MAR 06 Health Alerts

Avian influenza - situation in China - update 8

24 March 2006

The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed the country's 16th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case, which was fatal, occurred in a 29-year-old female migrant worker. She was hospitalized in Shanghai on 15 March with symptoms of pneumonia and died on 21 March. This is the first case reported in Shanghai. Her source of infection is under investigation. No poultry outbreaks have been reported in the Shanghai area since February 2004. According to Chinese authorities, the woman's close contacts have been placed under medical observation. To date, China has reported 16 cases of H5N1 infection, of which 11 have been fatal.

Avian Influenza Cambodia

24 March 2006

The Ministry of health in Cambodia has confirmed the country's fifth case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case, which was fatal, occurred in a 3-year-old girl from Kampong Speu Province, west of Phnom Penh in the southern part of the country. The child developed fever on 14 March. Her condition deteriorated rapidly and she was hospitalized in Phnom Penh on 20 March. She died on 21 March. Samples from the girl tested positive for H5N1 infection at the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia.

A team of officials from the Ministry of Health and WHO have investigated the situation in the remote village where the child lived. Backyard poultry began dying in the village in February, and chicken deaths have continued. The child is known to have played with chickens, including some showing signs of illness. The investigation found seven residents with fever but no respiratory symptoms. All had a history of recent contact with diseased birds or had been involved in caring for the child. Although none of these people presently shows symptoms compatible with H5N1 infection, all have been placed under medical observation as a precaution. Samples have been taken from these people and other close contacts of the child. Test results are expected next week.

The Ministry of Agriculture has taken samples from chickens in the area. Testing is under way. This is the fifth confirmed case in Cambodia and the first in almost a year. The four previous cases, all from the adjacent Kampot Province which borders Viet Nam, and all fatal, occurred from end-January 2005 through mid-April 2005.

Avian influenza – China

24 March 2006

The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed the country's 16th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case, which was fatal, occurred in a 29-year-old female migrant worker. She was hospitalized in Shanghai on 15 March with symptoms of pneumonia and died on 21 March. This is the first case reported in Shanghai. Her source of infection is under investigation. No poultry outbreaks have been reported in the Shanghai area since February 2004.
According to Chinese authorities, the woman's close contacts have been placed under medical observation. To date, China has reported 16 cases of H5N1 infection, of which 11 have been fatal.

Avian influenza human cases in Azerbaijan

World Health Organization 14 March 2006

The Ministry of Health in Azerbaijan has reported its first three cases of human infection with the H5 subtype of avian influenza virus. All three cases were fatal.Testing was conducted using a portable PCR field laboratory provided by the US Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU-3) based in Cairo, Egypt.
NAMRU-3 serves as a WHO collaborating centre for emerging infections. Test results are considered reliable. Two of the cases were from the south-eastern rayon of Salyan, but resided in different settlements. The cases occurred in a 17-year-old girl, from Sarvan settlement, who died on 23 February, and a 20-year-old
woman, from Daikyand settlement, who died on 3 March. Poultry deaths have been observed in the settlements in recent weeks, but the cause of death has not yet been determined.The third case occurred in a 21-year-old woman from the central-western province of Tarter. She died on 9 March.
Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was first reported in the country, in wild birds, on 9 February

Avian influenza situation in Indonesia update 7

13/03/2006
The World Health Organisation reported on 13 March that the Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed an additional case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case, which was fatal, occurred in a 12-year-old girl from Boyolali, Central Java.A local investigation was conducted and no additional cases or symptomatic contacts were found. Rapid tests detected the H5 virus subtype in chickens from the children’s household.
The newly confirmed case brings the total in Indonesia to 29. Of these, 22 were fatal.

Avian influenza – situation in China – update 7

8 March 2006
The Ministry of Health in China has reported the country’s 10th death from H5N1 avian influenza. The patient, a 9-year-old girl from the eastern province of Zhejiang, developed symptoms on 10 February and died on 6 March. This case was previously announced by Chinese authorities on 27 February, when the patient was listed as in critical condition.
To date, China has reported 15 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Of these, 10 have been fatal.

Avian influenza situation in China update 6

6 March 2006
The Ministry of Health in China has reported an additional laboratory confirmed case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case occurred in a 32-year-old man from the southern province of Guangdong He was unemployed. No outbreaks in poultry have been reported in Guangdong Province since 2004. The newly confirmed case is the first human infection reported from Guangdong Province To date, China has reported 15 laboratory confirmed cases. Of these, nine have been fatal. Two patients remain in critical condition.

Avian influenza - situation in Iraq - update 4

1 March 2006
A WHO collaborating laboratory in the United Kingdom has verified H5N1 avian influenza as the cause of death in a 39-year-old Iraqi man, previously announced by the Ministry of Health.
This brings the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in Iraq, listed in the WHO cumulative table, to 2. Both cases were fatal The UK laboratory is also conducting tests on samples taken from additional cases under investigation from the northern province of Sulaimaniyah and the southern provinces of Basra and Missan. To date, poultry outbreaks of H5 avian influenza have been confirmed in Sulaimaniyah and Missan provinces. Both outbreaks are thought to have begun in mid-January.