DEC 06 Health Alerts
Avian Influenza situation in Egypt - WHO update
27/12/06
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has informed WHO of three new human cases of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. All three cases belong to one extended family in Gharbiyah province, 80 kilometres northwest of the capital city, Cairo . While being transferred and cared for at the country's designated avian influenza hospital, a 30 year-old female, a 15 year-old girl and a 26 year-old male died. The most recent death occurred on 27 December. The cases reportedly had contact with sick poultry (ducks).
Clinical specimens from the three cases were tested positive for avian influenza A(H5N1) virus by Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory. The virus was also detected in specimens from two of the three patients by US Naval Medical Research Unit No.3 (NAMRU-3). The samples will be sent to WHO Collaborating Centre for further testing including virus characterization.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population is conducting further investigations and has initiated public health measures. The other family members remain healthy and have been placed under close observation.
Avian Influenza situation in Vietnam - update
27/12/06
Avian influenza A (H5N1) virus has reappeared in Viet Nam and is resurgent in poultry after more than a year of absence. Vietnam had achieved success in eradicating the disease from both poultry and the human population. The current situation is a setback for authorities. There are some suspected human cases, most of which have proved negative to date.
Viet Nam launched a national campaign to pr event bird flu on Saturday 30 Dec 2006 as more poultry deaths were reported in the southern Mekong Delta. The month-long campaign aims to raise public awareness of bird flu, disinfect poultry farms, markets and slaughter houses, and vaccinate poultry flocks. Provincial and city administrations are required to closely monitor the transport and trading of poultry and poultry products and seize and destroy poultry and poultry products of unclear origin.
Officials in Bac Lieu province culled over 600 ducks and geese with flu symptoms. Bac Lieu is among the 3 Mekong Delta provinces along with Hau Giang and Ca Mau that recently reported bird flu recurrence Bird flu outbreaks have hit 9 districts in these provinces, killing and prompting the culling of tens of thousands of poultry. Authorities said samples of dead poultry found in Bac Lieu and Hau Giang provinces had tested positive for an H5 strain of bird flu virus.
The World Bank has approved a USD 10 million grant for Viet Nam for a program to combat bird flu.
Avian Influenza - What's happened to the Pandemic? Bird Flu at the end of 2006.
28/12/06
Fortunately the feared worst-case situation of a pandemic has not eventuated in 2006 though the future remains unclear. This year has seen an end to the flurry of reports from a wide scatter of countries indicating the spread of avian influenza from eastern Asia westwards across Siberia in the north and India in the south to the Middle Eastern countries, Europe and northern Africa. To date, the infection in birds does not seem to have taken hold in these newer countries and apart from the human cases and deaths in the early phase of the spread there have been less concerns over human infection in the latter half of 2006, except in Indonesia where the problem remains a continuing one.
The virus survives longer in cold conditions so the onset of winter in the northern hemisphere could see new outbreaks. Already there has been the disappointing news in November of outbreaks in South Korea, and in December yet another in Vietnam which prior to this seemed to have the situation well under control.
It is pleasing that he H5N1 virus has not mutated into a form which makes it invasive to humans to date. Although there has been a well-documented human-to-human transmission in a close family situation, there is no evidence that the virus has changed into a form which makes it infect humans easily. Very little is known about just what mutations are needed for this and in fact it is an even guess that a mutated virus could go the other way and make it even less dangerous. There is still a lot to learn, and there is much research proceeding around the globe.
So as at mid-December this year the H5N1 pandemic in birds has lessened, and the conditions required for a pandemic in humans have not happened to date. It would be foolish to presume that such is the status quo for the future. Precautions need to continue. Local, national and international planning for action in the event of a pandemic must continue to be reviewed. Public awareness needs to be maintained at a high level and this website will continue to monitor and to publish the latest information available.
Avian Influenza - New Vietnam cases
20/12/06
At a National Steering Committee on Bird Flu Control in Vietnam meeting on 19 December it was revealed that the disease had broken out in the Tran Van Thoi district of Ca Mau province and in the Hoa Binh district of Bac Lieu province. Both these provinces are in the Mekong Delta region. Deaths in chickens and ducklings have been confirmed as due to H5N1 bird flu virus. The committee claimed the dead birds had not been vaccinated because they had been hatched illegally. Vietnam has made impressive progress in controlling the disease and there have been no reports for over a year.
Avian Influenza situation in Indonesia - update 38
04/12/06
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed the country's 57th death from H5N1 avian influenza. The 35-year-old female, whose infection was announced on 13 November, died early in the morning on 28 November in hospital.
Of the 74 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 57 have been fatal.
