Avian Influenza and the Pandemic Threat

Source: IRIN
4 August 2008 | Dakar, Senegal -- Niger’s Ministry of Livestock is intensifying its bird surveillance along the 1,500-kilometre border with northern Nigeria after a recent resurgence of bird deaths.

Source: FAO
23 July 2008 | Vientiane, People's Democratic Republic of Lao -- A major thrust in the fight to combat avian flu is to help prepare the people on the frontline to be able to respond quickly and effectively when an outbreak occurs. The frontline is almost always at local level, and the protagonists are inevitably poultry farmers and their communities, as well as local, district and provincial animal health workers.

Source: OIE
07 July 2008 -- After 19 reported events, primarily among farmed chickens, the situation in Egypt is unlikely to be contained and is now considered to be endemic. No more follow-up reports will be made, but instead, information about this disease will be included in the future six-monthly reports.

The first outbreak was reported 17 February 2006.

Control measures applied:

Source: IRIN
DILI, 26 June 2008 -- With little capacity to prevent avian flu from crossing the border from the neighbouring Indonesian region of West Timor, health officials are concerned about possible outbreaks.

To date, none has been reported in Timor-Leste, but health specialists say it is only a matter of time. "If it comes today, there is no chance we could do anything at all," Chana Opaskornkul, emergency coordinator of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Timor-Leste, told IRIN.

Source: FAO
Kuala Lumpur, 23 June 2008 -- The peak of the avian influenza crisis that has hit Asia hardest but also Africa and Europe is over but drawbacks and weaknesses continue in the fight against the disease, and this poses serious problems for global food security.

Juan Lubroth, Senior Officer for Infectious Diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sounded the warning as he spoke to the press following the 13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases held in the Malaysian capital from 19 to 22 June.

Source: WHO
19 June 2008 -- The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced two new cases of human H5N1 avian influenza infection. The cases are not linked epidemiologically. The first is a 16-year-old female from South Jakarta, DKI Jakarta Province developed symptoms on 7 May, was hospitalized on 12 May and died on 14 May. Investigations into the source of her infection indicate exposure to sick and dead poultry.

Source: FAO
19 June 2008 -- Viet Nam should continue to vaccinate and the programme will probably be needed for the next three to five years or longer, even though this will be costly because it will have to be implemented on such a large scale, says FAO.

Source: WHO
28 May 2008 -- The Ministry of Health, Bangladesh has confirmed its first case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza. The case was identified retrospectively as part of seasonal surveillance activities run by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB).

Source: WHO
30 April 2008 -- The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 3-year-old male from Wonogiri District, Central Java Province developed symptoms on 14 April, was hospitalized on 21 April and died on 23 April. Investigations into the source of his infection indicate exposure to sick and dead poultry.

Of the 133 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 108 have been fatal.

Source: WHO
17 April 2008 - The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has announced a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case is a 2-year-old male from Al-Honsanya, Sharkea Governorate. He developed symptoms on 13 April and was hospitalized on 14 April and is currently in hospital. The case was confirmed as being infected with A(H5N1) by the Central Public Health Laboratories and by Cairo-based US Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU-3) .