Latest from CDC: Avian Influenza: Current Situation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ^ | March 20, 2006

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Summary

Influenza A (H5N1) is an influenza A virus subtype that occurs mainly in birds, is highly contagious among birds, and can be deadly to them. Outbreaks of H5N1 among poultry are ongoing in a number of countries. While H5N1 does not usually infect people, human cases of H5N1 infection associated with these outbreaks have been reported Most of these cases have occurred from direct or close contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces; however, a few rare cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 virus have occurred, though transmission has not continued beyond one person.

Nonetheless, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that H5N1 virus one day could be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population and an influenza pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin. Experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation in Asia and Europe very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily from person to person.

Human H5N1 Cases

Human Cases: Summary of Current Situation

Since January, 2004 WHO has reported human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the following countries:

• East Asia and the Pacific:
  • Cambodia
  • China
  • Indonesia
  • Thailand

  • Vietnam

• Europe & Eurasia:
  • Turkey

• Near East:
  • Iraq

 

For additional information about these reports, visit the
World Health Organization Web Site.

Updated February 8, 2006

During August to October 2004, sporadic human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) were reported in Vietnam and Thailand. Beginning in December 2004, a resurgence of poultry outbreaks and human cases were reported in Vietnam.

On February 2, 2005, the first of four human cases of H5N1 infection from Cambodia were reported. And on July 21, 2005, the first human case of H5N1 in Indonesia was reported. Indonesia continued to report human cases from August 2005 into February 2006. Thailand reported new human cases of H5N1 in October, November, and December 2005, and Vietnam reported new human cases in November 2005. China reported the country’s first confirmed human cases in November 2005 and continued to report human cases in December 2005 and into 2006. Turkey reported the country’s first confirmed human cases on January 5, 2006 and has continued to report human cases. The first confirmed human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) in Iraq was reported on February 2, 2006.

Animal H5N1 Cases

Animal Cases: Summary of Current Situation

Since December 2003, avian influenza A (H5N1) infections in poultry or wild birds have been reported in the following countries:

• Africa:
  • Cameroon

  • Niger
  • Nigeria
• East Asia & the Pacific:
  • Cambodia
  • China

  • Hong Kong (SARPRC)
  • Indonesia
  • Japan
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Mongolia

  • Myanmar (Burma)
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

• Europe & Eurasia:

  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina (H5)
  • Bulgaria

  • Croatia
  • Denmark (H5)
  • France
  • Georgia (H5)
  • Germany
  • Greece

  • Hungary
  • Italy
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Serbia and Montenegro (H5)

  • Slovak Republic
  • Slovenia
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

• Near East:
  • Egypt
  • Iraq (H5)
  • Iran
  • Israel

• South Asia:
  • India
  • Kazakhstan
  • Pakistan (H5)

For additional information about these reports, visit the
World Organization for Animal Health Web Site.

Updated March 20, 2006

• Beginning in late June 2004, new outbreaks of lethal avian influenza A (H5N1) infection among poultry were reported by several countries in Asia: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  
  
• Since May 2005, outbreaks of H5N1 disease have been reported among poultry in China, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. China, Croatia, Mongolia, and Romania also reported outbreaks of H5N1 in wild, migratory birds since May 2005.
  
  

• In January 2006, Hong Kong (SARPRC) reported one dead wild bird.
  
  
• Since February 1, 2006, the first cases of H5N1 or H5 infections in poultry or wild birds have been reported in the following countries: Iraq (H5), Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina (H5), Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Niger, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro (H5), Pakistan (H5), Albania, Poland, Georgia, Cameroon, Myanmar (Burma), Sweden, Denmark (H5), and Israel.
  
  
• For additional information about H5N1 and other avian influenza outbreaks among animals, visit the World Organization for Animal Health Web site.

Assessment of Current Situation

The avian influenza A (H5N1) epizootic (animal outbreak) in Asia and parts of Europe is not expected to diminish significantly in the short term. It is likely that H5N1 infection among birds has become endemic in certain areas and that human infections resulting from direct contact with infected poultry will continue to occur. So far, the spread of H5N1 virus from person-to-person has been rare and has not continued beyond one person. No evidence for genetic reassortment between human and avian influenza A virus genes has been found; however, the epizootic in Asia continues to pose an important public health threat.

There is little pre-existing natural immunity to H5N1 infection in the human population. If these H5N1 viruses gain the ability for efficient and sustained transmission among humans, an influenza pandemic could result, with potentially high rates of illness and death. In addition, genetic sequencing of influenza A (H5N1) viruses from human cases in Vietnam and Thailand shows resistance to the antiviral medications amantadine and rimantadine, two of the medications commonly used for treatment of influenza. This would leave two remaining antiviral medications (oseltamivir and zanamivir) that should still be effective against currently circulating strains of H5N1 virus. Efforts to produce vaccine candidates that would be effective against avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses are under way. However, it will likely require many months before such vaccines could be mass produced and made widely available.

Research suggests that currently circulating strains of H5N1 viruses are becoming more capable of causing disease (pathogenic) in mammals than were earlier H5N1 viruses. One study found that ducks infected with H5N1 virus are now shedding more virus for longer periods without showing symptoms of illness. This finding has implications for the role of ducks in transmitting disease to other birds and possibly to humans as well. Additionally, other findings have documented H5N1 infection among pigs in China and H5N1 infection in felines (experimental infection in housecats in the Netherlands and isolation of H5N1 viruses in tigers and leopards in Thailand ).

Notable findings of epidemiologic investigations of human H5N1 cases in Vietnam during 2005 have suggested transmission of H5N1 viruses to at least two persons through consumption of uncooked duck blood. One possible instance of limited person-to-person transmission of H5N1 virus in Thailand has been reported. This possibility is being further investigated in other clusters of cases in Vietnam and Indonesia.

The majority of known human H5N1 cases have begun with respiratory symptoms. However, one atypical fatal case of encephalitis in a child in southern Vietnam in 2004 was identified retrospectively as H5N1 influenza through testing of cerebrospinal fluid, fecal matter, and throat and serum samples. Further research is needed to ascertain the implications of such findings.

Bird Import Ban

There is currently a ban on the importation of birds and bird products from H5N1-affected countries. The regulation states that no person may import or attempt to import any birds (Class Aves), whether dead or alive, or any products derived from birds (including hatching eggs), from the following countries: Albania, Azerbaijan, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Egypt, France (USDA – defined restricted zone only), India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam and Israel (current as of March 20, 2006). For more information, see Embargo of Birds from Specified Countries.

Travel

Updated Information for Travelers about Avian Influenza A(H5N1) is available at the CDC Travelers’ Health Web site. Also see Guidelines and Recommendations - Interim Guidance about Avian Influenza A (H5N1) for U.S. Citizens Living Abroad.

CDC Response

Domestic Activities

• In May 2005, CDC joined a new, inter-agency National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Task Force organized by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. This task force is developing and refining preparedness efforts with international, state, local, and private organizational partners to help ensure the most effective response possible when the next influenza pandemic occurs. For more information about the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and other aspects of this coordinated federal initiative, please visit www.pandemicflu.gov.
• In February 2004, CDC issued recommendations for enhanced domestic surveillance of avian influenza A (H5N1). Following the reports of human deaths in Vietnam in August 2004 and additional human cases in the following months, CDC issued follow-up Health Alert Network (HAN) notices on August 12 and February 4, 2005, reiterating criteria for domestic surveillance, diagnostic evaluation, and infection control precautions for avian influenza A (H5N1). The HAN notice also detailed laboratory testing procedures for H5N1.
• CDC has collaborated with the Association of Public Health Laboratories to conduct training workshops for state laboratories on the use of molecular techniques to rapidly identify H5 viruses.

• CDC is working collaboratively with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and other partners to assist states with pandemic planning efforts.
• CDC is working with other agencies, such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, on antiviral stockpile issues.

International Activities

• CDC is one of four WHO Collaborating Centers and in this capacity provides ongoing support for the global WHO surveillance network, laboratory testing, training, and other actions.

• CDC has worked collaboratively with WHO to conduct investigations of human H5N1 infections in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Turkey and to provide laboratory diagnostic and training assistance.
• CDC has performed laboratory testing of H5N1 viruses from Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.
• CDC is implementing a multi-million dollar initiative to improve influenza surveillance in Asia.
• CDC has led or taken part in 9 training sessions to enhance local capacities in Asia to conduct surveillance for possible human cases of H5 and to detect avian influenza A H5 viruses using laboratory techniques.
• CDC has developed and distributed a reagent kit for the detection of the currently circulating influenza A H5 viruses.

• CDC has worked with other international and national agencies in Asia to develop a training course for rapid response teams that will be used to help prepare the region to respond to outbreaks when they occur.

CDC is monitoring the situation closely, along with WHO and other international partners. In addition, CDC continues to work collaboratively with WHO and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the development and testing of vaccine seed candidates for influenza A (H5N1).

 

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NOTE: The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains situation updates and cumulative reports of human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1).

Page last modified March 20, 2006

Page found at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/outbreaks/current.htm

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Executive Order: Amendment to E.O. 13295 Relating to Certain
Influenza Viruses and Quarantinable Communicable Diseases

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 361(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264(b)), it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Based upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Surgeon General, and for the purpose set forth in section 1 of Executive Order 13295 of April 4, 2003, section 1 of such order is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(c) Influenza caused by novel or reemergent influenza viruses that are causing, or have the potential to cause, a pandemic.".

Sec. 2. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

April 1, 2005.

Executive Order: Amendment to E.O. 13295 Relating to Certain Influenza Viruses and Quarantinable Communicable Diseases

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World Health Organization

Avian influenza – situation in Egypt

20 March 2006

The Ministry of Health in Egypt has confirmed the country’s first case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

The case occurred in a 30-year-old woman from the Gaiubia governorate near Cairo. She developed symptoms in early March following close contact with diseased chickens, ducks, and a turkey in the household flock. She was hospitalized on 16 March and died the following day.

Monitoring of the woman’s family members and close contacts has found no signs of influenza-like illness.

Testing was conducted by the US Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU-3), which is based in Cairo. Samples are being sent abroad for diagnostic verification and further analysis by a WHO collaborating laboratory. WHO will adjust the figures in its cumulative number of cases following the results of this external verification.

Egypt confirmed its first H5N1 outbreak in poultry on 17 February. The virus has since been reported in 18 of the country’s 26 governorates. In Egypt, poultry are often kept in close proximity to households, also in urban areas.

WHO: 20 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Egypt

[gnarledmaw]

I know for a fact that I had seen a story floating around somewhere claiming that there had been 5 infected birds found in Canada. I wonder if that turned out to be some kind of misdiagnosis?

[Orlando]

What about all the mammals that die so far ?
Dogs,cats,foxes,tigers,etc..?
Can cows get H5N1 ?

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World Health Organization

Situation updates - Avian influenza with links 20 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Egypt Full text 14 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Azerbaijan - update Full text 13 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update 7 Full text 10 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Azerbaijan Full text 10 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update 6 Full text 9 March 2006 Avian influenza – H5N1 infection found in a stone marten in Germany Full text 9 March 2006 Avian influenza - situation in Nigeria - update 2 Full text 8 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 7 Full text 6 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 6 Full text 1 March 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Iraq - update 4 Full text 28 February 2006 H5N1 avian influenza in domestic cats Full text 28 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation (poultry) in Niger Full text 27 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 5 Full text 27 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update 5 Full text 23 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in India – update Full text 22 February 2006 Avian influenza - situation in Nigeria - update Full text 21 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in India Full text 21 February 2006 Avian influenza –spread of the virus to new countries Full text 20 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update 4 Full text 17 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Iraq - update 3 Full text 13 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 4 Full text 13 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update 3 Full text 9 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 3 Full text 8 February 2006 Avian influenza - situation (birds) in Nigeria Full text 7 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Iraq - Update 2 Full text 6 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update 2 Full text 2 February 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Iraq - Update Full text 30 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey – update 7 Full text 30 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Iraq Full text 25 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 2 Full text 23 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia - update Full text 19 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China - update Full text 18 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey – update 6 Full text 16 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey - update 5 Full text 14 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia Full text 12 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey - update 4 Sequencing of human virus Full text 10 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey - update 3 Full text 10 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in China Full text 9 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey - update 2 Full text 7 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey - update Full text 5 January 2006 Avian influenza – situation in Turkey Full text 30 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 51 Full text 23 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 50 Full text 16 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 49 Full text 14 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 48 Full text 9 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in China, Thailand – update 47 Full text 7 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 46 Full text 6 December 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 45 Full text 29 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia, China – update 44 Full text 25 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 43 Full text 24 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in China – update 42 Full text 17 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in China, Indonesia – update 41 Full text 14 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Thailand – update 40 Full text 9 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 39 Full text 7 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 38 Full text 1 November 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Thailand – update 37 Full text 24 October 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Thailand, Indonesia – update 36 Full text 20 October 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Thailand – update 35 Full text 13 October 2005 Avian influenza – new areas with infection in birds – update 34 Full text 10 October 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 33 Full text 29 September 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 32 Full text 22 September 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 31 Full text 19 September 2005 Avian influenza - situation in Viet Nam – update 30 Full text 16 September 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 29 Full text 18 August 2005 Geographical spread of H5N1 avian influenza in birds - update 28 Situation assessment and implications for human health Full text 5 August 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 27 Full text 29 July 2005 Avian influenza- situation in Indonesia – update 26 Full text 21 July 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – update 25 Full text 30 June 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 24 Full text 28 June 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 23 Full text 17 June 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 22 Full text 16 June 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 21 Full text 14 June 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 20 Full text 8 June 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam – update 19 Full text 19 May 2005 Avian influenza – cumulative number of cases – update 18 Full text 4 May 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia - update 17 Full text 14 April 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam - update 16 Full text 12 April 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia - update 15 Full text 4 April 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam - update 14 Full text 30 March 2005 Avian influenza – outbreak in poultry in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – update 13 Full text 29 March 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam and Cambodia – update 12 Full text 11 March 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam - update 11 Full text 7 March 2005 Avian influenza – situation in Viet Nam - update 10 Full text

[gleeaikin]

ping

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Boston Herald

Scared sick? Not to worry

By Jessica Fargen
Sunday, March 19, 2006

Bird flu, mad cow disease, Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), bacterial meningitis, West Nile virus, Lyme disease, avian flu pandemic.

So many diseases of the month, so many ways to die.

But given the media frenzy flogging these exotic afflictions - and in the wake of a top Bush official’s advice that we brace for a possible avian-flu pandemic by stocking up on tuna - how scared should we really be?

The answer, experts say, is hardly at all.

“There’s a gap between our fears and what the facts seem to be as best science knows them,” said David Ropeik, a risk communications instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health.

“A new risk is scary because we don’t have experience to help give us perspective, so we protect ourselves with worry and precaution.”

Take the current strain of avian flu, H5N1. Worldwide it’s killed 93 people - out of 6.5 billion - with no cases yet in the United States.

Mad cow disease, meanwhile, has killed almost 150 people in Great Britain, but only three cases have been detected in U.S. cows.

Between them, EEE and bacterial meningitis killed five people last year in Massachusetts - five out of roughly 6.4 million Bay Staters.

West Nile virus struck six people in Massachusetts last year, killing one.

As for Lyme disease, health officials say it strikes at the rate of 23.7 per 100,000 people, with no fatalities reported in recent years.

On the other hand, experts estimate that a bird-flu pandemic could wipe out 20,000 people in Massachusetts alone.

But first the bird flu would have to mutate into a form that jumps from human to human. No one knows if or when an outbreak like that could strike.

Oddly enough, despite its higher fatality rate, pandemic flu is the one disease many people don’t seem to be worried about.

“We are wrapped up in our day-to-day life,” said Virginia Tritschler, director of risk quality and regulatory affairs at the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston, which has worked on flu preparedness. “You’d probably find people more concerned about Katrina or a terrorist attack. Those are things that happened here. The flu has not.”

Heather Kennaway said she tries not to worry about the pandemic flu and wouldn’t even consider stockpiling tuna and powdered milk, as Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt suggested last week.

“It’s not something I think about,” said Kennaway, a 28-year-old South Boston resident. “I just think people get obsessed. I couldn’t live like that.”

An exotic bug like SARS - that’s a different story.

The respiratory disease killed 774 people around the globe in 2003, but failed to reach North America. But that didn’t stop people from being afraid.

“SARS spread as an idea far faster than it spread as an organism,” Harvard’s Ropeik recalled. “You have the first human-to-human case and it can be in New Guinea and people will be lining up at the hospital in Dorchester.”

Victoria Scavo contributed to this report.

Scared sick? Not to worry

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gnarledmaw wrote: "I know for a fact that I had seen a story floating around somewhere claiming that there had been 5 infected birds found in Canada. I wonder if that turned out to be some kind of misdiagnosis?"

The story sounds familiar but I couldn't find anything official. Here's the latest from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Current Avian influenza (H5N1) affected areas

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Orlando wrote: "What about all the mammals that die so far ? Dogs,cats,foxes,tigers,etc..? Can cows get H5N1 ?"


The only reports I am aware of where transmission from bird to mammal occurred were when mammals (feral cats and tigers) caught and ate infected birds.

Thus far there have been no reports of the virus surviving heat used in cooking poultry.

[familyop]

"There is currently a ban on the importation of birds and bird products from H5N1-affected countries."

But domestic birds can get the virus from wild birds. It seems that domestic birds would be protected by roofs and spaced, double fences as buffers (under the perimeters of roofed areas) to keep them away from wild birds and droppings.

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Public Health Agency of Canada

Respiratory Virus Detections/Isolations in Canada

The Respiratory Virus Detection Surveillance System reports on respiratory viruses in Canada. Each week, selected laboratories report numbers of tests performed and numbers positive for Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Parainfluenza, and Adenovirus to the Immunization and Respiratory Infections Division (IRID), Public Health Agency of Canada. From these reports are generated the following tables and graphs:

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PDF File: Week 10 - Ending March 11, 2006 New 6 Pages - 203 KB

Public Health Agency of Canada: Respiratory Virus Detections/Isolations in Canada

Last Updated: 2006-03-15

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Pandemic Flu.gov How Migratory Birds Blanket North America

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Get Informed. Be Prepared.

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One stop access to U.S. Government avian and pandemic flu information. Managed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Flyway map demonstrates how migratory birds blanket North America. [Credit: USFWS]

PandemicFlu.gov

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familyop wrote:

" 'There is currently a ban on the importation of birds and bird products from H5N1-affected countries.'

But domestic birds can get the virus from wild birds. It seems that domestic birds would be protected by roofs and spaced, double fences as buffers (under the perimeters of roofed areas) to keep them away from wild birds and droppings. "

That's right. There are also plans to quarantine or slaughter any domestic poultry in the event the virus is transmitted to them.

The following areas: North Carolina, District of Columbia, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have new web sites, and press releases. They are making plans now.

There is a list of the current plans set up at PandemicFlu.gov.

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Pandemic Flu.gov Avian Flu.gov

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Get Informed. Be Prepared.

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Nations With Confirmed Cases
H5N1 Avian Influenza (March 13, 2006)

[Note: Numbers are confirmed by World Health Organization and may not reflect news or country reports.]

Confirmed Human Cases by Country

PandemicFlu.gov

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Ping.

[GiovannaNicoletta]

bookmark

[bd476]

Here's a map I just posted from PandemicFlu.gov which shows
How Migratory Birds Blanket North America.

[raybbr]

ping

[AngrySpud]

Surveillance did pick up bird flu, but it wasn't the dreaded H5N1. There have always been various bird flu viruses going around. In fact, several years ago there was an outbreak in the South or mid-West of the US, killing thousands of chickens. There was no impact on humans.

[wolfcreek]

Moral to this story; If you choke your chicken, wear gloves and a mask.