june 07 Health Alerts

The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has confirmed a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case has been confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory and by the WHO H5 Reference Laboratory, US Naval Medical Research Unit No.3 (NAMRU-3).

The case is a 4 years old male from Qena Governorate. He developed symptoms on 20 June and was admitted to hospital on 21 June. He is receiving treatment and is in a stable condition. Initial investigations into the source of his infection indicate exposure to dead poultry.

Of the 37 cases confirmed to date in Egypt , 15 have been fatal.

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 3-year-old female from Riau Province developed symptoms on 18 June and has since recovered. Investigations into the source of her infection indicate exposure to sick and dead poultry.

Of the 101 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia , 80 have been fatal.

Authorities in Bavaria say 7 dead birds found in 2 lakes near Nuremburg have tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, the 1st
cases in Germany this year. People have been warned to keep their dogs on a leash and to steer clear of waterfowl.
Additional tests on the 5 swans, one duck and one goose are underway with the results expected within a few days.

The United Nations Regional Information Network (IRIN) reports that laboratory tests in Ghana have confirmed that the H5N1 avian flu virus caused the sudden deaths of 2000 chickens at a farm near Togo 's capital Lome . It is the first time the virus has been detected in Togo , the seventh West African nation to have reported an outbreak. In neighbouring Nigeria, more than one million birds have been destroyed since the first outbreak there in February 2006; the virus has since been confirmed in 22 of Nigeria's 36 states.The farm in Togo, in the town of Sigbehoue, 45km east of Lome, had received a shipment of chicks in February from neighbouring Ghana, according to a Reuters report.

Hundreds of turkeys at a farm in eastern Czech Republic were killed by the H5N1 bird flu virus, the State Veterinary Administration confirmed on Thursday 21 June.     This is the Czech Republic's first report of avian influenza. The area involved is Zalsi in the east Biohemia. Veterinarians believe that the turkeys bred at the farm may have been infected through hay litter which came from a pond that could be contaminated by wild bird droppings.

Vietnamese authorities have announced the first death of a human from bird flu in their country since 2005. Officials said Saturday the 20-year-old man died last week in Ha Tay Province, near Hanoi . They did not indicate how he became infected. The report is yet to be confirmed by the World Health Organisation.

The Egyptian Health Ministry has reported that a four-year old girl has been diagnosed with avian influenza. The girl, from Abu Diyab village in Qena province, was admitted to hospital on 10 th June with a high temperature and difficulty in breathing and diagnosed with bird flu. She had been exposed to birds suspected of having bird flu. She was taken to a hospital in the capital Cairo and is in a stable condition under treatment.

A 10 year old Egyptian girl who became ill on June 1st after coming into contact with infected household birds died from the disease on June 9th bringing the number of fatalities to 15. The girl came from the southern town of Qena . There have now been 35 cases of H5N1 infections in Egypt .

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 16-year-old female from Kendal district, Central Java province developed symptoms on 21 May, was hospitalized on 25 May and died in hospital on 29 May. Initial investigations into the source of her infection indicate exposure to dead poultry.

Of the 99 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia , 79 have been fatal.

© World Health Organization 2007. All rights reserved

An isolated new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected among poultry in a village on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital. The virus was confirmed late Tuesday night in chickens in the Sungai Buloh area of Selangor state.

The veterinary department was alerted Sunday by the owner of the infected chickens after about 60 of his birds died. Malaysia suffered outbreaks of avian influenza among poultry in early 2006, but there were no human cases and the nation declared itself free of the disease last June.

The Ministry of Health in China has informed WHO of the country's 16th death from H5N1 avian influenza. The 19-year-old male soldier serving in Fujian province died on 3 June .

Of the 25 laboratory-confirmed cases in China , 16 have been fatal.

© World Health Organization 2007. All rights reserved