OCT 06 Health Alerts
Increased influenza vaccine production needed, says WHO
25/10/06
WHO's new Global pandemic influenza action plan to increase vaccine supply addresses the potential large vaccine shortage of several billion doses. The plan calls for an increase in seasonal influenza vaccine use and vaccine production capacity, as well as further research and development to design more potent and effective vaccines
Avian Influenza situation in Indonesia - update 36
19/10/06
The exercise will take place between 16 and 19 October and will create scenarios simulating an international arrival at Brisbane airport containing two people infected with pandemic influenza.
Health and emergency services from all states will participate. Costing more than $4 million, Exercise Cumpston 06 is one of the largest pandemic influenza exercises held in the world. More than 1,000 people are participating.
The exercise will test Australia’s border control, quarantine and hospital plans as well as national and state level response arrangements in a pandemic influenza outbreak. Disease containment, including hospitalisation and quarantine arrangements, the deployment of antiviral drugs and the establishment of fever clinics, will be simulated.
Exercise Cumpston 06 will assess national and local surveillance and response systems, decision-making structures and coordination mechanisms.
There will also be a detailed communications exercise to test the appropriateness of media and public communications strategies and arrangements.
The Commonwealth Government has provided funding of $600 million since 2003 to protect Australians from potential outbreaks of human pandemic influenza and from the entry of bird flu into the country.
Avian Influenza situation in Indonesia - update 36
17/10/06
The Ministry of Health in
The first newly confirmed case occurred in a 67-year-old woman from
The second case was an 11-year-old male from South Jakarta,
The third case was a 27-year-old female from
Of the 72 cases confirmed to date in
FAO launches Crisis Management Centre to fight bird flu
16/10/06
ROME, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Dr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Thursday inaugurated a new Crisis Management Center (CMC) to fight avian influenza outbreaks and other major animal health or food health-related emergencies.
"The CMC represents a significant leap forward in the FAO's ability to help member nations prevent and cope with disease outbreaks," Diouf said.
Set up in collaboration with the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health and located at the FAO's Rome headquarters, the center is geared to react quickly to transport animal and plant diseases, and emergencies involving plant pests or food safety, according to Diouf.
Supported by advanced communications technology, the center operates around the clock, seven days a week with a group of up to 15 specialists and veterinarians. Disease information is monitored and updated from around the world continuously.
When a suspected outbreak is reported, the CMC can dispatch experts to any hot spot in the world within 48 hours.
"One of the lessons the FAO has learned in three years of leading the international fight against Avian Influenza is that speed is of the essence," Diouf said. "Alert must be lightning-quick. Reaction must be immediate in combating a disease which can move, across borders and continents, terrifyingly fast."
"Three years into the avian influenza crisis, the FAO and the international community can draw some satisfaction, and some relief, in the progress made to contain a most deadly menace to the health of animals and humans across the globe," Diouf said.
"But despite the encouraging and very real progress made, it does not mean we can lower our guard," Diouf warned, adding that the disease remained a potent threat in Indonesia , Africa , Eastern Europe and the Caucasus .
The United States has provided 5.1 million U.S. dollars and three veterinarians for the center. Other contributors include Germany , France , Sweden , Switzerland , Norway , Saudi Arabia , China , Greece and Jordan
Avian Influenza situation in Egypt - update 9
11/10/06
As of Wed 11 Oct 2006, the Ministry of Health in Egypt has confirmed the country's first case of human infection with the H5N1 virus since May of this year [2006].
The patient is a 39 year old woman from the Gharbiya governorate in the Nile Delta. She developed symptoms on 30 Sep 2006 and was admitted to hospital on 4 Oct 2006. She subsequently developed pneumonia. She remains
in hospital in a stable condition.
Her recent history includes the home slaughter and defeathering of around a dozen ducks, when signs of illness and deaths began to occur in the flock.
Egypt reported a recurrence of poultry outbreaks in backyard flocks in September 2006. Previous human cases occurred from late March through May 2006. To date, the country has reported 15 cases, of which 6 were fatal.
Avian Influenza situation in Indonesia - update 35
04/10/06
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed the country's 69th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The case is a 21-year-old female from East Java Province. She developed symptoms on 19 September and was hospitalized on 25 September. She remains hospitalized.
She is the sister of a confirmed H5N1 case, an 11 year old male who died on 18 September. Following that fatal case, health authorities initiated contact tracing, and on 24 September they received reports of symptoms in the sister. In line with the national protocol, she was immediately given the antiviral drug, oseltamivir, and isolated in hospital.
The source of her infection is presently under investigation. Poultry deaths in the family's household were noted both before and during the illness of the brother. The woman was likely exposed to these poultry as well as to her brother.
Of the 69 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 52 have been fatal.
Live Bird Markets as a source of Avian Influenza
03/10/06
Currently the number of confirmed human cases of avian influenza in the outbreak which started in 2003 is just in excess of 200. The sources of infection in individual cases can for the most part be traced to the handling of sick birds but there remain a few in whom no such exposure has occurred. A report from China recently published casts some light on this problem.
A patient identified and confirmed as having H5N1 virus infection in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou had not handled or processed or even cooked any sick birds but had while looking for work visited 9 food markets containing live bird cages in the city and in addition he and his girlfriend had shopped in two such markets not long before he was taken ill. Public Health inspection of all the food markets concerned showed that they were well-managed but H5N1 virus was isolated from one healthy bird and also from one cage floor.
Elsewhere in China there have been similar reports of infected patients having visited live bird markets in the two weeks preceding illness. This follow-up in Guangzhou supports other evidence from Hanoi in Vietnam where virus was detected in healthy birds in a live bird market. The authors of the paper suggest that the practice of selling live birds directly to consumers in food markets should be discouraged in areas currently experiencing outbreaks among birds especially in large, modern cities where there may be a threat to the casual market visitor. From a tourist point of view this report supports our advice not to visit live bird markets.
