Bird Flu Confirmed in Bulgarian Farms
20 July 2006, Thursday.
Bulgarian authorities reported Thursday the first case of bird flu with domestic fowl on the territory of the country - in the village of Slanchogled (sunflower), near Kurdzhali.
Veterinaries have undertaken checks of local fowl after birds were found to die in bulks.
The positive results of initial tests have detected the availability of the virus of avian flu, the Agriculture Ministry announced at a special press conference.
All fowl and turkeys from three farms were killed, massive disinfection is under way and tightened control on passing trucks and vehicles is installed, the officials said.
Two people who were in contact with the infected birds are under constant medical surveillance, Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil said.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=66792
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NZ declared avian bird flu free
Biosecurity New Zealand says it has completed the first survey of broiler farms throughout the country and found no notifiable avian influenza virus in the farms tested.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=15711&cid=8&cname=News
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Deception Dominates World Health Organization's Bird Flu Releases
By Marilyn Bardsley
July 16, 2006
Culture of Deception
If ever there was a need for clear and accurate information about the spreading and rapidly mutating avian influenza, it is now as the threat of a pandemic looms increasingly large. At a time when governments and individuals around the world are making preparations to battle a potentially life-altering disaster, there is no need for a group of bureaucratic elites to decide what information people are capable of handling.
The U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO) has published its guidelines for the communicating of information about disease outbreaks, but these guidelines have not prevented a deliberate culture of deception from dominating the statements WHO makes to the press.
It has been suggested that WHO does not want people to panic, hence they are not candid when significant events in the evolution of a pandemic are unfolding. What is wrong with this rationale?
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Earlier this year, WHO did not admit to any human-to-human transmission, despite a number of very suspicious family clusters in Asia, Turkey, Iraq and Azerbaijan. In every single case, WHO used some excuse or another to hide these human-to-human transmissions from the media and the public.
That is, until Indonesia made it impossible to hide — and still the WHO did its very best to deceive the media and the public.
It was only on May 30 that Maria Cheng, WHO spokeswoman,
finally admitted that there were "probably about half a dozen" cases of human-to-human transmission.
These cases went back years and WHO knew then that they were human-to-human cases, but refused then to admit it.
And Dr. Angus Nicoll, chief of flu activities at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, acknowledged that "we are probably underestimating the extent of person-to-person transmission."
http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0706/1402_who_looking.html
NZ is an English speaking country so I don't think this is a translation problem. If you specify that you have 'no notifible' AIV then that in itself would suggest that some 'un-notifible' AIV exists, wouldn't it?
People haven't heard about the dangers of BF or are not taking it even a little bit serious.
I think it would be best to have the 'panic' (food fights, etc) and get that out of the way before the BF actually gets here.
Wayne Havrelly
KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator
UPDATED: 6:33 pm PDT July 19, 2006
Some medical experts say a deadly bird flu pandemic is not a matter of if, but when.
And because of our wild bird migrations, the Puget Sound region could be especially vulnerable to a bird flu outbreak.
KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator Wayne Havrelly has a warning about those who are trying to exploit the situation.
If you think bird flu threatens only people in other countries, you'd be mistaken.
The danger is so real in Western Washington that Sea-Tac Airport has reserved an entire building to quarantine passengers who may become infected.
That danger inspires fear, and fear brings out the worst in Internet scams.
Snow geese: Tourists and locals flock to see them as they spend their winters in the fields of Whatcom County and the Skagit Valley.
They're beautiful. But if the Avian Bird Flu ever arrives in our state, it will likely be carried by these magnificent birds.
These very birds spend their summers in the breeding grounds of Russia and Asia before returning here.
"The thought is that if there's any avian influenza occurring in Asia, it's in wild bird populations -- birds that migrate through here, winter here, are likely to pick it up in the breeding grounds," said Lora Leschner, of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Avian flu has been detected in 30 countries so far, though not in North America yet.
But that's certainly not stopping some herbal medicine companies from playing on people's bird flu fears.
Type "avian flu" or "bird flu" into a browser and you'll see site after site offering "avian flu protection kits," even "herbal alternatives" to Tamiflu, the only licensed drug that might be effective in treating Bird Flu.
But there's a problem.
"None of these products have any scientific evidence to show that they are safe and effective for the treatment of bird flu," said David Elder, with the FDA, the agency that regulates drugs in our country.
His agents recently seized 51 shipments of so-called "generic Tamiflu" from China that was being sold over the Internet here in the U.S.
The real and fake pills look alike, but the "generic Tamiflu"? It's actually vitamin C.
"There's no such thing as generic Tamiflu in this country," Elder said.
The FDA considers the sale of unapproved influenza-related products as a potentially significant threat to the public health
We found a site offering "an herbal alternative for Tamiflu" called "Avian RX," advertised as "the world's only natural weapon against Bird Flu".
"I would call this fraud," Elder said. We tried to reach the president of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals in Georgia, which makes Avian RX. He did not return our calls.
It turns out his company is already under investigation by the federal Department of Justice for selling dietary supplements containing ephredrine, a prescription stimulant.
Another Internet company is found at Birdflustopper.com, though even marketing director Gayla Young admitted to us its herbal medication doesn't really stop bird flu.
"It's actually not a cure for bird flu," Young said.
"There are no products currently approved that consumers can purchase over the internet that are approved for the treatment or prevention of the avian flu," said Elder.
Still, the possibility of a global pandemic of Avian flu is real and frightening.
With no proven vaccine available, we found many in Western Washington who are tempted by all the fraudulent claims on the net.
Starting next month, state Wildlife officials will begin testing returning wild birds for any evidence of Avian flu. They will also ask you to report any dead or dying birds you may find. Our advice? Treat those Internet come-ons with a healthy dose of skepticism.