Dec 05 Health Alerts
Avian influenza – situation in China
Friday, 30 December, 2005
The Ministry of Health of China has confirmed an additional case of human infection on the mainland with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case is a 41-year-old woman from the south-eastern province of Fujian. She developed symptoms of fever followed by pneumonia on 6 December, and was admitted to hospital two days later. The patient died on 21 December.
On 13 December, initial laboratory tests on samples from the patient tested negative for H5N1. But further tests on 23 December – including PCR tests carried out at the Chinese Center for Disease Control in Beijing – showed positive results. The virus was also isolated from the patient.
Close contacts who have been placed under medical observation have not displayed any symptoms, health authorities report.
Agricultural authorities so far have not been able to confirm the presence of the H5 virus subtype in poultry in the vicinity of the patient's residence or place of work. Investigators have not been able to confirm any direct contact between the patient and poultry prior to the onset of illness. The investigation, however, is continuing and answers to these and other questions are still being sought.
This is China's seventh laboratory-confirmed human case. Of these cases, three have been fatal (including this latest case). To date, China has reported human cases in six provinces and regions: Hunan, Anhui, Guangxi, Liaoning, Jiangxi and Fujian.
Source: © World Health Organization 2005. All rights reserved
Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia
Friday, 23 December, 2005
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed two additional cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The first case occurred in an 8-year-old boy from Central Jakarta. He developed symptoms of fever and cough on 8 December. He was hospitalized on 13 December, and died on 15 December.
Family members and close contacts were placed under observation and tested for possible infection, however, none have developed symptoms. Investigations have been undertaken to determine the source of the boy's exposure and samples from pigeons around his household are being tested.
The second case occurred in a 39-year-old man from East Jakarta. He first reported symptoms of fever, headache, cough and shortness of breath on 9 December. He was hospitalized on 11 December and died on 12 December.
Family members and close contacts were placed under observation. Investigations are being undertaken to determine the source of the man's exposure. While he did not keep poultry in his household, chickens and other birds were found in his neighbourhood. Samples from these birds have been taken and are undergoing tests to determine whether they may have been the source of infection.
These newly confirmed cases bring the total number in Indonesia to 16. Of these cases, 11 were fatal.
Source: © World Health Organization 2005. All rights reserved
Resistance to Tamiflu treatment- NEJM report
Friday, 23 December, 2005
Medical researchers in Vietnam have reported this week on evidence of resistance of the avian H5N1 virus to treatment dose of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in two of eight patients that they had treated for avian influenza. Both patients who showed resistant virus died.
While this is clearly a cause for concern, it also reflects the rapidly changing understanding and knowledge of this disease, and the lack of medical experience to date with managing the illness. These doctors are managing the cases as they arise, and treatments will get better as experience and knowledge grows.
They have recommended using more than one drug against the virus as well as considering higher doses of treatment.
It may well be that combination of anti-viral agents will be the optimal treatment. This will make treatment more complex and more expensive, and may eventually have an impact on the planning for treatment services.
More research will continue and will remain important for future planning.
News Release from: Applied Biosystems Edited by the Laboratorytalk Editorial Team
Tuesday, 20 December, 2005
Avian influenza H5N1 detection kits set to launch
Kits detect the viral H5 subtype including H5N1 in human and animal samples in less than two hours; set for release for research and epidemiological use now and will be broadly available early in 2006.
Note: A free brochure or catalogue is available from Applied Biosystems on the products in this news release. Click here to request a copy.
Applied Biosystems's TaqMan Influenza A/H5 Detection Kits, which detect the viral H5 subtype, including H5N1, in human and animal samples in less than two hours, are set for release to select laboratories around the world for research and epidemiological use before the end of 2005 and will be broadly available early in 2006. The detection kit, which is currently being tested and optimised against viral samples from the Hong Kong outbreaks of avian flu, is designed to run using standardised protocols on the Applied Biosystems real-time PCR system, and is part of a comprehensive package of technologies from Applied Biosystems for public health officials and researchers involved in the evaluation and surveillance of H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks. The package also includes standardised genome sequencing protocols and technology, ongoing genetic sequence information from the virus and access to a global influenza genome database.
The analysis software will also be made available through non-exclusive licenses and laboratories using Applied Biosystems's sequencing platform will be encouraged to submit influenza genome sequence information to the Los Alamos National Library (LANL) Influenza Sequence Database, GenBank, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sequence database, or other publicly accessible databases, to ensure maximal sharing of scientific information. Request a free brochure from the manufacturer...
Human avian flu case in China – Jiangxi
Friday, 16 December, 2005
The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed an additional case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case is a 35-year-old man from the south-eastern province of Jiangxi. He developed symptoms of fever on 4 December followed by pneumonia. He remains hospitalized and is receiving intensive care.
Agricultural authorities have confirmed the presence of the H5 virus subtype in ducks in the vicinity of the patient’s residence. Family members and close contacts have been placed under medical observation.
This is China's sixth laboratory-confirmed human case. Of these cases, two have been fatal. To date, China has reported human cases in five provinces and regions: Hunan, Anhui, Guangxi, Liaoning,and Jiangxi.
Source: World Health Organization
Ninth avian flu death reported from Indonesia
Wednesday, 14 December, 2005
According to a Reuter's report the Indonesian Health Ministry has confirmed that a 35-year old man from West Jakarta died from avian flu making him the ninth death from Indonesia. He died at a local hospital before he could be treated at a designated hospital for flu patients.
Fourth human avian flu case in China
Thursday, 8 December, 2005
A 10-year old girl from the southern province of Guanxi has been confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Health as suffering from the H5N1 avian flu virus. An expert team is now in the area to determine the source of exposure and to search for further cases. This is the fourth human case reported from China.
Avian influenza - situation in Indonesia
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed a further case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case occurred in a 25-year-old woman from Tangerang (west of Jakarta). She developed symptoms of fever and stomach discomfort on 17 November, followed by cough and breathing difficulty. She was admitted to hospital on 23 November and died on 25 November.
The field investigation found a history of exposure to sick poultry around her house. Testing of poultry and environmental samples has been undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture. Close contacts of the woman are being monitored.
The woman is the 13th case in Indonesia. Of these, 8 have been fatal.
Source: World Health Organization
Avian Influenza A (H5N1): Human Activity in Asia and Europe
Friday, December 1, 2005
At this time, human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and China. Infection in humans has occurred in three distinct periods or waves of activity, since late-December 2003. The current wave of activity has been ongoing since December 16, 2004 and sporadic cases continue to be reported in all five countries.
Since mid-December 2003, several Asian countries have reported avian influenza A (H5N1) activity in poultry and wild birds. In July of 2005, the disease, which had previously been confined to Asia, was confirmed in birds in an increasing number of European countries.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health and based on criteria established in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (2005), A (H5N1) infection in birds continues to persist in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. More recently, the virus has been confirmed, in birds, in the previously unaffected countries of Turkey, Romania, and Croatia.
Source: World Health Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, EU - Europa
