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Sofia News Agency
"Enforced" Bird Flu Strain Found in Hungary
Politics: 10 June 2006, Saturday.
The EC has said that a H5 highly pathogenic strain of bird flu had been found in a domestic flock of geese in Hungary.
Samples will be sent to the European Union's reference laboratory for avian flu in Weybridge, near London, for further tests to determine whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain.
The Hungarian authorities found the infected flock in Bacs-Kiskun in southern Hungary. Cases of highly pathogenic bird flu were detected in wild birds earlier this year in this county.
The European Union's executive arm said officials have slaughtered all 2,300 geese in the flock and are also culling poultry and ducks within a one kilometre radius of the site in Bacs-Kiskun.
Rigorous control and monitoring of other holdings in the surrounding area is being carried out. A high risk area has been established around the outbreak with a 3 km protection zone and 10 km surveillance zone.
In the protection zone, poultry must be kept indoors and movement of poultry is banned except directly to the slaughter house.
If confirmed, it would be the fifth outbreak of high pathogenic H5N1 avian flu in domestic poultry in a EU member state, following outbreaks in domestic poultry in France, Sweden, Germany and Denmark.
Cases of avian influenza H5N1 have occurred in wild birds in thirteen EU member states.
More than 120 people have died from bird flu since late 2003, most of them in Asia.
eThekwini taking no chances with bird flu
The eThekwini Municipality is finalising a programme to counteract the outbreak of bird flu
June 10, 2006, 16:30
The health division of the eThekwini Municipality is finalising a programme to help it cope in the event of an outbreak of bird flu. At least 500 migratory birds fly to Durban from northern Asia every year and stay for the summer.
The city is working in co-operation with national government, which has secured reservations with a Swiss pharmaceutical company for supplies of Tamiflu, the anti-viral that is used in the treatment of avian influenza.
In February, UN health officials declared a regional bird flu crisis in Nigeria and Niger, bringing the deadly virus closer to home. A Preparedness Plan is awaiting approval by the eThekwini Municipality.
Plan looks at culling birds The plan looks at the culling of birds and isolation of the infected, if an outbreak occurs although pre-detection is the most important step. A study conducted on migratory birds in Durban late last year revealed no trace of bird flu.
The strain has killed 128 people worldwide since it began spreading in Asia in late 2003
by Staff Writers New York NY (SPX) Jun 12, 2006
In an effort to improve the tracking of avian influenza, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $5 million in support for a new initiative that will monitor wild bird populations for the disease around the globe, according to the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which will spearhead the project involving more than a dozen private and public partners.
Called the Global Avian Influenza Network for Surveillance (GAINS), the initiative has also received an additional $1 million from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to continue global monitoring and surveillance efforts underway by WCS and its network of partners.
Specifically, GAINS will help provide increased capacity to: detect avian influenza, including
- the highly pathogenic form of the virus, in wild migratory and resident bird populations;
- gain information on viral strains to track changes;
- use that information to guide domestic and global preparedness and vaccine development;
- and create an open database for real-time information sharing on highly pathogenic avian influenza and other pathogens.
WCS will work in tandem with USAID, the CDC, Wetlands International, Birdlife International, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and others on the initiative.
"We applaud USAID for taking this important step in the fight to prevent the spread of avian influenza," said Dr. Steven Sanderson, President and CEO of WCS. "With help from key partners across the globe, we will be able to eliminate critical gaps in our understanding of this deadly pathogen. With continued funding, this network can become a great bulwark against global threats to public health."
The funds for the new initiative were created when the President signed into law the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Pandemic Influenza (attached to the Defense Appropriations Act), which was passed by Congress in late December 2005. The package includes funds for international disease surveillance and tracking of the movement of avian flu in both wild and domestic bird populations.
"This new partnership marks another important step in U.S. efforts... excerpt more at Terra Daily
Successful patient recruitment helps bring new vaccines to market via 112 locations nationwide
p BALTIMORE, June 13 /PRNewswire/ --
Passport Health, an immunization and travel health center with national headquarters in Baltimore, reports that its participation in vaccine trials will expand this year with several new clinical trials in the pipeline.
"We're helping pharmaceutical companies and the FDA bring vaccines to market because this cannot be done without successful clinical trials and proper recruitment of patients," says Fran Lessans, RN, MS, Founder & CEO of Passport Health, which is the largest private purchaser of vaccinations in the U.S.
With more than 65,000 travel health client visits annually through its 112 nationwide locations, Passport Health can recruit from a large patient population.
The new trials involve a Phase III flu vaccine, as well as vaccines for exotic diseases (shigella and cholera) that are prevalent in Southern Hemisphere and Third World countries.
Previously, Passport Health has worked on clinical trials for anthrax, hepatitis B, influenza and yellow fever. In addition to its many resources,...excerpt more at link
bird flu ping....