Influenza Virus Mashup

(Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:24:00 +0000)

Indian House Crow – Photo Credit Wikipedia

# 6107

Roughly two months ago crows by the hundreds (some say thousands) began falling from their perches and dying in Jharkhand, India. 

By mid-December the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bhopal, confirmed that it was the H5N1 virus that was behind these deaths. (see EpiSouth Bulletin eweb_195_15_12__11.pdf).

You can find additional AFD coverage of this event in Media Report: H5N1 Killing Crows In Jharkhand  and several from Crofsblog, including India: ‘New bird flu strain killed Jharkhand crows’.

Today the Times of India is reporting (h/t Emily on FluTrackers) that after ignoring dying crows in the capital city of Kolkata for weeks, West Bengal authorities are finally launching an investigation.

Govt gets cracking on crow deaths

TNN | Jan 29, 2012, 07.36AM IST

 

KOLKATA: After ignoring the mysterious crow deaths in the city for nearly two months, the state government flew into action mode on Saturday and sent scientists to Rabindra Sarovar to gather carcasses and blood samples.

TOI on Friday first reported on crows dropping dead all over the city.

(Continue . . . )

Somewhat remarkably, two weeks after the discovery of H5N1 in Jharkhand crows, India declared itself to be bird flu free, leading to some highly critical media coverage (see Dying crows deny India is bird flu free).

There are other possible causes of the crow deaths in Kolkata; insecticides, accidental poisoning, and Newcastle disease to name a few.

But with the recent positive test results in neighboring Jharkhand positive for H5N1, concerns are running high that the virus may be behind these deaths as well.

(Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:05:00 +0000)

BLS-4 Lab – Photo Credit CDC PHIL 

# 6106

The weekend edition of the New York Times contains a `dialog’ – well, actually letters to the editor – received over the past few days by some well known academics and researchers on the volatile subject of H5N1 research.

The recent successes in turning the H5N1 virus into a more transmissible virus have raised alarms among many of those in the bio-security field (see The Furor Over H5N1 Research Continues).

At the same time, many scientists are decrying what they see as heavy-handed attempts to halt, or censor what they see as crucial research.

You’ll find a lot of familiar names weighing into the NYTs dialog today, including Tom Inglesby, Philip Alcabes, and Vincent Racaniello.

Sunday Dialogue: Bird Flu Experiments

The World Health Organization has tentatively scheduled a meeting of experts in Geneva in a couple of weeks with hopes of resolving some of the thornier issues involved.

But as we continue to see by the arguments coming from both sides of this debate - there is a sizable chasm separating them – making a workable compromise coming out of this meeting far from assured. 

Stay tuned. 

(Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:05:57 GMT)

Reminder: Please do not post whole articles, just snippets and links, and do not post articles from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Thanks!

China

•  5 dead birds in Causeway Bay tested for virus (Link)

India

•  Bird flu scare spreads to Ganjam as 16 crows found dead (Link)

•  Keep the crows flying to save the environment (Link)

Mexico

•  Additional Cases of Swine Flu in Mexico  (Article & Video) (Link)

Pakistan

•  Last bird flu case reported in July 2008 (Link)

Research

•  CIDRAP: Study finds non-drug flu-fighting benefits (Link)

•  CIDRAP: In ferrets, H5N1 can reach nervous system via olfactory mucosa (Link)

General

•  CIDRAP: Flu season shows signs of life in US, EU (Link)

•  H (Link)

News for January 28, 2012 is here.

Thanks to all of the newshounds! Special thanks to the newshound volunteers who translate international stories - thanks for keeping us all informed!

Other useful links:

WHO A(H1N1) Site

WHO H5N1 human case totals, last updated January 24, 2012
Charts and Graphs on H5N1 from WHO
Google Flu Trends
CDC Weekly Influenza Summary
Map of seasonal influenza in the U.S.
CIDPC (Canada) Weekly FluWatch
UK RCGP Weekly Data on Communicable and Respiratory Diseases
Flu Wiki Main Page

Via The Assam Tribune Online: Bird flu: Culling begins in Tripura. Excerpt:

Culling operations have begun in avian flu affected gram panchayats of West Tripura district on Friday after confirmation from Bhopal based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL). 

The State Government has already ordered culling of birds in three km radius of Lembucherra poultry farm as advised by the Centre. 

Twelve teams of Rapid Response Squad of Animal Resource Development Department (ARDD) have been pressed into the culling operation in the affected gram panchayats, said Manoranjan Sarkar, Director of ARDD here. 

He said though exact number of culled chicks and ducks could not be ascertained yet, the people engaged in the operation were asked to visit each house so that no chick or duck is left out of the operation. 

All necessary precautionary measures have been made to prevent fresh outbreak of bird flu in the State, Sarkar said adding that movement of poultry products had been banned in the affected areas.

Via Middle East Online, an IRIN report: Egypt set to launch anti-bird flu campaign. Excerpt:

A nationwide campaign to stop the spread of H5N1 avian influenza in Egypt is to be launched by the government in a few weeks, say officials, but details are still sketchy. 

The new plan, which will involve coordination between the Health Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry and poultry producers, requires close monitoring and various bio-safety measures. 

“These measures are just a small part of a more general plan to curb the spread of the virus in our country,” Saber Abdel Aziz, a senior official from the state-run General Organization for Veterinary Services, told IRIN. 

“We will also offer incentives to poultry growers to look for signs of illness in their animals, report sick ones, and practice bio-security.” 

H5N1 has infected 159 and killed 55 people in Egypt since 2006. 

The most recent fatalities occurred on 19 January 2012 - a two-year-old girl from Cairo, and a 31-year-old man from Fayoum Governorate in the Nile Delta. Epidemiological investigations indicated they had both been exposed to backyard poultry. 

Abdel Aziz and his colleagues at the General Organization for Veterinary Services say they will work hard to prevent this from happening again by applying bio-security prevention measures. 

“Taking commonsense precautions to prevent the disease from coming onto a farm is a cornerstone of keeping the poultry healthy,” he said. “But apart from these commonsense precautions, we will give training to poultry farm workers, make basic infection control, and promote the use of personal protective equipment.” 

Aziz said, however, that funding for the plan was still being negotiated with the Finance Ministry. 

The latest two avian flu deaths, along with a Health Ministry announcement that 2011 saw the highest number of H5N1 infections ever, has created anxiety across the country. The ministry said 40 people had contracted the virus in 2011, up from 23 in 2010. More shocking still, 16 of the 40 who contracted the virus last year died.

Via The Jakarta Globe: Deceased Indonesian Had Swine Flu, Not Bird Flu. Excerpt:

Rohmad, 18, from Tangerang, died on Wednesday after five days in the isolation ward at Tangerang General Hospital. He had been admitted last week complaining of high fever, shortness of breath and a sore throat. 

“The cause of death of the Tangerang resident was because of the H1N1 virus, not H5N1 [bird flu],” Ministry of Health official Trihono said. 

There have only been a handful of fatalities attributed to H1N1 in Indonesia, and Trihono stressed that this patient had been suffering from a condition that made him more susceptible.

Via the Bagalore Mirror: ‘R-Day pigeons suffer from disease’. This is a bizarre report, given the casualness about presumed avian flu. Excerpt:

Despite great efforts to nurse the birds back to health, two more of the diseased pigeons, that were released during Republic Day celebrations at the Manekshaw grounds, died within 24 hours of being rescued. 

Ten birds were rescued by wildlife volunteers from the BBMP’s forest cell after they had flopped to the ground. The birds, purchased from Russell Market at a substantial discount, were unhealthy and were unable to fly. Experts say the birds suffer from a strain of avian influenza and are taking every precaution to ensure the virus does not spread.    

“Our volunteers are in shock as we lost two more pigeons out of the 10 rescued on Thursday,” Sharath R Babu, honorary wildlife warden, Bangalore Urban said. “It seems most them are suffering from a strain of avian influenza. It’s a disease which afflicts birds kept at Russell Market. The strains of flu differ greatly and while this is a common strain among pigeons from Russell Market, we are not taking any chances as it could spread.”   

Said Rajesh M, a wildlife expert, “The flu can spread to other animals. For example if a dog eats an infected bird, the dog too could get infected. So the birds will be buried with lime and salt to ensure the virus does not spread.”   

While some birds flew away, at least 20 of the pigeons released during the celebrations just flopped to the ground where they struggled to fly. VVIPs, including the chief minister and the governor were witness to the fiasco. Some of the birds had broken wings, while others had turned blind.   

“The flu causes the birds to become weak,” an expert said. “Because of the weakness they don’t have the energy to fly. Infected birds also gradually turn blind and if left untreated, they die.”    

BBMP wildlife volunteers say that sending these birds for a flu test would not be necessary as the strain is common. But ensuring the survival of the infected birds is a hard task.   

“We are doing all we possibly can to ensure the survival of the rest of the birds, but the chances of their survival are grim,” Sharath said.

(Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:53:00 +0000)

# 6105

Photo Credit- EuroFlu Report.

In stark contrast to this time last year - when much of Europe was seeing significant H1N1 influenza activity - reports of flu for week 3 of 2012 (while rising slowly) - remain low across Europe - and predominantly H3N2 related.

Influenza activity continues to rise slowly in the WHO European Region due to A(H3N2)

This issue is based on data for week 3/2012 reported by 46 Member States in the WHO European Region. Consultation rates for influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory infection (ARI) continue to be relatively low in most countries of the Region, but with many countries reporting increasing activity. 29 % of sentinel specimens tested positive for influenza, which is an increase over last week: 95% of these were influenza A. Of the 352 influenza A viruses from sentinel sources that were subtyped, 99 % were A(H3N2). 

Comment

Influenza activity has increased consistently over the past several weeks, but influenza detections remain low compared to the same period of the 2010/2011 season. Influenza A and B viruses are co-circulating in the Region, with the vast majority of detections in both outpatient clinics and hospitals being A(H3N2).

We’ll get the latest FluView and FluWatch numbers later today for the United States and Canada.  

(Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:08:00 +0000)

# 6104

The detection of a new swine H3N2v virus among a handful of people across five states in recent months has sparked concerns that a new influenza virus might be trying to establish a foothold in the human population.

Since the infections reported in the 2nd half of 2011 were predominantly among young children, there has been some speculation that those over the age of 20 might have some limited immunity to this strain.

The CDC, in their January 6th MMWR Update: Influenza A (H3N2)v Transmission and Guidelines — Five States, 2011, writes:

Limited serologic studies conducted to date indicate that young children have little preexisting immunity to influenza A (H3N2)v viruses. Because the hemagglutinin genes of these viruses are related to human influenza A (H3N2) viruses that circulated in the 1990s, older children and adults might have limited immunity against these viruses

Yesterday the Journal Eurosurveillance printed an article called:

Cross-reactive antibody to swine influenza A(H3N2) subtype virus in children and adults before and after immunisation with 2010/11 trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in Canada, August to November 2010

 

by DM Skowronski, G De Serres, NZ Janjua, JL Gardy, V Gilca, M Dionne, ME Hamelin, C Rhéaume, G Boivin

As the title might suggest, this isn’t exactly `light’ reading. 

Luckily we’ve the talented Helen Branswell to lead us through this medical morass, in her report for the Canadian Press. As with any Branswell article, you would be well served to follow the link and read the whole thing. 

Older adults may also be vulnerable to new swine influenza virus, study suggests

By: Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press

Briefly, the Eurosurveillance study finds indications that acquired immunity carried by adults from exposure to similar viruses that were circulating prior to 1990 may wear off as adults age.

Since years when the H3N2 seasonal flu dominates often result in a more severe flu season, any decline in immunity among the elderly elicits concern.

Right now, the H3N2v virus hasn’t shown the ability to spread efficiently in the human population, although some human-to-human transmission has occurred. 

But over time, it may acquire that ability.

Which is why the CDC is working on a vaccine (see H3N2v Vaccine Trials) for this new strain should the need arise.

Meanwhile, with the exception of reports out of Mexico where they are seeing a large number of H1N1 cases, influenza reports in North America and Europe remain well below average for this time of year.

(Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:20:00 +0000)

Victoria, Australia – Credit Wikipedia

# 6103

Overnight the wire services have been abuzz with news of the discovery of a low pathogenic form of of avian influenza (LPAI) on a couple of duck farms in Victoria, Australia.  

A few samples of the media coverage include:

 

Chicken safe to eat, despite Victorian bird flu

 

Bird flu detected in ducks near Melbourne

 

Bird flu outbreak sparks duck cull

While all of the stories (rightfully) point out that this is a low-path strain - and not considered to be a serious health hazard to humans – noticeably absent from any of the above reports is any identification of the strain of avian flu detected.

There are, of course, a great many LPAI strains out there, but only the H5s and H7s are required to be reported to the OIE because of their potential to evolve into a more pathogenic strain.

 

For a good background on avian influenza in agriculture I would invite you to visit CIDRAP’s  Avian Influenza (Bird Flu): Agricultural and Wildlife Considerations - Last updated January 21, 2012

A visit to Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries website solves the subtype mystery (stated to be H5), which is included in the following statement by Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Andrew Cameron.

Chief Veterinary Officer’s Avian Influenza Update

27 January 2012

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has quarantined a commercial duck farm in two locations north-west of Melbourne after birds there tested positive to Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI).

 

DPI Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Andrew Cameron said analytical tests carried out at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory at Geelong, Victoria, had given a positive response to low pathogenic H5 subtype avian influenza virus, prompting authorities to act immediately.

 

This low pathogenic subtype of avian influenza is not the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus affecting poultry and humans throughout much of Asia. The wider community is not at risk from this incident.”

 

Dr Cameron has said, “The virus is relatively harmless now, but we do not want to take the risk it could linger in bird populations and mutate to a more virulent strain.”

 

The farm has been placed under strict quarantine and no birds, eggs, meat or associated equipment can be taken off the property.

 

The Consultative Committee for Emergency Animal Diseases (CCEAD) will meet on Friday 27 January, to discuss containment, surveillance and next steps.

 

Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Rosemary Lester reinforced the assurances that the public is not at risk. “Our poultry meat and eggs continue to be safe under normal food handling and cooking arrangements” she said.

 

For further information about Avian Influenza review the links below or call 1300 135559.

 

In Victoria, strict biosecurity guidelines apply to all poultry farms to prevent poultry, feed and water from mixing with wild birds. This minimises the risk of disease. It is a good practice to protect the food and water used for your pet birds and to ensure wild birds cannot come into contact with them. Finally, it is important for all of us to follow good hygiene practices to minimise the risk of any disease, such as washing hands after contact with animals and birds and, in particular, not handling sick or dead birds. These are sensible precautions that will prevent many diseases, not just AI.

Dr Andrew Cameron
Chief Veterinary Officer, Victoria

You’ll find another press release on this site, providing greater detail on the steps that are being taken to eradicate this virus.

Media release: Swift Action to Contain Avian Influenza

27 January 12