Posted on 07/06/2006 12:57:55 AM PDT by Lurker
July 05, Nature — Multiple introductions of H5N1 in Nigeria. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that this deadly virus first arrived in Africa from different sources.
As the avian influenza virus H5N1 swept from Asia across Russia to Europe, Nigeria was the first country in Africa to report the emergence of this highly pathogenic virus.
Researchers analyzed H5N1 sequences in poultry from two different farms in Lagos state and found that three H5N1 lineages were independently introduced through routes that coincide with the flight paths of migratory birds, although independent trade imports cannot be excluded.
Link to the source is above.
L
05 July 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Debora MacKenzie
H5N1 bird flu has invaded Nigeria on at least three separate occasions, the first genetic analysis of the virus shows. Each time, wild birds were probably responsible, which means that its continued spread across Africa is likely to be difficult to halt.
After spreading west across Asia, the highly pathogenic virus was identified in Africa in February, in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna. Outbreaks multiplied quickly, reaching Lagos in April. Last week Taraba became the 14th of Nigeria's 36 states to report an outbreak.
This inexorable spread has been blamed on the transport of poultry across the country, but Claude Muller of the National Public Health Laboratory in Luxembourg and colleagues have found that this was not always the cause.
The team took samples from infected birds at two farms less than 50 kilometres apart in Lagos state. The samples were sequenced at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and compared with gene sequences of other samples of H5N1, including the virus from Kaduna.
This revealed that the Nigerian samples were three distinct strains, which were too distantly related to have evolved from one another while in Nigeria (Nature, vol 442, p 37).
"We were surprised to see such wide divergence over such a short time," says team member Albert Osterhaus of the Erasmus Medical Centre. Finding these three strains means the virus probably reached Nigeria on separate occasions.
This does not completely rule out the possibility that H5N1 arrived in poultry imports, as Nigerian officials and bird conservationists have claimed. "But then you would not expect to see so many different lineages," says Osterhaus.
The Nigerian strains were not descended from the strains of the virus common in east Asia, despite a sizeable poultry trade between Nigeria and China.
They evolved from the strain that was first observed in Qinghai, China, and then spread across Asia. One Lagos strain is most closely related to H5N1 found in a buzzard in Denmark and swans in Germany, where it is only known in wild birds.
The other Lagos strain is closest to one from Egypt, which lies on the migration route from Siberia, while the Kaduna strain is closest to H5N1 from central Asia.
"We really have to get our act together on human and animal surveillance," Osterhaus says. If H5N1 is repeatedly invading African birds, it will be hard to stop its spread. Osterhaus fears people in Africa may already have been infected as a consequence.
From issue 2559 of New Scientist magazine, 05 July 2006, page 9
ping for further developments...
ping for further developments...
Sorry about the double ping...
If possible, can we move the discussion to this thread, now? That way, the threads don't get too long and unwieldy...
Thanks for the articles and the pings. This can't be good...Africa is notoriously poor in medical infrastructure, and I can well believe that (as the article said) there may have been human cases already.
Okay. Will do.
L
Alaska puts in early order for bird flu medicines
Alaska is taking an aggressive stance against a possible outbreak of deadly human bird flu by placing its order early for medicines intended to slow the spread of a pandemic.
State officials will eventually order enough antiviral doses to cover about a fourth of Alaska residents.
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The first order of antivirals are expected to be available by the end of next March at the earliest. The state expects to place its order this week.
http://www.ktva.com/alaska/ci_4020766
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Last Updated 07/07/2006, 12:00:53
Indonesia's agriculture ministry says the poultry death rate from the H5N1 strain of bird flu is getting worse, possibly due to poor vaccination coverage.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1680889.htm
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Thailand hopes to be bird-flu free in three years
People's Daily Online, China - 2 hours ago
The Thai government is hoping that the country can be completely free of the deadly bird flu virus in three years, after eight months without an outbreak .
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/07/eng20060707_280796.html
Order early and get them by next April?
Doesn't bode well for the rest of us, does it.
I wonder if these are coming in in separate species following slightly different migration routes?
If so, then the virus may have multiple possibilities for incubation and mutation varying by species and migration route.
This is decidedly worse than just a jumble of infections along any main flyway because of the variety of possibilities involved with each species serving as a separate incubator.
In addition, this is a region of the world notorious for its poor sanitiation, rife with superstition about disease in the outlying areas, and with relatively primitive medical care at best.
This does not just bode ill for Africa, though, where many major cities near oilfields are a flight away from the first world, and the US in particular.
No, it doesn't.
Spain Records First Bird Flu Case
Deadly H5N1 Strain Found In Wild Bird In Marshes Of Northern City
MADRID, Spain, July 7, 2006
(CBS/AP) Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday
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The strain was found in a wild bird in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria, the ministry said in a statement.
The version of the H5N1 strain found in this case is highly virulent, it added.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/07/health/main1783414.shtml
U.K.'s Bird Flu Risk May Increase From Next Month (Update2)
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- The risk of bird flu re-entering the U.K. will be higher between August and November, when wild fowl typically fly through the country during winter migration, a government report said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aalVk3u0WKQk&refer=uk
Link to previous Avian Influenza thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1646955/posts
Bird flu claims 3-year-old girl
Fri 7 Jul 2006
A THREE-year-old Indonesian girl has died from bird flu, a senior health ministry official said.
If confirmed, it will take the country's death toll from the virus to 41, trailing only Vietnam, where 42 people have died.
Health ministry official Nyoman Kandun said the latest victim, identified only as AA, died in Cisauk village south-west of Jakarta.
"Local tests showed she was positively infected with the H5N1 strain of the virus," he said.
http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=992772006
Fri. July 07, 2006 11:18 am.
Hajarah Kizza
(SomaliNet) Nigeria has three strains of bird flu. Nigeria is said to have played first time host to these strains at different times. These are results from researchers studying bird flu in Nigeria.
These strains, it has been revealed, were imported into Nigeria from Russia, Egypt and Mongolia. Nigeria was the first African host of bird flu. It stemmed from migratory birds and unauthorized sale of birds in Nigeria.
"This reinforces that not only is there a natural distribution of the H5N1 virus through migratory birds, there's another, intercontinental human distribution system via trade," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infection-control doctor at a Nigeria University.
However, scientists disagree about whether the trade in poultry had something to do with the calamity in Nigeria. However, they all agree that the different paths that the virus used to arrive in Nigeria are complicating the prevention of its spread amongst Nigeria’s poultry.
The virus in Nigeria was first detected in February.
USDA releases 180-day report on avian influenza efforts
By USDA
Jul 7, 2006
The report details USDA's efforts both internationally and domestically to combat highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI H5N1).
* USDA and state animal health officials are working cooperatively with the poultry industry to conduct surveillance at breeding flocks, slaughter plants, live-bird markets, livestock auctions and poultry dealers.
* USDA is conducting AI surveillance in wild migratory birds in Alaska and ten other states. Initial AI screening tests are performed by one of more than 45 USDA approved laboratories in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN). In the case of wild bird samples, the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Wildlife Health Center also performs initial screening tests.
* Much more:
http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_35219.shtml
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[Is this first statement really true?]
Are Americans ready for an avian influenza outbreak?
ORLANDO - As I boarded a plane in Istanbul some weeks ago, a voice over the intercom announced that chicken would not be served on the flight to New York just as a safety precaution in light of avian influenza concerns. Instead, passengers would receive a pasta dish.
http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/OPINION/607080351/1005
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PAHO conducts Avian Influenza preparedness workshop in Grenada.
http://www.klassicgrenada.com/index.pl/article?id=1841218
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Oklahoma To Stockpile Anti-Viral Drugs Over Fears Of Pandemic
AP - 7/7/2006 2:31 PM - Updated: 7/7/2006 2:56 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- State health officials plan to stockpile thousands of doses of two antiviral drugs that could mean the difference between life and death for Oklahomans infected in a flu pandemic.
But the number of doses the Department of Health initially plans to buy is a mere fraction of what federal officials believe would be needed if the state was caught up in a global outbreak of Asian bird flu or some other new strain of influenza.
The Legislature this spring allocated $500,000 to buy doses of Tamiflu and another antiviral drug, Relenza, to stockpile for use during a pandemic. Combined with federal money, this would be enough to pay for about 35,000 courses of the drugs. A course is the supply needed to treat one person.
http://www.kotv.com/news/?107192
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States rush, but some lag on bird flu
Saturday, July 08, 2006
WASHINGTON -- South Carolina is in. Utah and Alabama, too.
Some states aren't waiting for an Aug. 1 deadline to seek help from the federal government in buying anti-bird-flu medicine for a possible pandemic.
As part of its pandemic preparations, the federal government is stockpiling Tamiflu and other anti-flu medications, which can reduce the symptoms associated with influenza. The Bush administration plans to buy enough to treat 44 million people.
States can buy more if they want. The government is negotiating a price with Roche Laboratories, Inc., which makes Tamiflu, and will pay a quarter of the costs, up to a prescribed amount for each state. In all, states could use the subsidy to buy anti-flu medications for an additional 31 million people.
The Department of Health and Human Services had initially set a July 1 deadline for states to indicate whether they would move forward with the purchase, but some states wanted more time, spokesman Bill Hall said. So the deadline was delayed until Aug. 1.
Mr. Hall stressed that the deadline does not obligate states to a specific course of action. Rather, it serves as guidance to his department for its planning.
Montana and Arizona want only a little extra help.
Meanwhile, states such as Washington say they plan to take full advantage of the next few weeks to determine the right amount of drugs to purchase.
New Jersey has told the federal department that it wants enough to treat about 900,000 people.
The amount Pennsylvania, with a population of 12.4 million, is planning to buy was unavailable yesterday, but the Health and Human Services Department shows it is eligible for a federal subsidy for 1,298,844 courses.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University's medical school in Nashville, Tenn.,
recommends that states have
some
anti-flu medication stockpiled in case of a pandemic. But he said there's no right answer regarding just how much the states should have on hand.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06189/704284-114.stm
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NY Buying 1 Million Tamiflu Treatments
July 7, 2006, 2:53PM
By MARK JOHNSON The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is spending about $23 million to stockpile antiviral medications in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak in the coming years.
Rob Kenny, a spokesman for the New York State Health Department said the state plans to buy more than 1 million Tamiflu treatment courses and another 227,000 courses of Relenza. New York, a state of more than 19 million people, has 60,000 Tamiflu treatment courses on hand already.---
Tamiflu is not a complete answer by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "It's really much more concerning to me that our public health and hospital system is not ready to take care of a large number of patients."
A national report by the American College of Emergency Physicians in January found much of the nation wasn't prepared for the bird flu.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4031609.html
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