A 19-year old Chinese soldier was diagnosed with the highly pathogenic bird flu strain H5N1 last week, the Chinese Ministry of Health confirmed.
Obviously, the Chinese government is keeping a close watch on this case and ordered the army to monitor all who have come in contact with the soldier, who is serving in the Fujian province. According to a statement from the World Health Organization, there is no initial indication to suggest he had contact with sick birds prior to becoming unwell.
[source: physorg.com; WHO]
Tags: China, bird flu, human case

The H5N1 is still spreading like wildfire all over the world. This time it’s found in the south and north provinces of Vietnam.
Over 1,600 ducks have died from H5N1 in the southern Thap Muoi district and another site in a northern Quang Ninh Province. So far this month, bird flu was confirmed in 15 communies in 6 provinces across the asian nation. The VietnamNet reports that no pattern can be found in this latest string of outbreaks.

Normally this disease appears in the cold and wet weather but this year it occurs in the hot weather, which stirs worries of the …read more

About 12,000 birds mysteriously died this week in Islamabad, Pakistan and bird flu is to blame.
The rest of the 6,000 birds on the affected farms have been culled but there are no reports of human infection.
This year alone, there have been 23 H5N1 outbreaks in Pakistan but authorities are quick to say these have been rapidly controlled. In a rare case, an Islamabad zoo was affected last February when the virus was found in peacocks and geese.
[source: MedIndia]

The bird flu might be coming to the end of a cycle, speculates the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE).
Based on reports and observations, the H5N1 strain of bird flu is infecting fewer wild and migratory birds in 2007, the OIE said that the strain might be dying out in the wild, but not in domestic birds.
Poultry flocks are still infected in most countries. Bird flu also continues to be endemic in certain countries and still keep appearing in previously unaffected places, so prevention and control are still top priority.
[source: Alertnews]
Tags: H5N1, bird flu, influenza

The World Health Organization doled out US$2 million for Thailand to produce a human bird flu vaccine.
The asian country plagued by bird flu needs a total of US$45 million to manufacture the vaccine in its own pharmaceutical factory and the $2 million seed money will be used for a pilot plant that can produce about 10,000 doses for human use.
Thailand has become the sixth country to receive such a financial incentive from WHO,
which earlier made such agreements with Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil.
[source:ETNA]
Tags: bird flu, influenza, vaccine

Egypt teams with Indonesia for bird flu vaccine. Egyptian vaccine maker is teaming up with an Indonesian company to develop a bird flu vaccine for humans. [SciAm News]
Egyptian toddler tests positive for H5N1. A two-year old Egyptian girl tested positive for the bird flu virus, bringing the total human victims in Egypt to 33. [Reuters AlertNews]
Cambodian girl dies of bird flu. A 13-year old girl from Ponhea Kreak died on bird flu Thursday, only three days after getting ill from the virus. [People's Daily Online]
Indonesian girl dies of bird flu . A 15-year old girl from Jakarta died of bird …read more

Indonesia’s human death toll is now at 69, after reports confirmed that three Indonesians died from the highly pathogenic bird flu virus.
A 22-year old woman died Saturday, followed by a 15-year old boy on Sunday, and a 39-year old man on Wednesday.
This news followed the announcement made yesterday by Indonesian health minister Siti Fadilah Supari that sharing bird flu samples with WHO will resume immediately after a three-month standoff.
[Souce: Bangkok Post]

Bird flu quote of the day: “We have the most virus and patients.”
- Indonesian health minister, Siti Fadillah Supari.
Not THAT is true. Indonesia definitely has the most virus and patients anywhere. The country has never been completely successful in stopping the spread of the bird flu virus, and continues to produce one outbreak after another and cases to this day. But what used to be Indonesia’s shame is now her leverage.
The country continues to refuse to share its bird flu vaccines with the World Health Organization, causing enough outrage to push the global body to call for a three-day vaccine …read more

Since the first domestic birds died two weeks ago in the capital’s Sadovod market, eight more districts in suburban Moscow were found to harbor H5N1-infected birds.
The highly pathogenic Asian-type bird flu virus has killed at least 333 domestic birds since February 9. More birds are being slaughtered and villages have been quarantined in a desperate effort to stop the outbreaks.
Fortunately for veterinary officials, all the first five outbreaks could be traced to one location – the Sadovod market, commonly known as “”Ptichka” (”Birdie”), Moscow’s best known pet market. This makes it so much easier for health officials to trace the …read more

According to the RawStory, laboratory results confirmed new cases of bird flu in poultry that died in a farm in Dolucu, southeast Turkey. But according to the Jerusalem Post, bird flu was detected near the town of Silvan in neighboring Diyarbakir province. I’m not sure if these are different places, but these are a cause for concern and quick action. Late last week, 170 dead chickens at farm in Batman province were positive for the H5N1 virus.
Four more villages, the village of Akcay and three nearby hamlets in Silvan town, were placed under quarantine after chickens died in these areas.
Three …read more