WHO: "H5N1 Bird Flu is Back" …and Infects Fish Too

reply to post by Golithion


Thanks Golithion.

Didn't mean to be "freakin snippy." Flunked PR 101 is all.

is this kind of species barrier jump for a virus normal?

reply to post by purplemer

is this kind of species barrier jump for a virus normal?

Not really. ...It's somewhat normal if you look at all of evolution - all species share common microbial origins and make-up. But that kind of sharing and swapping used to take millions of years. Now, it's radically accelerated - pretty much biological lightspeed.

Even 15 years ago it was considered impossible for diseases to jump species, and scientific heresy if you said they might. Now it's a given - the biggest threats are "zoonoses."

A zoonosis ...is any infectious disease that can be transmitted (in some instances, by a vector) from non-human animals, both wild and domestic, to humans or from humans to non-human animals (the latter is sometimes called reverse zoonosis or anthroponosis). Of the 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% are zoonotic.[2] The emergence of a pathogen into a new host species is called disease invasion.

The emerging interdisciplinary field of conservation medicine, which integrates human and veterinary medicine, and environmental sciences, is largely concerned with zoonoses.

Zoonosis, also called zoonotic disease refers to diseases that can be passed from animals, whether wild or domesticated, to humans. ...

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta have said that most emerging diseases around the world are zoonotic. The director of the CDC has said that 11 of the last 12 emerging infections in the world with serious health consequences has probably arisen from animal sources. ...

Some zoonotic diseases are well known, such as rats (plague), deer tick (Lyme disease). Others are not as well known. For example, elephants may develop tuberculosis, and spread it to humans.

Before I forget again - I think TheRedneck's thread is extremely relevant to this issue.

Cracking an eggshell?

UPDATE: H5N1 seems to be going endemic in more regions - meaning the virus is in the soil, water and carried by a larger variety of animals.

Avian flu spreading at rapid pace… migratory birds seen as responsible

It is possible that migratory birds left droppings containing the virus in the lake, and sparrows and other small birds infected through the water transported the virus to the poultry farm.

However, it is not easy to determine the route of infection. When bird flu was found in February and March in 2009 at quail farms in Aichi Prefecture, the infection routes were not identified.

"I don't know why, but there's no doubt the number of birds carrying the virus from the Asian continent is larger than usual this season," a senior official of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.

Bird flu recurs in Myanmar

Myanmar has been recently struck with bird flu for the fifth time since 2006, it was today reported.
Following confirmation that birds had been infected with the H5N1 virus, 52,000 chickens and 1,000 ducks were culled in the states Bumay-village tract in an attempt to contain the outbreak.
Investigations are underway to determine whether it was caused by the import of birds into the area, or migratory birds.


This follows confirmation of H5N1 in Japan and the culling of at least 452,000 birds.

Tis the season - Bird Flu is showing up all over in Asia - Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, more.

BUT - the World Trade Organization ruled that the USA's ban on Chinese poultry was illegal. Clearly the ruling has nothing to do with protecting public health, and everything to do with protecting trade and corporate profits.

DeLauro Probes USDA on Chinese Poultry Policy

Initially the ban was put in place over avian flu fears, but an Agriculture Appropriations bill, authored by the congresswoman, has kept the ban in place by not allowing any funding for USDA to go forward on a rule to allow the poultry. The World Trade Organization ruled in September that the ban was illegal...

Japan culls another 190000 chickens
Atlantic Farm Focus
It has now sacrificed more than half a million birds in efforts to contain H5N1 avian influenza. This 10th outbreak was in the Miyazaki prefecture where it ...

Dead chickens test H5N1 positive in HK
China.org.cn
Two chicken carcasses found in Tai O, Hong Kong were found positive for H5N1 avian influenza virus, a spokesman for the city's Agriculture, Fisheries and ...

Cholera under control in central Myanmar
Xinhua
Meanwhile, avian influenza H5N1 recurred in Sittway township, Myanmar's western Rakhine state, in mid-January causing death of 700 three-month-old chickens ...

8000 chickens culled
Bangladesh News 24 hours
Kishoreganj, Feb 3 (bdnews24.com) – Some 8000 chickens of a poultry farm, infected with the H5N1 virus, in Kishoreganj have been culled. ...

Avian flu reappears in South Sumatra

Bird flu outbreak hits Indonesia's Jambi


Jan 31, 2011 (CIDRAP News): Three Asian countries battle H5N1 outbreaks

Flu season continues to heat up in the East as CIDRAP reports, with a human case reported in Cambodia:

Cambodia's health ministry has confirmed that a 5-year-old girl from Phnom Penh recently died from H5N1 avian influenza, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

...The WHO's confirmation of Cambodia's latest case raises the global H5N1 count to 520, of which 307 were fatal.

In a Feb 4 WHO update on human H5N1 cases, Cambodia is listed among the five countries that reported H5N1 infections in 2010. The others were China, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Since 2003, reported cases ranged in age from 3 months to 81 years, with a median age of 19. Children under age 9 are the hardest hit age-group, accounting for 29% of cases. However, the highest case-fatality rate, 73%, is in young people ages 10 to 19. Those 70 and older have the lowest death rate from the disease, 25%. The case-fatality rate among all age-groups is 59%.

...So far this year only Egypt and Cambodia have reported human H5N1 cases.

Quick Update, from Cambodia:

Doctors fear bird flu outbreak

Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities fear an outbreak of avian influenza (H5N1) after a mother and her child died two weeks ago and seven more were hospitalised.

...seven villagers who helped clean Prak Sophorn’s body for cremation have been admitted to the Mongkol Borei district hospital for treatment after each developed a fever and cough.

UPDATE: February 28, 2011

Cambodia: Pravda's report is sensationalized - but the numbers are scary.

Cambodia's deadly virus: 85% mortality rate

...the next Black Death, a global pandemic of catastrophic proportions, has reared its ugly head in the Far East, home to many pandemic viruses. This time it is not a 30 per cent death rate, it is an 85 per cent death rate. It is called the Cambodian Avian Flu virus.

Of the 13 cases of human H5N1 virus infection confirmed since 2005 in Cambodia, 11 have been fatal.

Egypt: The CIDRAP Report.

Egypt reports 3 H5N1 infections, 1 fatal

Feb 28, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed three more H5N1 avian influenza infections in Egypt, one of them fatal, that surfaced during the weeks surrounding the country's recent political upheaval.

Egypt saw a dramatic spike in human H5N1 infections in 2009 and 2010, and in each of those years the country reported the most H5N1 illnesses globally, outpacing even traditional avian flu hotspots such as Indonesia and Vietnam. The cell phone and Internet blackouts that occurred during Egypt's leadership transition led to some anxiety in the infectious disease community about the status of the H5N1 threat in Egypt.

UPDATE March 5, 2011: China, South Korea, Palestine and Bangladesh

Dead goose carried bird flu virus
UPI.com
BEIJING, March 5 (UPI) -- A goose carcass found on a Chinese beach has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, officials in Hong Kong said. The decomposed carcass was found at a beach near Sham Shek Tsuen Lantau, said Xinhua, China's official news ...

S. Korea confirms additional bird flu outbreak
Korea Times
Tests showed that the 12400 birds at a poultry farm in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, were infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of the avian influenza (AI), the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said. ...

2000 turkeys diagnosed with bird flu near Jenin
Ma'an News Agency
JENIN (Ma'an) -- A flock of 2000 turkeys has been diagnosed with the H5N1 "bird flu" virus in the northern West Bank village of Silat Al-Harithiya near Jenin, government officials said. The veterinary department of the Palestinian Authority Agriculture ...

2000 chickens culled in Gazipur, Noakhali
Bangladesh News 24 hours
Dhaka, Mar 5 (bdnews24.com) – Around 2000 chickens have been culled in Gazipur and Noakhali following the detection of H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu. Gazipur Sadar Upazila livestock officer Mohammad Shamsur Rahman on Saturday told bdnews24.com ...

some news claim that there has been a kind of vaccine can defeat all kinds of flu.

reply to post by needhelp1


Uh huh. They keep workin' on it.

But there are difficulties.

reply to post by soficrow


GOOD GOD NOT THE FISH!!!!!!

Sorry av not even read this thread, I know enough about H5N1 to know that until it starts to spread human to human easily or stops me buying a battered haddock and chicken from my local chippie, I don’t need to panic.

reply to post by kevinunknown


I live by the credos "we are all one" and "we are what we eat." ...I know that: a) most chicken, shrimp, pork and much produce likely contain some clade or another of the H5N1 strain - and eat it all any way; and b) most beef and other food is "contaminated" with one strain of prion or another - and eat it all any way.

...I suspect nature works this way for a reason, and figure I'll just go with it til I cross into another dimension.

H5N1 outbreaks in Bangladesh are "already three times higher this year than the same period last year."

BANGLADESH: Bird flu outbreaks up sharply in 2011
IRINnews.org
DHAKA, 9 March 2011 (IRIN) - Outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu among poultry in Bangladesh - already three times higher this year than the same period last year - have caused “serious concern” for the authorities. “We are undertaking heavy surveillance at ...

South Korea Confirms Additional Bird Flu Outbreak
Bernama
Tests showed that the 200000 birds at the large egg-laying farm in Yongin, 50 kilometres south of Seoul, were infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of the avian influenza (AI), the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said. ...

H5N1 Bird Flu Finds in China Dim Good News
Yahoo! News
But a dead goose washed up on the beach in China that tested positive for H5N1 bird flu shows the disease is still alive, according to UPI.com, who explained that authorities in Hong Kong would take measures to prevent the disease from entering the ...

There seems to be a bit of a mis-perception that I'm maintaining this thread to promote vaccine sales, and/or because They are back on the "bird flu bandwagon." Neither perception is true. FYI:

I do NOT believe in vaccines; I do NOT take vaccines; I did NOT allow the schools to vaccinate my daughter.

But I do track certain diseases, especially the new ones that are flipping back and forth between animals and people, and jumping species and kingdom barriers. And sometimes, I report on what I'm following.

FYI - They are not 'touting' diddly squat. Especially not prevention - even though They know that shoving thousands of animals together, pumping them full of antibiotics and anti-virals and anti-fungals and human drugs just creates more and worse diseases - and then They feed us meat contaminated with lots of nice, new, freshly evolved diseases - and like good little consumers, most of us chow right down.

They don't care that cutting costs and bumping profits the way They do is virtually guaranteed to create super-flus and super-bugs and all-new alien diseases that can now cross kingdom barriers, not just species barriers. They know most people are just too ignorant to care, and those that think they know something are easy to distract, mislead, confuddle and send off in the wrong direction. Case in point.

Vaccines are NOT the answer. But zoonoses are a critical problem, created by industrial animal husbandry and agriculture, and spread round the world by industrial food processing and so-called "free" trade.

[/rant]

reply to post by soficrow


I know your thread is getting little attention at the moment. But there are those of us out there who have great interest in this topic but are overwhelmed with all the other issues bearing down on us. Keep us updated on this………….

Thanks cloudsinthesky, but it's okay - was just in a flap about a post on another thread. Thanks again for your encouragement.

FLU NEWS SCAN: Spotting H1N1 pneumonia, H1N1 in ferrets, H5N1 in Vietnam
CIDRAP
Vietnam's agriculture ministry yesterday reported two H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks, one at farm in Ha Nam province and the other at a village in Quang Ninh province, according to a notice from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). ...

Avian Flu Resurgence Raises Concern in Asia, Middle East
World Bank Group
Since January, the H5N1 avian flu virus has re-emerged and caused deaths across Asia and in Egypt. Governments concerned with impacts on health, financial systems, and livelihoods of poor farmers and families. Experts say investment in stronger human ...

Bird flu virus H5N1 detected on turkey farm in Israel
Vetsweb (press release)
On a turkey farm in the Israelian village Gush Etzion (South of Jeruzalem), H5N1 has been detected, Over 40000 turkeys will be culled. The farm consist of 3 barns, each housing 14000 birds. In one of the barns the bird flu virus has been found in 14 ...

Ministry warns of increasing disease threat
Viet Nam News
Official statistics from the department show that more than 15000 chickens with the A/H5N1 virus have been culled in eight provinces since the middle of February. As many as 66000 cattle contracted foot-and-mouth disease in 25 provinces within one ...

Israel Finds Avian Flu in Atsyun Settlement
WAFA - Palestine News Agency
BETHLEHEM, March 10, 2011, (WAFA)-The Palestinian Agriculture Ministry announced yesterday that they slaughtered 15 thousand birds after Israeli health officials found the deadly bird flu virus (H5N1) in one of the coops in Kibutz Rosh Tsurim in Gush ...

Big thing is to make sure you stay a healthy person. Nothing is better than prevention! I know there are natural, non-antibiotic remedies out there that are very effective against different types of the flu-but because the "FDA hasn't approved it" some people shy away from those options...unfortunately.

Thank you for such an informative thread here! While it does freak me out a bit, I also know it's not like they are not watching it/keep their eyes open here. I, too, have done some reading on the subject, and in my humble opinion, it's educating people that is another big step towards prevention. Like with the Ebola/Marburg viruses and educating locals about NOT handling dead primate meat (a known vector along with bats-please correct me if I am wrong.), people need to practice safer/healthier farming techniques. Ack, I hope I made sense.

While I think that there are a lot of people out there who are not looking out for our best interest, I also am a whole-hearted believer there are people who do want to look out for people's health.

Edit: I also read a while ago that they created/bred a chicken that was resistant to the H5N1 strain. I think that it could still catch it but it wouldn't spread it to it's fellow birds.

reply to post by Sundowner

I also read a while ago that they created/bred a chicken that was resistant to the H5N1 strain. I think that it could still catch it but it wouldn't spread it to it's fellow birds.

The H5N1-immune chicken is genetically engineered - just like the Mad Cow disease-immune cattle, and all the different disease-immune crops.

... Besides vaccines, the mainstream is pushing GE and GMO solutions - even worse, imho.