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

A farm in North Wales was the site of a new outbreak of a low pathogenic H7N2 virus. Thirty chickens were slaughtered on Wednesday in efforts to control the viral spread.
Two people showing flu symptoms are under observation and were tested for the virus and a quarantine was set up around the farm.
Dr Christianne Glossop, chief veterinary officer for Wales:

“I’d like to think people have learned from foot-and-mouth. Wales and Great Britain contingency plans have been activated and in line with these the farm has been placed under restrictions.
We are not yet asking bird keepers within the zone to bring …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]

An H5N1 outbreak has been confirmed in the northern province of Zamfara, Nigeria. At least 200 birds have been culled and there is concern that the virus may be spreading among poultry farms in the African nation.
Nigeria has suffered as having the fastest growing spread of the bird flu virus in Africa. A weak monitoring system and unqualified health personnel are being blamed for the uncontrolled outbreaks.
Nigeria Veterinary Association President Garba Sharabutu:

“Up till now, the populace has not come to terms with the issue of movement of birds,” he said. “And the second thing is that, we are …read more

One by one, West African nations are seeing cases of bird flu outbreaks. And Ghana is no longer spared.
A poultry outbreak is reported in the eastern port city of Tema, Ghana. All the 1,600 birds on the farm have been incinerated when 145 birds were confirmed to be H5N1-infected.
Neighboring countries have already reported oubreaks since last year, including Africa’s most populous nation -Nigeria.
[source: iht.com]
Tags: bird flu, flu, Ghana, outbreak, H5N1, virus

It’s almost a year since China sent bird flu samples to the World Health Organization. After receiving pressure from the world body and many countries, the emerging superpower is again sending samples.
Just three, in fact – two from a recent samples of the virus, and one from an infected Chinese patient in 2003. Prior to this one-year lapse, the Chinese government has sent six samples to WHO designated laboratories. But since the last time (in May 2006), five new human cases have been reported in China, and it’s those five samples that are critical to tracking the recent migration and …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]

The World Health Organization has confirmed reports that three new human cases of H5N1 were identified in Laos, Egypt and China.
In Laos, a 15-year old girl from Daqahliya got exposed to dead poultry and tested positive for H5N1.
In Egypt, a 4-year old woman from Fujian also contracted the bird flu virus.
In China, a 44-year old woman also tested positive for the lethal avian virus.
Source: CIDRAP]
Tags: influenza, flu, virus, H5N1, colds, viruses, diseases, illness, health, medicine

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

I’ve seen scams where someone makes money out of other people’s tragedies. You know the lot. But I’ve never seen a country actually get into this “game”.
Until Indonesia. And bird flu.
The World Health Organization revealed that Indonesia has stopped sharing bird flu samples since January of this year in antipication of a vaccine deal with Baxter International.
Since the bird flu outbreaks began, countries have been sharing viral samples with WHO to keep track of small genetic mutation and catch emergent strains that could cause a serious human flu epidemic.
Indonesia and other poor countries feels slighted by the system of sharing …read more