs than the federal government has offered them, a setback for part of the government's bird flu pandemic plan....

Less than two weeks before a federal deadline for states to announce their plans, at least 16 say they're undecided how much Tamiflu and Relenza they'll buy. Thirteen others — including California, the biggest state — say they plan to buy their full allotments....

Even at a discount — about $15 for Tamiflu, about a fifth of the Internet retail rate — cost is a concern....

The Aug. 1 deadline will help drugmakers plan, but states can change orders through Dec. 31. Businesses cannot buy the drugs at the federal discount, says the Department of Health and Human Services.'...more

The cost of Tamiflu is clearly a factor here, especially in light of the fact that it has a three year shelf life, and we really do not know how effective the drug will be on a large scale against the virus that eventually mutates into the one that is easily transmissible from human to human. Stau tuned to birdflubeacon.com on global news about bird flu as we begin to plan for the 2006-7 flu season.

States hesitant to buy bird flu drugs

2006-07-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Spain confirms its 1st case of deadly bird flu

2006-07-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Jul. 7, 2006. 05:40 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADRID, Spain — 'Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, discovered in a wild fowl in a marshland area near a northern city, the government said Friday.'...more

WHO: H5N1 Bird Flu Infection In Humans May Rise Late 2006

2006-07-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

MANILA (Dow Jones)--'The number human infections of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus may increase dramatically later this year or early in 2007, the World Health Organization said in a recent online publication.'...more

This is a good article that talks about what we can expect this fall and winter, based on historical epidemiological data. The window to prepare is very short and we should all be advised to get our "house in order" at work and at home. If any of the current H5N1 strains mutate for easier human to human transmissibility this year, it could well be the start of the global pandemic so feared by influenza experts worldwide.

Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for breaking news.

Breathing-mask makers look to Congress for lawsuit relief

2006-07-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

'Six companies that make respiratory masks want Congress to protect them from lawsuits, saying such a step would ensure that they could meet production demands in the event of a terrorist attack or flu pandemic.

The companies — Aearo. Bacou-Dalloz, Inovel, Moldex, MSA and North Safety, which collectively have formed the Coalition for Breathing Safety — wrote a letter last week to President Bush arguing that “unfettered liability costs will dramatically affect our nation’s ability to respond to an avian flu pandemic.”

The issue primarily affects N-95 respirators, disposable masks with filters that are used by first responders and healthcare workers.'...more

This is not surprising, particularly in light of the recent immunity granted to vaccine makers.

Bird flu virus infected Nigeria multiple times

2006-07-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - 'Nigeria has been infected multiple times with H5N1 bird flu probably carried by migratory birds from southern Russia and northern Europe or introduced by imported chickens, scientists said on Wednesday....

Nigeria was the first country in Africa to be hit by bird flu when ducks tested positive for H5N1 in February. Since then Niger, Egypt, Burkina Faso and Cameroon have also had outbreaks....

There have been no human cases of the infection in Nigeria but Muller said it is not easy in Africa to monitor humans in an efficient way to exclude the virus. Each strain of the virus poses an added risk to people.

Muller said the poultry industry is second only to oil production in Nigeria and is particularly vulnerable to avian virus because chickens are imported from all over the world.'...more

Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com to monitor bird flu around the world.

Risk of bird flu spreading more easily in humans remains high – UN health agency

2006-07-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

3 July 2006 – 'The risk of bird flu evolving into a more transmissible agent in humans remains high, based on the widespread distribution of the H5N1 virus in poultry and the continued exposure of humans, according to the United Nations health agency’s first analysis of epidemiological data on all cases reported to it from December 2003 to April 2006....

The analysis, based on epidemiological data on all 205 laboratory-confirmed cases reported to WHO through the end of this April, reaches the following conclusions:

* The overall case-fatality rate was 56 per cent, with the highest rate in persons aged 10 to 39 years.
* Half of the cases occurred in people under the age of 20 and 90 per cent of cases in people under 40 years.
* The case-fatality profile by age group differed from that seen in seasonal influenza, where mortality is highest in the elderly.
* The number of new countries reporting human cases increased from 4 to 9 after last October following the geographical extension of outbreaks among birds.
* The overall case-fatality rate was highest in 2004 (73 per cent), followed by 63 per cent to date in 2006, and 43 per cent in 2005.
* Cases have occurred all year round, but human cases peaked during the period roughly corresponding to winter and spring in the northern hemisphere. If this pattern continues, an upsurge in cases could be anticipated starting in late 2006 or early 2007.
* The median interval between symptom onset and hospitalization and symptom onset and death remained substantially unchanged during the three years, at 4 days for the former 9 days for the latter.

As of 20 June, 10 countries had reported human cases: Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey and Viet Nam. Viet Nam has registered the highest number of cases and deaths at 93 and 42 respectively, though none this year, followed by Indonesia with 51 and 39, most of them this year.'...more

Bird flu kills 40th human in Indonesia

2006-07-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA (Reuters) - 'A World Health Organisation laboratory test has confirmed a 5-year-old Indonesian boy who died last month was infected with bird flu, a health ministry official said on Monday....Indonesia has seen a steady rise in human bird flu infections and deaths since its first known outbreak of H5N1 in poultry in late 2003, and has registered more deaths this year than any other country.'...more

Avian Flu Tends to Kill Youths as in 1918 Wave, Study Finds

2006-07-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

'Avian flu tends to kill younger people, much as the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic did, the World Health Organization said Friday as it released an analysis of more than 200 cases....

The median age of victims with confirmed cases was 20 years, the report said. The highest death rate — 73 percent — was among patients ages 10 to 19, while the overall fatality rate was 56 percent. This pattern has been noted before, but the new analysis takes in more cases; the typical age is drifting downward....

In the Asian and Middle Eastern countries where the disease is most pervasive, people of all ages are exposed to chickens, but 90 percent of the cases have been in people under 40, so something in young adults must make them more susceptible....

In the Asian and Middle Eastern countries where the disease is most pervasive, people of all ages are exposed to chickens, but 90 percent of the cases have been in people under 40, so something in young adults must make them more susceptible....

The typical avian flu victim is sick enough to be hospitalized four days after falling ill, and dies five days later, the report said. People over 50 have the lowest death rate, but it is still 18 percent, which is a huge impact compared with seasonal flu.

"The more we see what H5N1 is doing, the less we know about what's really happening with it," Dr. Osterholm said.'...more

Would the bird flu kill the Internet, too?

2006-06-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

June 28, 2006 (Computerworld) -- 'If a bird flu pandemic sweeps the nation, we could avoid infection by working from home via the Internet.

Or, hammered by overuse, the Internet could shut down within two to four days of an outbreak, eliminating telecommuting as a viable option.

Disturbingly, that was one finding of a simulation, or war game, held in January in Davos, Switzerland, by the World Economic Forum and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. More than 30 senior industry and governmental executives played out the arrival of the flu in Germany from Eastern Europe -- and the results weren't pretty.'...more

This is a good article to read if you are thinking about IT capabilities in the event of a pandemic. It has good suggestions. Apparently we would not have as big of a problem with the internet going down in the US as they would in Europe in a pandemic, but it still pays to plan ahead for reserved bandwidth in order to facilitate telecommunters during a pandemic.

Bird Flu Fatalities Almost Triple, Spurring Need for Treatments

2006-06-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

June 28 (Bloomberg) -- 'Bird flu fatalities have almost tripled this year as the lethal virus spread across Asia, Europe and Africa, prompting calls for increased supplies of medicines to fight the virus and any pandemic it might spawn.'...more

China Weighs Fines for Reports on 'Sudden Events'

2006-06-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

By JOSEPH KAHN
Published: June 26, 2006

BEIJING, June 26 — 'Chinese media outlets will be fined up to $12,500 each time they report on "sudden events" without prior authorization from government officials, according to a draft law under review by the Communist Party-controlled legislature.

The law, revealed today in most state-run newspapers, would give government officials a powerful new tool to restrict coverage of mass outbreaks of disease, riots, strikes, accidents and other events that the authorities prefer to keep secret.'...more

This is an interesting, but distressing article. The impact of this law, if passed, could be very detrimental to the sharing of information globally about the spread of bird flu. We have long known the Chinese to be less than truthful in regard to incidents of both SARS and H5N1. This is a definite step backwards.

Bird flu pandemic a 180-bln-euro risk to EU economy

2006-06-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:19 PM IST
By Brian Love, European Economics Correspondent

PARIS (Reuters) - 'A bird flu pandemic among humans could cost upwards of 180 billion euros in lost economic output in the European Union in the year that it strikes, according to a study for the European Commission.

The study, the first for the 25-country EU group, estimates that an avian influenza pandemic would reduce economic output by 1.6 percent because of a slump in overall hours worked as well as in travel and leisure activities....

Jonung and Roeger also ran a worse-case simulation where the psychological impact and damage to goods trade was far greater. The reduction in GDP would in that case be perhaps as high as 3 or 4 percent -- roughly double their preferred estimate.'...more

The fact that this study was commissioned at all tells you a lot about the concern of leaders around the globe about the impact of a bird flu pandemic in 2006. This article is a good one for reviewing what the economists are saying so far in different economic markets for those of you who are following the potential financial impact of a projected pandemic in various markets. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for breaking news on bird flu around the world.

Human-to-human spread of bird flu detailed

2006-06-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, Indonesia — 'The World Health Organization (WHO) has detailed the first evidence that a person likely caught the bird-flu virus from a human and passed a slightly mutated version to another person...."This is a vivid reminder of the need to keep a very close watch on what the virus is doing," he [UN bird flu chief David Nabarro] said by telephone Friday.

Experts fear the H5N1 virus could mutate into a highly contagious form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a global pandemic.'...more

Chinese researchers offer new avian flu timeline

2006-06-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

Updated Thu. Jun. 22 2006 8:19 AM ET

Canadian Press

'In an extraordinary turn of events, Chinese researchers have contradicted Beijing's official version of the country's H5N1 human infection timeline, revealing a Chinese man died of H5N1 avian flu fully two years before China reported its first human case to the World Health Organization in November 2005.

The eight researchers reported in a letter in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine - a letter they attempted to withdraw Wednesday -- on the genetic blueprint of H5N1 virus isolated from the man, who died in November 2003.'...more

This is very important news, but again not a surprise. The article is excellent and the author, Helen Braswell is one of the most respected jounalists on avian flu in the world. Experts have long suspected that the avian flu situation is far worse in China than the authorities have let on. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com to follow bird flu developements around the world.

Human Bird Flu Transmission Is Proven in Indonesia (Update2)

2006-06-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

June 23 (Bloomberg) -- 'Bird flu was spread directly between members of an Indonesian family in the first laboratory-confirmed case of human-to-human transmission of the lethal virus, a World Health Organization official said.'...more

This is a very significant development, but not a surprise. The bird flu virus has been slowly mutating over time, and it is quite possible that one day H5N1 will be easily transmissible from human to human, which will mark the start of the world's next pandemic. As the experts so often say, "it is not a matter of if, but when."

Bird flu could close military cemeteries

2006-06-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
'The Department of Veterans Affairs foresees closing the 120 national cemeteries in a pandemic because of staffing shortages, leaving families the option of delaying burial or seeking interment elsewhere.

The VA buries more than 250 veterans and eligible family members a day - about 93,000 people a year. It operates cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

Those cemeteries could be shut and burials put on hold during a pandemic, presumably even as the death toll rises, according to a plan that lays out how the department will cope with an influenza outbreak. The government is preparing for a worst-case scenario of nearly 2 million deaths in the United States in a pandemic.'...more

This is a sobering article for those who are foolish enough to think that planning for bird flu is not a serious proposition. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for continuing coverage on the emergence of bird flu around the world.

Indobnesia: Hope for the best but expect the worst

2006-06-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Effect Measure June 19, 2006
'Indonesia is now number two worldwide in officially counted human H5N1 cases and deaths. The official count as of today according to the WHO's conservative tally is 50 cases with 38 deaths (76% case fatality). Indonesia is a public health basket case, with an ineffectual and often incompetent central government who has ceded both authority and control to local authorities in a sprawling nation of island archipelagos that is fourth most populous on earth. They have been beset not only with bird flu but an erupting volcano and a serious earthquake within the last month. Earthquake survivors were dying in scores of tetanus, a completely preventable disease. Tetanus toxoid can be administered after the injury and doesn't require prior immunization. It is not a new treatment. But it wasn't being done. This gives some indication about how unprepared the Indonesians are for disaster.'...more

CHRONOLOGY-Bird flu developments

2006-06-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

June 20 (Reuters) - 'The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday another case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Indonesia which was fatal.

The newly confirmed case brings the total in Indonesia to 51. Of these cases, 39 have been fatal.

Here is a chronology of major bird flu developments in 2006:'...more

This article is a quick way to catch up on what has happened with bird flu in the last six months. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for continuing coverage on bird flu.

Hungary poultry birdflu confirmed as H5N1

2006-06-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - 'A bird flu virus found in poultry in Hungary last week was the highly infectious H5N1 strain which is also dangerous for humans, chief veterinarian Miklos Suth said on Friday.'...more

This is the first case of bird flu in poultry in Hungary.

Experts Criticize Indonesian Bird Flu Strategies, Say Culling Necessary

2006-06-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
19 June 2006 'Indonesian health officials say the country must cull more poultry to curb growing numbers of avian influenza infections. Indonesia has confirmed its 39th human death from bird flu, and outbreaks continue....Since 2003, the H5N1 virus has killed 39 people in Indonesia, one of the highest death tolls in the world for avian influenza. The number continues to rise, with the country recording one death every two and half days last month.'...more

Indonesia has long been what experts fear will be the hotbed for the start of sustained human to human transmission of bird flu in humans. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com to follow developments in Indonesia and around the world concerning the watch for a possible bird flu pandemic.

Canada Widens Measures to Stem Bird Flu on Island (Update2)

2006-06-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

'June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Canada widened quarantine measures to contain bird flu on Prince Edward Island, where an infected gosling was found on a farm last week.'...more

Bird flu in Canada is obviously something that we in the United States need to stay on top of. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for daily updates on bird flu around the world.

Bear Stearns warns against airline stocks due to 'imminent' bird flu

2006-06-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (Filed: 21/03/2006)

'Investment bank Bear Stearns has advised investors to start dumping airline and retail stocks in favour of blue-chip utilities as a hedge against bird flu, warning that a full human pandemic of the H5N1 virus could set off the worst global stock market crash since the 1930s.

In the first detailed study of its kind, the US bank suggests buying Scottish Power, biotech companies such as Amgen and Medimmune, and the US health group St Jude Medical Inc, citing them as the sort of companies that would hold up well or even rise in the first phase of a pandemic.'...more

Whereas the general consumer does not seem to be getting the seriousness of a pending avian flu pandemic, those that control the money markets are definitely getting ready. We would all be well advised to pay attention. Stay tuned to birdflubeacon.com for breaking news of bird flu around the world.

China plagued by bird flu cover-ups in rural areas

2006-06-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

June 16, 2006
'YANGZHOU, CHUZHOU and CHENZHOU, China - Having learned a bitter lesson from covering up the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in early 2003, the central government of China now is said to be taking a more positive, responsible attitude in dealing with avian influenza, or bird flu. But that hasn't filtered down to the provinces.'...more

This is a good article if you want to know some of the details of what is going on in China with bird flu. Experts believe that China and Indonesia continue to be the two places most likely to birth the mutations necessary for human to human transmission of pandemic bird flu and these areas should be monitored closely.

Youth dies of bird flu, local tests show (Jakarta)

2006-06-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

June 16, 2006
'JAKARTA (AP): A 14-year-old Indonesian boy died of bird flu, the Health Ministry said Friday, the latest in a series of cases in the sprawling nation that are concerning international experts....Indonesia's bird flu case load has risen sharply this year, and it now trails only Vietnam, where 42 people have died.'...more

Today's Top Stories

2006-05-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

News Summary: Bird flu spread to another African country. Concerns are that human infections are simply not being identified.

Today's Top Stories

2006-05-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

News Summary

Ratings:

***** Very important
**** Important
*** Heads Up

It has been a slow news day. Good! Here are the highlights:

TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) is suggesting the use of more than one antiviral for treating bird flu in humans.
Tests on pigs in Indonesia are negative for HIV.
More sources are focusing on the need for businesses, states, and the feds to develop bird flu pandemic plans.
Denmark has poultry infected with H5N1, Russia has reported another outbreak, and Bucharest has reported infections.

WHO backs dual antiviral therapy for some bird flu cases

Rating: ****

In a Word: Significant

Relevance: This is the first time WHO has officially suggested dual anti-virals. Why? Perhaps they are concerned about resistance being built up to Tamiflu.

Indonesian pigs test negative for bird flu

Rating: ****

In a word: Important

Relevance: It is easier to transmit bird flu from animals to humans than from birds to humans. Indonesia has had the highest rate of infection in humans this year, and a cluster of 5 human infections on the island of Sumatra has raised concerns. The fact that there were no pigs that tested for H5N1 lessens the likelihood of human-to-human transfer.

Relevance

Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 7, 2006

2006-05-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

Bird flu in Abidjan prompts poultry slaughter
Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa
... the slaughter of all poultry sold in the economic capital's markets after discovering three cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, national television ...
See all stories on this topic

Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Expected
Relevance:N5N1 continues to spread in Abidjan.

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

Bird flu strategy in the works
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario,CA,USA
Emergency personnel will be on the front lines for any bird flu outbreak, prompting local agencies to devise plans on not only taking care of the ill during a ...
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FREE-RANGING FLU THREAT?
Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia,PA,USA
... Hector Tejado would like to add pastured laying hens to Conuco Farm in Northampton, Pa., but he is waiting to see what happens with bird flu. ...
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APEC members, WHO brainstorm on bird flu prevention in Vietnam ...
Earthtimes.org - USA
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to improve the time in which they report the cases of bird flu. As of now ...
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Veterinarians raise concerns about bird flu film
Portsmouth Herald News - Portsmouth,NH,USA
... On Tuesday, the network will air a two-hour movie titled, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America." The movie’s premise dramatizes the results of a new strain of ...
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Bird Flu Outbreak Reported in Northwest China
CRI - Beijing,China
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture Friday confirmed outbreak of bird flu among wild birds in a remote area of Qinghai Province, northwest China. ...
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Governmnet says bird flu situation in India is quite under control ...
India Daily - Whitehouse Station,NJ,USA
Bird flu situation in India is quite under control even though regular countrywide surveillance mechanism is on to check any possible outbreak in future, a top ...
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Asia-Pacific to Implement Bird Flu Plan
Prensa Latina - Havana,Cuba
Hanoi, May 7 (Prensa Latina) The countries of the Asia-Pacific region agreed this weekend to take actions to prevent the spreading of bird flu and against a ...
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Bird flu film asks, `What if?'
Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,OH,USA
At 8 pm Tuesday, ABC will air Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America, a movie that speculates about avian flu spreading through human-to-human contact and ...

Vietnam breeders regain after bird flu scourge
Navhind Times - Panjim,India
Khai Tay, Vietnam, May 7: Chicken breeders such as Huynh Thi Ba are just starting to break even more than two years into the Avian Flu epidemic that shattered ...
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FEATURE-Bird flu powers EU candidates' food safety drive
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
... May 8 (Reuters) - Elena Samoila used to ride a rickety bicycle to deliver her home-bred poultry to Danube river towns until the bird flu virus decimated her ...

Vietnam conducts large scale anti-bird flu rehearsal
Xinhua - China
HANOI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam on Sunday implemented a large-scale rehearsal on combating potential bird flu outbreaks among people in southern Can Tho city ...
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Bird flu under control, but the vigil is on
Economic Times - India
NEW DELHI: The bird flu situation is quite under control, even though a regular countrywide surveillance mechanism is in place to check any possible outbreak ...
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Bird flu can't be treated lightly
Bangkok Post - Thailand
... And while the conference focused on avian influenza, the plans should work whether bird flu mutates to become a major human threat _ still a long way off, in ...
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PTV resists advertisement denying bird flu threat
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
... Pakistan Television (PTV) did not telecast any advertisement showing Agriculture Minister Sikander Bosan eating chicken to end the fear of bird-flu among the ...
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Bracing for bird flu, firms set backup plans
Reuters - USA
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As major US companies brace for the threat of bird flu mutating into a form that could jump from human to human, they face one unusual ...

Cote d'Ivoire culls poultry after bird flu cases confirmed
Xinhua - China
ABIDJAN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire began slaughtering poultry in the Abidjan markets on Sunday after the deadly H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in the west ...
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Bird flu vaccine hurdles
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
A bird flu pandemic that hits the United States could trigger 40 percent absenteeism rates among the US workforce and kill 2 million Americans, according to a ...

Bird Flu Preparations
WTOK - Meridian,MS,USA
Bird Flu is receiving national attention, but here at home local officials say panic and paranoia are not the answer. Instead, Red ...
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US unprepared for bird flu outbreak: health secretary
Xinhua - China
WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said on Sunday that his country is not prepared for a bird flu pandemic. ...
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Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 6, 2006

2006-05-09T17:16:00.001-07:00

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

Warm-up slows avian flu spread
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
Bird flu is spreading more slowly as warmer spring weather in the Northern Hemisphere reduces the virus' ability to survive in the environment, world health ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Warm weather appears to slow the threat of bird flu.

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

TV ads: Don't sweat bird flu
Indianapolis Star - United States
WASHINGTON -- Hoping to prevent a scare over deadly bird flu, the government is distributing television and radio commercials assuring people that chicken is ...
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Scientists seek novel ways to speed up bird-flu vaccine
Contra Costa Times - CA,USA
... In the past three years, bird flu -- also known as avian flu -- has killed millions of birds, a small number of mammals and 109 humans in Asia, Europe and ...
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Bird flu antibodies found in wild goose in Arkhangelsk region
Interfax Russia - Moscow,Russia
May 6 (Interfax) - H5 bird flu antibodies have been found in the blood of a wild goose shot for testing outside Arkhangelsk, Nikolai Yuferev, the chief expert ...

Surveillance, compensation, public awareness key factors to anti ...
Xinhua - China
DA NANG CITY, Vietnam May 6 (Xinhua) -- Countries making great improvement in the war against bird flu have done good jobs regarding surveillance, compensation ...
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Computers Aid in the Development of Bird Flu Vaccine
MedIndia - India
Apart from Pharma companies now even the aid of the computers are sought in order to develop a vaccine for bird flu. Computers come ...
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Illegal Animal Trade a Bird-Flu Concern
Herald News Daily - Williston,ND,USA
WASHINGTON - Trade in animals — both legal and illegal — is a more likely culprit in spreading bird flu than wild migrating birds, some of the world‘s ...
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Baxter to develop vaccine for bird flu
Waukegan News Sun - Waukegan,IL,USA
... She pointed out that Baxter's bio-science division is currently under a $20 million contract to produce 2 million doses of a candidate bird flu vaccine for the ...
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WHO: Bird Flu Cases Must Be Noted Sooner
Washington Post - United States
DANANG, Vietnam -- Only half the world's human bird flu cases are being reported to the World Health Organization within two weeks of being detected _ a ...
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Health Ministry declares 109 bird flu tests ‘negative’
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
... Online adds: Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health allowed five more pharmaceutical companies to prepare bird flu vaccines. The government ...
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Doctors say we do have flu problem
The Sunday Times - UK
SENIOR public health doctors have written to the The Lancet disputing its claim that Ireland is well prepared to cope with an outbreak of pandemic bird flu. ...
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5 more pharmaceutical Cos allowed to prepare bid flu vaccines
PakTribune.com - Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health has allowed five more pharmaceutical companies to prepare bird flu vaccines to tackle the fatal disease. ...

Bord flu mutant could cause US$100 bln damage in Asia
Antara - Antara,Indonesia
Bangkok (ANTARA News) - An outbreak of a mutated bird flu virus strain which can be transmitted from human to human, if such a virus occured, could cause ...
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Some Vietnam breeders regain after bird flu scourge
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
KHAI TAY, Vietnam, May 7 (Reuters) - Chicken breeders such as Huynh Thi Ba are just starting to break even more than two years into the avian flu epidemic that ...
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Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 5, 2006

2006-05-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

Experts: Illegal animal trade a bird-flu concern
Fox 12 Boise - Nampa,ID,USA
... the world. Bird flu has spread from Asia throughout Europe and Africa, but it hasn't yet reached the United States. Experts note ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Smuggling may thwart containment efforts.

Bird Flu Spreads at Slower Rate, Hindered by Weather (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu is spreading more slowly as warmer spring weather in the Northern Hemisphere reduces the virus's ability to survive in the ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Warm weather slows the spread of H5N1.

China confirms bird flu in remote far west
Reuters.uk - UK
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu among wild birds in a remote area of far-western Qinghai province. ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Expected
Relevance: H5N1 continues to spread.

Bird flu claims 5th Egyptian
News24 - South Africa
Cairo - A fifth person died from bird flu in Egypt on Thursday and experts in Asia expressed concern that poorer countries were unable to put up a co-ordinated ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Expected
Relevance: H5N1 continues to spread.

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

APEC ministers meet to tackle bird flu
China Daily - China
... and health ministers from the Asia Pacific region began a meeting in Vietnam Friday aimed at mapping out a plan to prepare for a potential bird flu pandemic. ...
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‘Poultry exports almost nil after bird flu outbreak’
Financial Express - Bombay,India
NEW DELHI, MAY 4: Samples from the bird flu-affected areas of the country are still being tested as part of efforts to ward off resurgence of avian influenza ...
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Grid seeks bird flu cure
Silicon.com - UK
... The virus has taken a deadly toll on bird populations in Asia and Europe, and scientists fear it could spread to humans, causing a flu pandemic. ...

Nepal forms project groups to deal with bird flu threat
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
... "No case of bird flu has been reported as of now but the country is at high risk due to migratory birds and outbreak of flu in the neighboring countries, hence ...
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Glaxo lands $274M deal for bird flu research
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
... on Thursday won a $274 million contract from the US Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate development of new cell culture-based flu vaccines. ...
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Way to mass produce key anti-bird flu drug revealed
Xinhua - China
... Tamiflu is the biggest hope for saving people at the start of abird flu pandemic, before a vaccine is available, but is hard to make and stocks are limited. ...
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Vietnam wants China's continued support in bird flu prevention
Xinhua - China
DA NANG CITY, Vietnam, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam would like to receive China's continued support in the fight against bird flu, especially the supply of ...
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How your firm can survive a bird flu crisis
Belfast Telegraph - United Kingdom
By Andrea Clements. Businesses in Northern Ireland are to be given the low-down next week on how to cope if a bird flu epidemic hits the province. ...

FACTBOX-Bird flu's spread around the globe
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
May 5 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Friday that a 27-year-old Egyptian woman from Cairo has died from bird flu, the country's ...
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Bird Flu and You
CattleNetwork.com - Stanley,KS,USA
An upcoming, made-for-television movie, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America ," set to air on ABC May 9 is, however, expected to spark still more interest in ...
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China Confirms Bird Flu in Remote West
Voice of America - USA
By VOA News. China has confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu among wilds birds in western China. The Ministry of Agriculture ...
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Poultry industry critical of TV movie on bird flu
Pine Bluff Commercial - Pine Bluff,AR,USA
By DANIEL CONNOLLY. LITTLE ROCK - The poultry industry nationwide is protesting a new disaster movie about bird flu, calling it irresponsible. ...
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Junk medicine: bird flu
Times Online - UK
... non-existent. Even the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed 113 people, is exceedingly difficult for humans to catch. H7 flu ...
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No evidence bird flu spreading
BBC News - UK
Vets investigating the outbreak of bird flu in Norfolk say there is no evidence the disease has spread. The Department for Environment ...
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Update 1: Illegal Animal Trade a Bird-Flu Concern
Forbes - USA
Trade in animals - both legal and illegal - is a more likely culprit in spreading bird flu than wild migrating birds, some of the world's top wild bird experts ...
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Area officials: Don't panic over bird flu
Austin Herald - Austin,MN,USA
By Josh Verges/Austin Daily Herald. Local disaster responders are preparing for the possibility of bird flu hitting Minnesota, and suggest you do too - calmly. ...
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ND animal health experts provide facts about bird flu
Bismarck Farm & Ranch Guide - ND, USA
Animal health officials hope a fictional TV movie about the bird flu scheduled to air Tuesday, May 9, will raise awareness about avian and pandemic flu, not ...

Scientists Use Computers To Search For Bird Flu Cure
All Headline News - USA
London, England (AHN) - High powered computers are searching for a cure for the bird flu. According to BBC, the UK grid of computers ...
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Interview: Vietnam centers on bird flu vaccination, surveillance
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
Vietnam is now focusing on vaccinating fowls against bird flu viruses, intensifying disease surveillance at grass-root levels, and restructuring its animal ...
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Bird flu triller only a movie
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
Barbed wire to fence off and quarantine entire neighborhoods. It's the worst-case scenario of the bird flu -- and it's coming soon to a television near you. ...
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Outbreak of new bird flu cases in Qinghai confirmed
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
The Ministry of Agriculture on Friday confirmed another case of bird flu outbreak among wild birds in a remote area of Northwest China's Qinghai Province. ...
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Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 4, 2006

2006-05-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

Live bird flu virus found in victim's blood
Globe and Mail - Canada
Toronto — Live H5N1 avian flu virus can be isolated in the blood of its human victims, a finding that will be reported by Thai researchers in an upcoming ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: *****
In a word: Alarming
Relevance: H5N1 could mutate WITHIN humans.

Bird Flu Expert Says H5N1 Worst He's Seen
Washington Post - United States
... the virus hasn't succeeded in bringing it together," he said at the end of a two-day bird flu conference in Singapore organized by The Lancet medical journal. ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: *****
In a word: Alarming
Relevance: An expert weighs in on the seriousness of the H5N1 threat.

Business Planning For A Bird Flu Epidemic
About - News & Issues - New York,NY,USA
The bird flu is not a major threat now, but it could become one. Business managers should treat it like any other risk to their ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Business are starting to plan for realities of bird flu pandemic.

Ivory Coast confirms H5N1 bird flu
Scotsman - United Kingdom
... Animal health authorities in Ivory Coast said on Thursday tests in an Italian laboratory had confirmed the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu in the ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Expected
Relevance: H5N1 continues to spread in Ivory coast.

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

Apec to hold bird flu drill
Bangkok Post - Thailand
... Monitoring and containment of bird flu in domestic poultry, plus sharing information among countries, were expected to be main features of the regional plan. ...
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Australia, Singapore lead bird flu pandemic test
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
... Australian security official Helena Studdert said on the sidelines of the 21-member group's meeting of health and agriculture ministers to discuss bird flu. ...
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Genetics might explain why some people get bird flu
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
SINGAPORE, May 4 (Reuters) - People who have been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus might be especially susceptible to avian viruses because they are ...
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White House unveils US strategy on dealing with bird-flu outbreak
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... But last fall, amid concern that the Asian bird flu might lead to one if it starts spreading easily from person to person, Bush proposed a $7.1 billion ...
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Poor surveillance networks hurting bird flu fight
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
SINGAPORE, May 4 (Reuters) - Asia's surveillance networks to detect bird flu in poultry and people are so varied and so weak in some countries they are ...
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Don't fear bird flu, local officials say
Longview Daily News - Longview,WA,USA
By Barbara LaBoe. Despite an ABC movie with dire descriptions, Cowlitz County Health Department officials don't want residents to panic about bird flu. ...
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Ivory Coast confirms bird flu
Reuters.uk - UK
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Tests at a reference laboratory have confirmed deadly H5N1 bird flu in Ivory Coast, triggering extra control measures in the sixth African ...
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WHO confirms 13th human bird flu case in Egypt
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
GENEVA, May 4 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Thursday a 13th human case of bird flu in Egypt, a woman who remains hospitalised in ...
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Minister warns of further bird flu outbreaks
Scotsman - United Kingdom
Norfolk: Bird flu is believed to have arrived in Norfolk in mid-March - five weeks before it was first discovered. Agriculture Minister ...

Investors flock to chicken despite bird flu
Reuters - USA
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares of US chicken companies have gained in recent weeks despite a mountain of meat here and bird flu overseas as investors may be ...
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APEC bird flu meeting to center on regional co-op, prevention
Xinhua - China
... Ministerial Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics will focus on beefing up cooperation among the forum's members to actively prevent bird flu pandemics, a ...
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US considers closing border with Canada if bird flu strikes
Canada.com - Hamilton,Ontario,Canada
... to fight an avian flu pandemic, the White House warned America's land borders could become "the greatest point of vulnerability" if a bird flu pandemic in ...
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ANALYSIS-Europe's bird flu risk easing but not over
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
... of birds from Africa to the northern hemisphere has been underway for weeks, and yet so far there has been no recorded case of the Asian bird flu strain in ...
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US bird flu study predicts millions of deaths, billions in losses ...
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
... Who's going to open their door in the middle of a deadly epidemic? "If bird flu crosses over to humans, there will be a lot of people sick," Rutherford said. ...
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Bird Flu Vaccine Funding Awarded
Houston Chronicle - United States
... Currently, flu vaccines are produced in specialized chicken eggs, but that technique does not allow for speedy mass vaccinations. ...
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Top bird flu scientist says H5N1 is worst flu virus
Malaysia Star - Malaysia
SINGAPORE (AP) - One of the world's leading experts on bird flu said Thursday the H5N1 virus is like nothing he's ever seen, and there are still way too many ...
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Fifth Egyptian dies of bird flu - state news agency
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - A fifth human victim of bird flu died in Egypt on Thursday, the state news agency MENA said. The 27-year ...
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APEC officials recommend unified bird-flu plan
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
The plan was to be submitted to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) health ministers for approval Friday during a three-day summit on bird flu held in ...
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Slow suffocation plans for bird flu chickens
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
Animal welfare campaigners have revealed that millions of chickens could be culled by slow suffocation in the event of a bird flu outbreak. ...
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Bird Flu Confirmed in Ivory Coast
Voice of America - USA
By Franz Wild. The government of Ivory Coast has announced that the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in birds in the commercial capital, Abidjan. ...
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Government Hands out $1 Billion for Bird Flu Vaccine Development
ABC News - USA
A Hungarian worker holds an ampule filled with vaccine against the deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu in a plant of Omninvest Vaccine Producing Ltd in ...
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Bird flu fears hike survival gear demand
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
Nice on the bottom line. Murder on the nerves. There's no pandemic yet, and bird flu hasn't shown up in North America. But the staff ...
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Possible seasonal shot seen for bird flu
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
NEW YORK, United States (UPI) -- A seasonal flu shot against a possible bird flu pandemic is reported to be under consideration by US public health officials ...
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US plan to fight bird flu draws mixed reactions
International Herald Tribune - France
... The plan comes amid international worries about the H5N1 strain of bird flu, a particularly virulent variant that has decimated flocks of wild and domesticated ...
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Egypt reports fifth bird flu death
Forbes - USA
... Out of the 13 human cases of bird flu that have been reported among Egyptians since mid-March, five were fatal and eight people recovered after being treated ...
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New TV, radio ads aim to ease bird flu fears
MSNBC - USA
WASHINGTON - Hoping to prevent a scare over deadly bird flu, the government is distributing television and radio commercials assuring people that chicken is ...
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Ivory Coast confirms bird flu
News24 - South Africa
Abidjan - The Ivory Coast government on Wednesday confirmed several outbreaks of the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu in both wild birds and poultry. ...
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Bird flu emergency teaching plan gets skeptical reception
USA Today - USA
... begun offering coursework online. But what's envisioned in the bird flu plan goes far beyond anything educators ever envisioned. ...
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APEC kicks off ministerial meeting on bird flu
Xinhua - China
... Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics kicked off here Friday, with discussions focusing on assessment of the socioeconomic impact of bird flu pandemics and ...
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Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 3, 2006

2006-05-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

US flu plan warns of 2 million deaths, severe disruption
CBC News - Canada
... The H5N1 form of bird flu has killed 113 people around the world, most of them children or young adults, since the current outbreak began in 2003. ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Disturbing
Relevance:Don't expect Federal help.

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

Expert says bird flu may miss US in '06
The Herald - Everett,WA,USA
SINGAPORE - A top bird flu expert predicted Tuesday that the H5N1 virus will not reach the US this year through migratory birds, and warned that bird smuggling ...
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'Flu' hits at critical
New York Daily News - New York,NY,USA
... But it could happen. "It's a horrible thing that could be coming," said Judith Verno, who produced "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" with Diana Kerew. ...
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Fast growth rebound seen if bird flu hits
Reuters.uk - UK
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A bird flu pandemic will hit world economies for one to two quarters as tourism and demand for consumer goods fall sharply, but growth ...
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WHO concerned over consumption of bird flu-infected poultry+
TMCnet - USA
... Kyodo) _ The World Health Organization is concerned about poverty-stricken people in Southeast Asian countries who chose to consume bird flu-infected poultry ...
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Expert: World should mount 'pre-emptive' strike against bird flu ...
MSN Money - USA
SINGAPORE (AP) - A leading bird flu scientist says that while the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 40 (m) million people caught the world by surprise, experts are ...
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Report: Don't count on federal bird flu aid
MSNBC - USA
May 2: The White House is set to announce a bird flu plan that outlines how each part of the government would respond to a pandemic. ...
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IRAQ: Government reiterates readiness to fight bird flu
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
BAGHDAD, 3 May (IRIN) - The government has said it is prepared to fight any new cases of bird flu and that the situation is under control. ...

H7 flu 'in Norfolk since March'
BBC News - UK
Bird flu probably arrived in Norfolk in mid-March - six weeks before it was first discovered, MPs have been told. Agriculture Minister ...
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EGYPT: Health ministry reports 13th human bird flu case
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
... "The threat posed by bird flu has by no means passed," said Sayyid al-Abbasi, a media official at the health ministry, prior to the latest discovery. ...
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Expert: Human bird flu vaccine promising
INQ7.net - Philippines
SINGAPORE -- The development of a human vaccine for bird flu appears promising in trials, but multiple challenges would keep it from reaching large numbers of ...

Bird flu report should = tech investment
USA Today - USA
... Just last week, Citrix Systems CEO Mark Templeton stopped by USA TODAY, and he said that one of his sales pitches these days is bird flu preparedness. ...
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Read it for yourself: White House flu report
USA Today - USA
... "If bird flu hits, don't count on federal rescue." Chicago Sun-Times. • "Flu plan: States, cities on their own." CBS News.
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USDA readies own human pandemic plan for bird flu
Reuters - USA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A US government department that would be heavily impacted by a bird flu pandemic has developed a plan to keep its own operations going ...
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Nearly 150 types of bird flu pose threat -experts
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
SINGAPORE, May 3 (Reuters) - While the world focuses on battling the spread of the deadly bird flu, nearly 150 different strains of the virus with the ...
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US readies bird flu pandemic plan
Reuters.uk - UK
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If a bird flu pandemic breaks out the US Agriculture Department could stagger work shifts and close down day-care centers to help keep ...
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Bird flu `for short, sharp hit'
The Standard - Hong Kong
A bird flu pandemic will hit world economies for one to two quarters as tourism and demand for consumer goods fall sharply, an economist forecast Wednesday ...
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Government unveils bird flu preparedness
United Press International - USA
... May 3 (UPI) -- The Homeland Security Council rolled out a 300-plus step action plan Wednesday for dealing with worse-case bird flu pandemic scenarios. ...

US bird flu plan aims to slow, not stop, pandemic
Reuters India - Mumbai,India
... school closures if an influenza pandemic hits, but such measures can only temporarily slow the inevitable spread of disease, the government's new flu plan says ...
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US Releases Bird Flu Response Plan
Forbes - USA
... "It's heavily based on the most-severe-and-unlikely-catastrophe-imaginable scenario," said Dr. Marc Siegel, author of Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know ...
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bird flu plan aims to slow, not stop
Boston Globe - United States
- A bird flu "implementation plan" that lays out specific tasks for each federal government agency will be released on Wednesday, the White House said. ...
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Local firms allowed to manufacture bird flu vaccine
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The Health Ministry has allowed six local pharmaceutical companies to manufacture bird flu vaccines. These companies ...
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Bird flu plan lacks a key detail
USA Today - USA
... Concern about a flu pandemic has grown because a bird flu virus has crossed into humans. The virus has sickened 205 people and killed ...
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Bill Robinson: ABC: The Bird Flu Will Hit America May 9th
Yahoo! News - USA
This is Part Three in my never-ending series on the fiction that is "the bird flu pandemic." I'll stop when David Mamet stops with the cartoons. ...
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Bird flu scare may trim CAB Cakaran's Q2 results
Business Times - Malaysia - Malaysia
... that earnings for its second quarter ending March 31 2006 will be marginally lower than the previous quarter as sales were affected by the bird flu scare early ...
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Bird Flu Would Ravage US, White House Warns
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
... WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday unveiled a foreboding report on the nation's lack of preparedness for a bird flu pandemic, warning that such an ...
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APEC meeting addresses possibility of bird flu pandemic
ABC Asia Pacific - Australia
Asia-Pacific officials are meeting in Vietnam to find ways to stop a possible bird flu pandemic that experts say could kill millions. ...
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White House unveils new emergency plan for flu pandemic
TMCnet - USA
... Though it's unclear whether the dreaded H5N1 strain of bird flu now sweeping across the globe will mutate to easily spread among people, experts say a flu ...
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Five Spanish hospitals test anti-bird flu vaccine
Xinhua - China
... in Spain's capital Madrid and two in the northeastern city of Barcelona have started to test a vaccine to fight the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu on volunteers ...
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Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 2, 2006

2006-05-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

Vical bird flu vaccine stops H5N1, maybe others
Reuters.uk - UK
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bird flu vaccine being developed by San Diego-based Vical Incorporated protects mice and ferrets against the feared H5N1 avian ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Favorable results in vaccine tests on animals.

'Worst case' bird flu pandemic underestimated: RMS
Reuters - USA
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many companies are underestimating just how bad a bird flu epidemic could be, said Risk Management Solutions, which provides catastrophe ...

Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Disturbing
Relevance: Underestimation of pandemic impact.

Egypt finds 13th case of human bird flu
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
CAIRO, May 2 (Reuters) - A 27-year-old Egyptian woman is being treated in hospital for bird flu, the country's 13th human infection with the feared virus, a ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Expected
Relevance: H5N1 continues to spread in Egypt..

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

Rapid containment measures could prevent bird flu pandemic: WHO
Jakarta Post - Jakarta,Indonesia
JAKARTA (AP): The World Health Organization said Tuesday it believes a bird flu pandemic can still be prevented if authorities are ready to implement rapid ...
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Funds for bird flu
Jamaica Gleaner - Kingston,Jamaica
WITH MORE than two million birds and 103 people killed as a result of bird flu, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has donated US$500,000 (J$32.5 ...

Despite holiday, surveillance tightened in bird-flu-hit Qinghai
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
Local veterinary officials in Qinghai province were asked to step up bird flu surveillance efforts during the May Day holiday, after a wild goose was killed by ...
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Experts say bird flu virus survives longer
Reuters.uk - UK
... "H5N1 at room temperatures can stay (alive) for at least a week in wet conditions," Webster told Reuters on the eve of a bird flu conference organised by the ...
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Jakarta wants world to fulfill bird flu aid pledges
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
JAKARTA, May 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the country with the most bird flu deaths this year, has not yet received funds donors have pledged to fight the disease ...
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Restricting Air Travel Unlikely to Curtail Bird Flu
Ivanhoe - Winter Park,FL,USA
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Closing airports and grounding planes probably wouldn't do much good in the event of a widespread outbreak of the bird flu, find British ...

Bird flu hurting US chicken firms
Chicago Tribune - United States
... "As irrational as it sounds, fears of bird flu have hurt their sales," he said. "The domestic supply has increased dramatically ...
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INTERVIEW-Indonesia bird flu fate lies at local level-WHO
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
JAKARTA, May 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the nation with the most bird flu deaths this year, has the will to combat the disease but its provinces have fallen ...
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Bird Flu Strain Found in NJ
6abc.com - Philadelphia,PA,USA
TRENTON, NJ (AP) - May 2, 2006 - A strain of bird flu not dangerous to people turned up at a live poultry market in South Jersey during routine testing last ...
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Flight curbs 'won't halt bird flu'
Guardian Unlimited - UK
British experts say closing international airports will do little to halt a bird flu outbreak. Their prediction follows another ...
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Thailand’s bird flu strategy praised
IHT ThaiDay - Bangkok,Thailand
... But bird flu was very much on the Egyptian leader’s mind. ... The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was first discovered in Asia in late 2003. ...

ASEAN, Japan join hands in combating bird flu
Xinhua - China
JAKARTA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan conveyed tami flu tablets for 500,000 bird flu patients and 700,000 personal protection equipment (PPE) to Secretary General ...
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Premarket Movers: Bird flu flurry
BusinessWeek - USA
... earlier released results from animal tests that showed "100 percent protection in mice and ferrets" exposed to H5N1, the lethal strain of bird flu that has ...

US Plans For Bird Flu Disruptions
CBS News - USA
The Bush administration forecasts massive disruptions if bird flu or some other super-strain of influenza arises in the United States. ...
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Rapid Containment Key to Preventing Bird Flu Pandemic
Voice of America - USA
... The aid includes a stockpile for Southeast Asia of half a million doses of Tamiflu, considered the best treatment for bird flu so far. ...
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Pilgrims Pride 2Q Hurt by Bird Flu Fears
MSN Money - USA
The industry's top players have warned in recent weeks that an inventory glut pinned on bird flu worries were hurting business in Europe and Asia, where H5N1 ...
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Flu Expert Warns Over Bird Smuggling
Washington Post - United States
SINGAPORE -- A top bird flu expert predicted Tuesday that the H5N1 virus will not reach the US this year via migratory birds, and warned bird smuggling poses a ...
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Vical up on 1Q results, bird flu test
BusinessWeek - USA
... after the biotech drug developer topped Wall Street estimates for the first quarter and said its vaccine offered protection against the bird flu in animal tests ...
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Egypt: Last Human Bird Flu Case Recovers, Say Health Authorities
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
... control," said health ministry media official Sayyid al-Abbasi. "However, the threat posed by bird flu has by no means passed.". ...
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Vical bird flu vaccine stops H5N1 in animals
Reuters.uk - UK
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An experimental bird flu vaccine may show the potential to protect not only against the feared H5N1 virus but perhaps other strains of ...
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St. Jude scientists produce vaccine that could fight bird flu
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
... have hit the Holy Grail of flu vaccines, successfully protecting mice and ferrets with a commercial product expected to also protect humans against bird flu. ...
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Top Bird Flu Scientist: Virus Won't Hit US in 2006
FOX News - USA
SINGAPORE — A top bird flu expert on Tuesday predicted that the H5N1 virus will not reach the United States this year via migratory birds, but warned it will ...
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US to outline another part of bird flu plan
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - A bird flu "implementation plan" that lays out specific tasks for each US federal government agency will be released on Wednesday ...
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Air-travel restrictions won't halt spread of bird flu, finds ...
Seattle Times - United States
SAN FRANCISCO — Closing international airports will do little to halt a bird flu outbreak, British health officials reporteed in a medical journal, the third ...
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Ministry says no human bird flu case in Pakistan
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
... the human samples were collected jointly by the national institute of health and the World health organisation (WHO) from all the bird flu affected poultry ...
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Could a face mask stop bird flu?
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
... to slow or halt a pandemic outbreak of influenza, and people should not engage in activities that would increase their risk of exposure to the flu just because ...
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UPDATE 1-US bird flu plan stresses school closures
Reuters - USA
WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - A US White House bird flu "implementation plan" sets out detailed plans for closing schools in case of a pandemic, and asks ...
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Indonesia urged to take rapid measures against bird flu pandemic
Xinhua - China
JAKARTA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged Indonesia and its neighbors to work quickly to prevent bird flu pandemic, a local ...
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Rapid measures could prevent bird flu pandemic, WHO says
Jakarta Post - Jakarta,Indonesia
A bird flu pandemic can still be prevented if Indonesia and its neighbors quickly work to contain the spread of the deadly virus, the World Health Organization ...
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Bird flu pandemic is deemed unlikely to miss the US
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
... arises. It's impossible to predict when the next will occur, although concern is rising that the Asian bird flu might lead to one. ...
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Bird-flu movie blurs fact, fiction
Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond,VA,USA
It's Hollywood's version of bird flu, a blur of fact and fiction that some scientists say could confuse the public. "Fatal Contact ...
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Government hands out $1Billion to Develop New Vaccines

2006-05-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

May 4, 2006 — 'The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded more than $1 billion in contracts today to five vaccine manufacturers to help develop a stockpile of effective bird flu vaccine....They will be expected to develop cell-based technology rather than rely on currently used egg-based tools, a process during which the flu virus is incubated in fertilized chicken eggs. The cell-based method would be faster and not rely on chickens.'...more

Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Hopeful
Relevance: The Government is finally putting its money where its mouth is, to develop newer technologies for all vaccines in general, not just a vaccine for pandemic flu. Private vaccine companies have not been willing to fund these new technologies on their own, b/c of the low return on investment in the vaccine industry, as opposed to other pharmaceuticals.

FACTBOX-Bird flu's spread around the globe

2006-05-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

May 5 (Reuters) - 'The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Friday that a 27-year-old Egyptian woman from Cairo has died from bird flu, the country's 5th death from the H5N1 strain. ... -- Since the virus re-emerged in Asia in 2003, outbreaks have been confirmed in more than 48 countries and territories, according to data from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

-- Since the beginning of January, 2006, more than 30 countries have reported outbreaks, in most cases involving wild birds such as swans.'...more

Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Timeline
Relevance: A good history of the basic facts of the spread of bird flu to date for those who want an overall picture.

Live bird flu virus found in victim's blood

2006-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

HELEN BRANSWELL Canadian Press
Toronto — Live H5N1 avian flu virus can be isolated in the blood of its human victims...Evidence that H5N1 can spread via the bloodstream to parts of the body not normally attacked by influenza viruses confirms this particular flu strain poses special challenges for both patient treatment and infection control, experts say. It also raises theoretical questions about the safety of the donated blood system should H5N1 trigger a pandemic."...more

Bird Flu Beacon Rating: *****
In a word: Haunting
Relevance: Influenza virus is rarely found circulating in the blood. If H5N1 can do this, health care workers would possibly be at greater risk during a pandemic caring for those who are sick with H5N1. Huge implications for infection control in a pandemic.

Rating Google Alerts for Bird Flu - May 1, 2006

2006-05-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Note: Rating system has changed.
Only particularly noteworthy stories will be rated. These will be listed towards the top.

Rating system:
***** (Very Important!)
**** (Somewhat Important)
*** (Heads Up)
** (Low Relevance)
* (Unimportant)

IMPORTANT BIRD FLU STORIES: (In terms of spread, control, and precautions).

Smuggled pets, sporting birds worry bird flu watchdogs
KESQ - Palm Desert,CA,USA
WASHINGTON Though there's been no sign of deadly avian flu around the US, authorities have been on the lookout for wild birds on the wing. ...

Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Smuggling may thwart containment efforts.

Bio-security used in bird-flu fight
San Bernardino Sun - San Bernardino,CA,USA
... Even the short tour provided striking evidence of the measures the poultry industry is taking to combat bird flu before it reaches the United States. ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ****
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: The exemplary biosecurity precautions of Foster Farms.

Bird flu hits ninth poultry farm in Pakistan
NewKerala.com - Ernakulam,Kerala,India
Islamabad: The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has struck the ninth poultry farm in Pakistan as authorities struggled to contain the spread of the deadly virus ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Expected
Relevance: Bird flu continues to spread in Pakistan.

Simulation shows travel restrictions won't slow bird flu
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... FRANCISCO - British health officials reported in a medical journal Monday that closing international airports will do little to halt a bird flu outbreak, the ...
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Bird Flu Beacon Rating: ***
In a word: Noteworthy
Relevance: Travel restrictions unlikely to be effective against bird flu outbreaks.

LESS IMPORTANT STORIES:

Scottish bird flu quarantine lifted despite English outbreak
Unison.ie - Bray,Ireland
A 1,000 square mile quarantine zone to combat an outbreak of bird flu was lifted in Scotland today - despite the spread of a similar disease south of the ...

As bird flu shock wanes in West Africa, false sense of security ...
China Post - Taipei,Taiwan
The sight had all but disappeared in the first shock that followed the discovery of Africa's first cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Nigeria in ...
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Counties plan for possibility of flu outbreak
Mercury-Register - Oroville,CA,USA
... "All birds get the flu, so all flu is bird flu," said Francie Wise, director of communicable disease control at Contra Costa Health Services. ...

Wild Goose in China Tests Positive for Bird Flu
Voice of America - USA
By VOA News. China says a wild goose found in northwestern Qinghai province has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu. ...
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Groom fears she has bird flu
Norwich Evening News - Norwich,England,UK
The head groom at a riding stables next to the mid-Norfolk farm at the centre of a bird flu outbreak fears she too has contracted the H7N3 strain of the disease ...
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Dutch lift bird flu restrictions
Scotsman - United Kingdom
... Poultry not vaccinated against bird flu were required to be kept indoors during the migratory season, to shield them from contact with wild birds. ...
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FACTBOX-Bird flu strains have been seen globally
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
May 1 (Reuters) - Authorities have discovered a mild form of avian influenza at a live bird market in New Jersey, but it is not the deadly H5N1 strain ...
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Over 50 calls a day to government's bird flu hotline
Unison.ie - Bray,Ireland
There has been a flood of calls to the government's bird flu hotline, in the wake of the recent outbreaks in Britain. The Department ...

Scots bird flu quarantine zone is lifted
Scotsman - United Kingdom
A 1000-SQUARE mile quarantine zone to fight an outbreak of bird flu was lifted in Scotland today - despite the spread of a similar strain of the disease in ...
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15,000 chickens culled to stem bird flu
Scotsman - United Kingdom
CHICKENS at two more poultry farms in England affected by bird flu have been slaughtered. Free-range flocks at Norwich Road Farm ...
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Discovering new feathers of bird flu
Deccan Herald - Bangalore,India
... That scenario closely mimics the clinical experience of many of the 184 human cases of bird flu that have been officially diagnosed and recorded since late 2003 ...
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Uganda to study bird flu
New Vision - Kampala,Uganda
UGANDA intends to carry out research on measures for the prevention and mitigation of the threat of bird flu, officials have said. ...

Governor: be ready for bird flu
WDAM-TV - Hattiesburg,MS,USA
Gov. Haley Barbour says Mississippi needs to be ready if there's an outbreak of bird flu. The governor made his comments as he opened ...
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Netherlands lift bird flu protection measures
Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa
The Hague - The Netherlands on Monday lifted most of the measures put in place to protect Dutch poultry from getting infected with bird flu, saying that ...
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