The H5N1 strain of influenza - often referred to as bird flu - is first known to have jumped from chickens to humans in 1997. Since 2004 it has ripped through poultry and wild bird populations across Eurasia, and had a 53% mortality rate in the first 147 people it is known to have infected. Health authorities fear this strain, or its descendent, could cause a lethal new flu pandemic in people with the potential to kill billions.
Flu has been a regular scourge of humanity for thousands of years. Flu viruses each possess a mere 10 genes encoded in RNA. All of the 16 known genetic subgroups originate in water birds, and especially in ducks.The virus is well adapted to their immune systems, and does not usually make them sick. This leaves the animals free to move around and spread the virus - just what it needs to persist.
But sometimes a bird flu virus jumps to an animal whose immune system it is not adapted to.
Earlier reports of distribution of H5N1 infected meat to retail outlets raised concerns over controls in Poland, and this large outbreak adds to those concerns.
In Germany in 2006, the report says, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus was found in 343 dead wild birds, a black swan in a zoo, three stray cats, and a stone marten and on one turkey farm. In June and July of this year the virus was found in 96 wild birds in scattered areas of southeastern Germany and in one backyard goose.
Previous study of the H5N1 viruses found in Germany indicated they all belonged to the strain that killed many wild waterfowl at Qinghai Lake in northern China in April 2005, called clade 2.2, the authors say. The new analysis of the 27 isolates showed that they fell into three groups that formed geographic and temporal clusters.
The viruses collected in 2006 formed two groups: one from northern Germany, designated subclade 2.2.2, and one from southern Germany, called subclade 2.2.1. The isolates gathered in 2007 formed a third type, which the authors called subclade 2.2.3, no examples of which were found in 2006.
So this new subclade 2.2.3 has never been found before in Germany.
A 28-year-old Indonesian woman living on the outskirt city of Jakarta died of bird flu on Monday, the country's health ministry said here Tuesday.
"She died on Monday, two of her laboratory tests showed that she was positive of H5N1," he told Xinhua.
The official said that the woman was the seller of ornamental plants, had historical contact with feces of fowl.
"She mixed organic fertilizer made of feces of chickens with other material for media of plant," said Suyono.
I think that it is respectful to acknowledge the names of the dead. We do not know them. We only know how they died. Thank you to croftsblog for reminding us that they are real people. This woman had two children.
Some 35,000 birds have died from bird flu since late November at a poultry farm in southern Russia's Rostov Region, a spokeswoman for the local emergencies ministry said Tuesday.
Marina Abramchenko said the birds started dying November 29 from the lethal H5N1 virus at the farm, which holds some 500,000 birds, adding that quarantine restrictions have been introduced in the area.
"We have received the preliminary results of analysis," Abramchenko said adding that the results showed traces of the H5N1 virus.
... the father was a retired regiment commander of the Nanjing Military Region, a critical division that covers the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi.
It also faces Taiwan, China's rival, and is the front-line launching point for an assault on the island.
The young man's mother is a neurologist. Her contacts are under observation,
and quarantine, probably on Tamiflu as well. Looks like a lot of people, many
of them HCW, are under quarantine as the son's contacts are included.
The translator for the following link is Susan C, a retired physician from the
(As far as the reporter understands) all the residents of the building where LuWei lived are under quarantine and observation, with daily temperature taking, and various tests done.
The doctors and nurses who resuscitated Lu Wei's son at the Jiangsu People's hospital are all under medical observation and quarantine.
More than 60 healthcare workers at the Nanjiang neurology hospital who had contact with the deceased's mother are also under quarantine and observation.
A Indonesian man from an area west of the capital Jakarta died from bird flu on Thursday, an official said, bringing the total number of deaths in from the illness in Indonesia to 93.
The man, who had kept ducks at his home, had tested positive for bird flu and was being treated at a hospital in Jakarta, a Health Ministry official said on Wednesday.
For the first time in the history of Pakistan, Bird Flu influenza has been confirmed among human beings after two brothers died at a local hospital in Peshawar.
According to spokesman of Health Ministry, two brothers Muhammad Ilyas and Tariq working in a poultry farm in Mansera suffered flu, few days back that later turned to be critical in the form of Bird Flu influenza (H5N1).
They were admitted to a local hospital in Peshawar where on Monday they died.
UPDATE
The link has not been pulled to this story but the URL has changed, so for now, I will assume that it is factual until proven otherwise:
WHO Pandemic Phase 4 is defined as "Evidence of increased human-to-human transmission." So what constitutes evidence?
Look at what is going on around the world, as we speak. There are multiple outbreaks of H5N1 in poultry in Poland. Egypt just went on alert against H5N1, and no one would ever fault the Egyptian government to be digging in against this foe. China goes on alert. Vietnam continues to wrestle with outbreaks. Pakistan culls poultry and then two humans die. Indonesia has no earthly idea how entrenched the virus is there. Russia culls hundreds of thousands of birds. Saudi Arabia is reporting new cases in poultry, as is Bangladesh. South Korea and China are battling localized outbreaks in poultry. And we haven't even gotten halfway through December!
indigo girl
5,173 Posts
The Latest Poop on Pigeons
Why they would tell people this is the question. It can not be true.
All birds can become infected with H5N1, period. Not to mention,
many mammals...
http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/12/latest-poop-on-pigeons.html
H5N1 Spread to Eleven Villages in Poland
Bad news still coming out of Poland, as they have not contained the spread.
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12090702/H5N1_Poland_11.html