august 07 Health Alerts
Bird flu confirmed on German farm
25/08/07
An outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been identified on a poultry farm in southern Germany. A spokeswoman for Bavaria's environment ministry said dead ducks from the farm in Wachenroth had tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus.Officials discovered the infection after more than 400 ducks at the farm died over a short period of time.The spokeswoman said the farm has been sealed off and all 160,000 birds will be culled.
Avian influenza - situation in Indonesia - update 15
23/08/07
World Health Organisation update
The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 28-year-old female from Tabanan District, in Bali Province developed symptoms on 14 August, was hospitalized on 18 August and died in hospital on 21 August. The case was a poultry trader. The case investigation found that she collected poultry from villages where outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry had occurred and were later confirmed by rapid testing.
Of the 105 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia , 84 have been fatal.
Avian influenza situation in Indonesia
16/08/07
World Health Organisation update
The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 17-year-old female from Tangerang District, in Banten Province developed symptoms on 9 August , was hospitalized on 13 August and died in hospital on 14 August . Her source of exposure is currently under investigation.
Of the 104 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 83 have been fatal.
Human bird flu cases in Bali
14/08/07
An Indonesian woman and her 5-year-old daughter on the island of Bali have died of bird flu, a Health Ministry official confirmed on Mon 13 Aug 2007 bringing the nation's death toll to 83 and the total number of cases to 104 The deaths are the first on Bali , where the H5N1 strain of the virus was found more than a year ago.
At the time no human cases were found and there was extensive culling of poultry. The Bird Flu Information Centre in Jakarta said that chickens had died of bird flu in the victims' neighbourhood recently. The case occurred in the northwest of the island far from tourist centres. Tourists have not been affected by the outbreaks of avian influenza in other countries and so long as live or dead raw poultry is not handled and bird and flesh markets avoided, and meticulous attention is paid to hand washing, the chances of a tourist acquiring bird flu are negligible.
For further details on precautions advised see our travel advice page - practicing prevention
New infections found in Togo
13/08/07
News agencies carry reports that new cases of the H5N1 virus infection have been found in dead birds in three new locations - the Lacs, Golfe and Zio regions east of the capital Lome . To date these outbreaks have not been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Togo first reported the presence of avian influenza in the Sigbehoue area in June this year.
Further fatal case in Vietnam
08/08/07
The Director of Vietnam 's Preventive Medicine Department has confirmed that bird flu has killed a 15-year-old boy from Thanh Hoa province, about 150 kilometers south of Hanoi . The boy died while being transferred from a local hospital to the capital city. Samples taken from the patient came back positive for the H5N1 virus a day later,(4 th August).
More outbreaks in Myanmar
06/08/07
An official of the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department confirmed that H5N1 virus was detected on a small farm in Lepadan 118 Km north of Yangon . This follows an earlier report of an outbreak on two chicken farms in Mon state south-east of Yangon a week ago . There have been no cases of human infection in Myanmar
