Posted on 05/09/2005 10:18:08 AM PDT by Dog Gone
Some folks suggested that we begin a thread similar to the Marsburg Surveillance Project for monitoring developments regarding Avian Flu.
The purpose is to have an extended thread where those interested can post articles and comments as this story unfolds.
If we're lucky, the story and this thread will fade away.
Vaccines are useless against this virus
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Published: 14 October 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article319539.ece
There is no vaccine available against bird flu. Existing vaccines are unlikely to be effective against the new strain.
Researchers are working to develop a vaccine targeted at the H5N1 strain but even if it is successful, to manufacture sufficient quantities to protect the world's population from a pandemic will take years. A generic H5N1 vaccine would not prevent infection but it might lessen its severity and save lives. Countries including the UK are relying on the anti-viral drug Tamiflu...
...There is a worldwide shortage of Tamiflu because the raw materials from which it is made are scarce and the manufacturing process is slow and complex. (excerpt)
Flu From Horses Racing Among Dogs
It's always something.
Not really accurate: universities here have been developing and testing new vaccines, and some are ready for immediate production.
The chances of this not jumping to people is pretty small. The kicker is what will happen when/if it does. If the virus becomes less deadly, then we may not really notice it.
It's interesting to read both assertions at this point. Our gov.t is ordering and stockpiling a vaccine, which one? Will it still be effective if and when H5 makes the final jump to H2H transmission? Or are we really just hedging a bet at this point?
It wouldn't be the first time the flu vaccine created for the year would be the wrong type, science getting the predicted mutation wrong. As far as I've read so far regarding the mystery vaccine is it is experimental, may not be properly tested due to need during a pandemic, and liablity is looking to be waived by the government. And production capacity will be far below being able to meet the predicted need.
They vaccinated over 100,000 people in Romania this week. Vaccinated them with what? If H5 isn't going H2H, why did the people get vaccinated? The article posted said there is no vaccine...?
Let's just say the lines are blurred at the present moment and the information that has come out this past week is blurring them even more. The experts are no longer talking with a unified voice, MSM is glossing over facts, and the government is being selective. I don't find that troublesome as we've worked very hard to stay on top of the development of avian flu here on FR. In fact I think that the developing blurring of information is predictable and should be anticipated. Countries are a lot less prepared than what is being admitted.
Daily Bird Flu News Updates:
Be sure to visit the Poultry Site to read the articles in full! http://www.thepoultrysite.com/LatestNews/?AREA=LatestNews&Display=6187
Reuters - 14th October 2005
European bird flu experts hold crisis talks
BRUSSELS - European bird flu experts are to hold an emergency meeting on Friday, a day after health officials confirmed what many had long feared was inevitable -- the spread of the deadly H5N1 strain from Asia to Europe.
There should be enough seasonal vaccine for the at-risk groups in the UK. There is no practical vaccine yet for avian flu. If and when there is, the Government has ordered 2.6 million doses. Priority recipients include health service workers, Sourced: The TimesOnline
posted elsewhere by Mother Abigail:
To: All
Turkey sits at major crossroads for migratory birds
Turkey, hit by an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza suspected to have been caused by migratory birds, is crossed by three major routes the wild birds use to travel to warmer climes.
Each year in the autumn around half a million migratory birds take these "highways" to fly from northern Europe to Africa and the Middle East, according to statistics from Aegean University.
The largest route is that from central Europe to the Balkans and from there to northwestern Turkey and across the Marmara Sea and Bosphoros strait at Istanbul that separates the continents of Europe and Asia. From there the birds head towards the eastern Mediterranean and then the Nile river in Egypt.
Each year, tens of thousands of storks, cormorants, eagles, buzzards, kites, ducks, geese and other birds cross from Asia to Europe through Turkey along this route.
It was along this route the deadly virus was detected in poultry in a backyard farm near the southern coast of the Marmara Sea that links the Mediterranean and Black seas.
Another route goes from the Caucasus through across Turkey and from there to the Arabian peninsula to central Africa.
The third "highway" begins in Ukraine and passes through Georgia, the plains of western Anatolia in Turkey and then to Egypt. It is particularly used by quails which leave their nesting sites to spend the winter in Africa.
Turkey has dozens of sites where migratory birds gather. The best known of these are at Meric, in the northwest of the country, in Kizilirmak in the west, Goksu in the south and Kulu in the centre.
Tourist authorities are keen to promote bird-watching in Turkey, where around 450 species have been registered.
In a bid to encourage ornithologists to visit the country, bird-watching centers have been set up, notably in Manyas, site of a large nature park well-known for its wildlife and where authorities suspect the bird flu virus arrived in the country.
Test results released Thursday confirmed that an outbreak of bird flu in the northwestern village of Kiziksa last week, suspected to have been caused by migratory birds, was the H5N1 strain of the virus that has killed more than 60 people in Asia.
72 posted on 10/14/2005 8:48:01 AM EDT by Mother Abigail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EU bird flu experts hold crisis talks
Fri Oct 14, 2005 7:54 AM ET
By Aine Gallagher
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU experts held crisis talks on the spread of bird flu on Friday, a day after health officials confirmed what many had long feared -- the arrival of the deadly H5N1 strain on Europe's doorstep.
The spread of the disease from Asia was a "troubling sign", U.S. Health Secretary Mike Leavitt said, and the world must work harder to prepare for a potential flu pandemic among humans.
Turkey has bird flu in its poultry but Romania must now wait another 24 hours because of a customs delay to find out if it also has the virulent H5N1 strain.
The European Commission said the Brussels meeting would run from 0830 GMT to 1830 GMT and examine the risk that migratory birds might pose for the 25-nation European Union.
"The experts' groups will then issue recommendations on the potential risk for humans in contact with such birds," it said in a statement.
The World Health Organization in Geneva sought to calm fears, saying evidence showed that H5N1 does not spread easily from birds to humans.
"All attempts to bring it under control in Southeast Asia have failed," said Shigeru Omi, the WHO's director in the Western
Pacific region.
U.S. Health Secretary Leavitt, who is visiting bird flu-hit countries in Southeast Asia, said in Hanoi: "H5N1 is mostly an animal disease today. To stop it from spreading to humans, we have to stop it in birds."
To calm the public, the Turkish and French prime ministers made a point of eating chicken.
But the threat has caused consternation in Europe even though people do not live in close contact with poultry at their homes, as in Asia, where dozens have died from the virus.
One Asian victim consumed raw duck's blood, a delicacy not popular with Europeans.
No human cases of the disease have been reported in Europe and the major threat of a human pandemic is still in Asia, experts believe.
Bird flu has killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003.
"From a public health point of view, I think what is happening in southeast Asia is much more serious than what would be happening in Europe ... ," said Albert Osterhaus, a top virologist at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands.
MASKS AND VACCINES
But European poultry producers, whose industry is worth billions of dollars, took immediate steps to protect their flocks and their staff, while members of the public scrambled to buy face masks and flu vaccines.
In Hungary, poultry sales fell.
"We keep saying that these chickens didn't catch the flu, we spend all day doing that. But even if people turn up, they just complain and don't buy," said Iren Kirilla, a butcher at Budapest's main market.
There were signs of alarm in Serbia, where people were reported to have bought 20,000 face-masks in two days, while Belgrade pharmacies sold out of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
In Germany, media reported that surgeries were being inundated with people seeking vaccination against normal strains of flu, and a surge in demand for anti-viral drugs.
Poland also reported demand for flu jabs was rising.
Romania is on tenterhooks after having sent bird flu samples to Britain for testing to determine whether the virus found in three ducks in the Danube Delta last week was H5N1.
The samples were supposed to arrive on Thursday but got delayed by customs as they were dangerous material.
The EU Commission confirmed on Thursday that a bird flu outbreak in Turkey was indeed H5N1 and that Europe should prepare for a pandemic.
H5N1 is considered the biggest direct disease threat to humanity. Experts estimate that, if it acquires the ability to spread easily from person to person, it will make more than 25 million people seriously ill and kill as many as 7 million.
European countries tightened border controls on poultry and poultry products but fear the real threat may come from the skies as returning migratory birds bring the virus home.
Avian flu is transmitted to humans only if they eat or live in close contact with infected birds. But scientists say H5N1 is mutating toward a form that could pass between humans.
Migratory birds are a natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses and do not usually become sick when infected. Domestic poultry die quickly when infected.se This Window
71 posted on 10/14/2005 8:33:04 AM EDT by Mother Abigail
daily update ping
on or off, FRmail Judith Anne, Dog Gone, or bitt
All Posters...keep them coming!
EBH, terrific work.
No influenza A (H5) vaccines are currently commercially available for humans.
Earlier H5 vaccines were poorly immunogenic and required two doses of high hemagglutinin antigen content or the addition of MF59 adjuvant to generate neutralizing antibody responses.
A third injection of adjuvanted 1997 H5 vaccine variably induced cross-reacting antibodies to human isolates from 2004.
Reverse genetics has been used for the rapid generation of nonvirulent vaccine viruses from recent influenza A (H5) isolates, and several candidate vaccines are under study.
One such inactivated vaccine with the use of a human H5N1 isolate from 2004 has been reported to be immunogenic at high hemagglutinin doses.
Live attenuated, cold-adapted intranasal vaccines are also under development. These are protective against human influenza after a single dose in young children.
MA
Thanks for all the good information everyone. It is greatly appreciated.
Any clue where I could get answers to these questions?
What is the life of the H virus? (As on surfaces or droplet).
Is the virus able to contaminate if dried and then re-hydrated?
As far as I am aware this is the same vaccine we discussed some months ago! This is the one Bush wants stocked...months ago on this very thread we discussed the efficacy of this vaccine and we weren't convinced of it being a viable option. Only 25% of the US population would be able to be vaccinated. There simply won't be enough for the rest of us, let alone the world.
"No influenza A (H5) vaccines are currently commercially available for humans."
Getting the current vaccine will still help in any possible differential diagnosis if/when this avian flu really hits.
ROME Oct 11, 2005 — U.N. officials said Tuesday they are exploring ways to step up the production of a vaccine in case bird flu mutates and sparks a human flu pandemic.
David Nabarro, the U.N. coordinator for avian and human influenza, said it will take six months to build up a stockpile of vaccines, but health authorities are worried that amount of time might be too long if a pandemic flu strain emerges.
"We will need to have vaccines much more quickly than six months," Nabarro said, adding that the World Health Organization and governments are exploring how to "pull together vaccine manufacturers" to see if it can be done more quickly...
...Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said "no one in the world is ready" for a catastrophic outbreak of bird flu and President Bush summoned vaccine manufacturers to the White House to discuss the situation...
... Assuming a limited supply of vaccines is available, authorities would have to ration who receives them, with those on the front lines of combatting any pandemic likely to get the priority. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1204538
Avian Flu Threat Prompts Nanobiotech Firms To Step Up Vaccine, Detection Device Development
http://www.rednova.com/news/health/269485/avian_flu_threat_prompts_nanobiotech_firms_to_step_up_vaccine/index.html?source=r_health
ATLANTA, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanobiotechnology companies are developing a vaccine that could prevent and treat Avian influenza infection as well as a device for on-the-spot detection.
NanoBiotech News (http://www.nanobiotechnews.com/), a weekly insider news service on the development of nanomedicines and devices, today reports on two companies pioneering the development of health care products that could help mute the spread of the potential bird flu pandemic.
NanoViricides, Inc. is working to rapidly modify an influenza drug, FluCide-I, already in development, against the Avian flu. The company has developed a nanomaterial that contains an encapsulated active pharmaceutical ingredient which is targeted to Avian flu like a guided missile.
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