Multiple Introductions Of H5N1 In Nigeria

Nature Magazine ^ | 5 July 2006 | unknown

[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.

[blam]

Thanks for the answers. I think I already knew them...just stimulating thoughts and conversation, I guess.

[blam]

"Answer: The Department of Defense (DoD) is working with our international partners to track and combat the spread of avian influenza in areas where it is currently found."

Do you remember when GWB went on TV and say that he was spending 7.1 billion on Bird Flu preparations? During that same presentation didn't he essentially ask congress what authority he would have in dealing with enforcement of quarantines, etc? Anyway, has anyone heard any reply to that question or did I just think I heard him say that?

[Judith Anne]

If I recall correctly, President Bush signed executive orders regarding the potential pandemic. I can't recall what they were...

[LucyT]

National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza

.President's Letter
.Introduction
.The Pandemic Threat
.The National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza
.Pillars of the National Strategy
.Implementation of the National Strategy
.Pillar One: Preparedness and Communication
.Pillar Two: Surveillance and Detection
.Pillar Three: Response and Containment
.Roles and Responsibilities

http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/pandemic-influenza.html

[Judith Anne]

Thanks, Lucy, for everything.

[blam]

Thanks LucyT.

"* Determine the spectrum of infrastructure-sustainment activities that the U.S. military and other government entities may be able to support during a pandemic, contingent upon primary mission requirements, and develop mechanisms to activate them."

This is what I was talking about.

I wonder what has been determined regarding the use of the US military specifically regarding quarantine enforcement.

It was a scary but reassuring sight to see the National Guard humvees (with guns mounted) escorting (front and back) gasoline tanker trucks during the gasoline shortage right after Katrina.

[Judith Anne]

If there are shipments of critical items, ie vaccine (down the road) Tamiflu, food, gasoline (as you mentioned) etc., then it would be important to have the National Guard accompanying them.

[LucyT]

Questions and Answers on the Executive Order Adding Potentially Pandemic Influenza Viruses to the List of Quarantinable Diseases

http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/dq/qa_influenza_amendment_to_eo_13295.htm

[Judith Anne]

Ping to Lucy's post 48. Good catch, Lucy!

[LucyT]

Vaccine against lethal strain of avian flu ready for human testing

Ian Sample, science correspondent
Monday July 10, 2006
The Guardian

A British drug company is seeking permission to conduct the first human trials of an experimental vaccine against the avian flu virus.
---
Unlike conventional vaccines, which use weakened strains or fragments of the harmful virus, the test vaccine uses strands of DNA that can be made quickly and cheaply.
---
Tests of a DNA vaccine designed to give protection against seasonal flu were published earlier this year and showed that it offered 100% protection, based on the immune response of volunteers.

So far, the DNA vaccine against avian flu has only been tested in animals, where it has also proved successful.

"Our tests have shown that it stops the infection entirely, to the point that we can't even measure the virus in the animals afterwards," said John Beadle, chief medical officer of the Oxford-based company PowderMed.

The company's research suggests humans would need two doses of the vaccine, a prime and a boost.
---
If the trial goes ahead as planned, volunteers will be tested over several months to monitor how long the vaccine remains effective. Preliminary results are expected in January next year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1816694,00.html
___________________________________________________

Patterns in bird flu cases remain mystery
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
---
Health Ministry spokeswoman Lili Sulistyowati said the government and scientists were still trying to figure out the mystery over the bird flu spread.

"We need thorough scientific research to explain why some people have a certain immunity against the virus and why others don't," she told The Jakarta Post.

The World Health Organization has confirmed that the H5N1 virus has mutated in one of the seven family clusters in Indonesia, but did not evolve into a more transmissible form.

However, what is not clear is why the virus infected only blood relatives but not spouses.
---
The 2005 State of the Environment report confirmed the government slow's response to the H5N1 outbreak. It said the H5N1 outbreak among poultry had actually taken place in 2003, but the Agriculture Ministry only announced it on Jan. 25 last year.

A senior Agriculture Ministry official told the Post that the late announcement was due to prolonged debate between animal health experts in determining the virus genotype, in which some experts insisted that it was not H5N1 but Newcastle disease.

An official with the National Commission on Bird Flu said none of the research was able to show exactly how to stop the virus from spreading.

But the official, who asked not to be named, acknowledged that research carried out by an animal health expert with Airlangga University in Surabaya, Chairul A. Nidom, exposed credible information.

"Nidom had said that there were limited human-to-human transmissions, although many experts were against him at the time, but now some have admitted that he might be correct," he said.

Nidom's research in Japan last year showed that some of the viruses had a form that made human genes receptive to it, thus making them easy to transmit.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060710.H07&irec=6

______________________________________________________________

Portugal beefs up measures against bird flu after outbreak in Spain

Portugal has stepped up its anti-bird flu measures to prevent the further spread of the virus after neighboring Spain detected its first H5N1 case in a wild bird.

On Friday, Spain reported its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a waterfowl outside the northern city of Vitoria.

Portuguese Agriculture Minister Jaime Silva said Saturday that his Spanish counterpart has briefed him about the case.

Silva said Portuguese health authorities has long had contingency plans in place after cases of the highly pathogenic bird flu were reported elsewhere in the world, but it was not time yet for Portugal to raise the alarm.

He added around 6,000 poultry and birds in Portugal have been tested so far this year and no highly pathogenic bird flu virus has been detected.

On Saturday, the Portuguese national veterinarian association decided to beef up measures against the strain, especially in poultry farms and markets selling wild birds as well as poultry products.

The chairman of the association said it was only a matter of time similar cases would be found in Portugal as well since the virus was already recorded in neighboring Spain.

Luiz Kosta, head of the country's national ornithology research institute, said the crested grebe detected with the H5N1 virus in Spain, also lives in Portugal, so experts would not rule out the possibility the crested grebes in Portugal also carry the virus.

Kosta stressed the need to quickly ascertain how the crested grebe was infected with the H5N1 virus.

http://english.people.com.cn/200607/10/eng20060710_281533.html
______________________________________________________

Factoid: Past influenza pandemics have led to high levels of illness, death, social disruption and economic loss. There were 3 pandemics in the 20th century; the Spanish flu (1918-19), Asian flu (1957-58), and Hong Kong flu (1968-69). All of them spread worldwide within a year of being detected.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23161
____________________________________________________

Map: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12375868
___________________________________________________

Migratory birds tested in Maine for avian flu
July 10, 2006

BANGOR, Maine --Hundreds of Canada geese and other migratory birds are being captured and tested by Maine state biologists for avian flu.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/07/10/migratory_birds_tested_in_maine_for_avian_flu/
______________________________________________________________________________

Bird flu will remain a threat for years to come, experts warn at UN special meeting
10 July 2006
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19141&Cr=bird&Cr1=flu
____________________________________________________________
Avian Influenza Still Expanding in Africa
Monday July 10, 10:32 am ET
Disease Widely Checked But Could Pose Threat for Years

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060710/dcm019.html?.v=53

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping to #48 and other developments...

[redgolum]

I know there are people who have nothing in the fridge, nothing in the pantry, nothing in the cellar, to eat--and these aren't poor people...

I have some friends that now live in Europe. Their refrigerator is only large enough to hold about a case of pop, and they have to go shopping every day for food. That is the situation in most of the world, people just don't stock up or don't have the space to do so.

Beyond the flu, imagine what would happen if the terrorists had managed to blow up the tunnels in Manhattan. Most major cites have limited access points, and at most six days of food. It wouldn't take a super bug to screw up transportation and logistics.

[redgolum]

In reply to the Illinois article.

I live on the Iowa side of the Mississippi river. The local counties have instituted quarantine laws that hearken back to the days when that actually meant something. Much like the EO released the other day, but even more strict.

We have about three weeks of food and water, and I should really stock up on more.

[ex-Texan]

Thanks for the *Ping*!

[blam]

"We have about three weeks of food and water, and I should really stock up on more."

I think it was the governor of Mass. who was on TV last week recommending that the residences of his state stock in a 30 day supply.

[little jeremiah]

Joe - maybe some of the listees or others may be interested in the poll below, with results sent to WHO. (I know they're connected to the UN so they're *aham* tainted, but who knows? Maybe it'll do some good.)


http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8029

This poll will be forwarded to WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Given that:
"Today, the world’s vaccine companies could produce enough doses of adjuvanted 30 mg HA vaccine in six months to vaccinate less than 100 million people,"

- "Production capacity is unlikely to increase substantially within the next 3-5 years,"

- "antiviral drugs, particularly the neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs), will be effective against any pandemic virus, and stockpiling is possible (1). However, supplies will likely be limited, even with a relatively large stockpile, and may well be exhausted without careful planning before vaccine is available."

-"Influenza A (H5N1) virus with an amino acid substitution in neuraminidase conferring high-level resistance to oseltamivir [Tamiflu] was isolated from two of eight Vietnamese patients during oseltamivir treatment."

1) Are you interested in having the world's governments, for-profit ventures, foundations, etc. fund the investigation of approaches to pandemic influenza preparedness, such as further investigation into the use of statin drugs for prophylaxis and treatment of pandemic influenza?

2) Would studies of medical treatment alternatives be important for providing physicians in all countries with something to offer patients for treatment and prophylaxis of pandemic influenza?

3) Would you support the further development of a WHO "polypill" (containing statins and/or other promising medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, aldosterone antagonists, or phosphodiesterase inhibitors) for immediate clinical trials among H5N1 victims in southeastern Asia?

4) Do you support the use of population-based administrative databases to evaluate reduced rates of hospitalization and death due to influenza related conditions among people taking other promising medications such as widely available and inexpensive (generic) medications?

5) Would you like to see the World's governments, for-profit ventures, foundations etc. initiate animal studies of statins (and other promising medications) to evaluate their efficacy in reducing the morbidity and mortality following infection with potential pandemic influenza viruses?

6) Do you support this "bottom-up" approach in evaluating known medications with proven clinical safety profiles that are already available and affordable in third world nations as a research strategy that must be undertaken with a great sense of urgency?

[Judith Anne]

lj, outstanding. I hope everyone participates. I'm sure Joe will ping the list when he gets a chance.

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping to post 56...

[Battle Axe]

Did the two patients who received the Tamiflu and showed resistance....live or die??

[little jeremiah]

I am merely a messanger. Judith Anne or many others are more on top of news lately. Just from what I've read, Tamiflu is of limited use. Must be given within 2 days of symptoms (IIRC) and even then only limits the severity, slightly, if at all. I'm not even sure why anyone's bothering much with it. But as I said, I haven't had much time to read lately.