Published Date: 2004-01-25 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (07)
Archive Number: 20040125.0296
AVIAN INFLUENZA - EASTERN ASIA (07)
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[01]
Date: 25 Jan 2004
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: CBC News, 25 Jan 2004 [edited]
<http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/01/25/birdflu_040125>
Indonesia confirms bird flu in chickens
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Indonesia has confirmed an outbreak of the bird flu among chickens, but
officials say the virus hasn't spread to humans. Indonesia's agriculture
minister told reporters Sunday 4.7 million chickens had died of disease
since November. About 40 per cent died from avian flu, while the remaining
60 per cent died from Newcastle disease, said the minister. Newcastle
disease is harmless to humans.
******
[02]
Date: 25 Jan 2004
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AFP via channelnewsasia.com, 25 Jan 2004 [edited]
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/67898/1/.html>
Bird flu spreads to Indonesia, second Thai province, 20m birds dead
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Asia's bird flu crisis deepened as Indonesia said "millions" of its
chickens had died from the illness, making it the 7th nation to confirm the
deadly disease.
Thailand, set to host international talks on the epidemic this week, also
confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain, which has killed 6 people in Vietnam, had
spread to a second province despite mass poultry culls.
Meanwhile China raised its defences against the disease by banning poultry
imports from Thailand and Cambodia.
An Indonesian government spokesman said 4.7 million birds have died since
November by a combination of Newcastle disease and what he called Type A
avian influenza. About 60 percent of the birds died from Newcastle disease.
"The government will not cover it up that Indonesia has now been infected
by the avian influenza which has attacked millions of poultry in
Indonesia," said the agriculture ministry's director for animal husbandry,
Sofyan Sudrajat, according to Antara news agency.
It was not known whether the H5N1 strain was present in Indonesia. Japan,
Cambodia, South Korea, Taiwan [only in a duck alegedly smuggled from
China.- Mod.AS], Thailand and Vietnam have all reported the strain, while
Taiwan has detected only the weaker H5N2. Millions of chickens have been
slaughtered in those countries.
No deaths have been confirmed from the stronger strain outside of Vietnam,
although it is suspected of killing one Thai man.
About 650 Thai troops were ordered to slaughter all chickens in Suphan Buri
province, where the virus was first detected, while culling was to
intensify in adjoining Kanchanaburi, which borders Myanmar and where H5N1
was also confirmed on Sunday.
Thailand's premier, battling accusations that his government had covered up
the disease before admitting its presence on Friday, conceded officials had
suspected the virus was infecting chickens.
"We suspected it for about a couple of weeks," Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra told reporters, insisting that even though the results had not
been confirmed in recent weeks, "we have acted as if it was the bird flu."
Health officials in Myanmar said they were still allowing Thai poultry to
enter but were closely monitoring border crossings.
"We have asked health and customs officials at our borders to keep a close
check on imports of small chicks and eggs... especially from neighbouring
countries where the virus has been detected," Khin Swe Win, from the Animal
Breeding and Husbandry Department, told AFP.
All affected nations have been invited by Thailand to attend ministerial
talks in Bangkok on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said.
"The meeting is to draft consistent prevention measures for affected
countries. These countries can't work alone because this is a cross-border
issue," Surakiart told reporters late Saturday.
"We have to adopt the same standards to make other countries confident."
All except South Korea and Taiwan have confirmed their attendance, he said.
China, the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, the
World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation will
send officials, he added.
By the end of Sunday more than 10.7 million chickens were expected to have
been culled or to have died from the epidemic in Thailand, as well as 4.7
million in Indonesia, 2.9 million in Vietnam, nearly 2 million in South
Korea, 55 000 in Taiwan and 35 000 in Japan.
The World Health Organisation has urged countries with outbreaks of bird
flu to prevent the virus taking a deadlier hold on humans by quickly
slaughtering chickens affected by the disease.
The UN health agency has warned that the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain
could merge with a human influenza virus to create an infectious virus
sub-type capable of human-to-human transmission.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[A final identification of the higly pathogenic avian influenza HPAI) in
Indonesia should be made available. It seems this pandemic, now admitted by
Thailand and Indonesia, has not peaked yet; further information from other
countries from where rumors have been indicative of possible HPAI presence,
namely China and Laos, will be most helpful.- Mod.AS]
See Also
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia 20040114.0145Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (02) 20040116.0176
Avian influenza, Eastern Asia (03): RFI 20040118.0206
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (04): RFI 20040119.0208
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (05) 20040120.0222
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (06) 20040124.0282
Avian influenza, Thailand - OIE 20040124.0276
Avian influenza, Taiwan - OIE 20040123.0273
Avian influenza, human - Thailand (02): confirmed 20040123.0262
Avian influenza, human - Thailand (03) 20040123.0268
Fowl cholera - Thailand 20040120.0230
Fowl cholera - Thailand (02): RFI 20040122.0259
Fowl cholera - Laos: suspected 20040123.0263
Avian influenza, human - Thailand: suspected 20040122.0247
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (11) 20040122.0258
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (10) 20040122.0251
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (09) 20040120.0225
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (06) 20040118.0193
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (05) 20040117.0181
Avian influenza, WHO fact sheet 20040116.0171
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (04) 20040114.0155
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (03) 20040114.0154
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam (02) 20040113.0138
Avian influenza, human - Vietnam: RFI 20040112.0127
Avian influenza - Japan (02) 20040112.0125
Avian influenza - Japan: RFI 20040111.0124
Avian influenza - Vietnam (02) 20040110.0106
Avian influenza - Vietnam: OIE 20040109.0101
Avian influenza - Thailand (02): not 20040109.0097
Avian influenza - Thailand: RFI 20040105.0051
Avian influenza - Taiwan ex mainland China: susp. 20040101.0001
2003
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Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong): OIE 20030120.0186
Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong): OIE (02) 20030126.0236
Avian influenza - Indonesia: RFI 20031119.2872
Avian influenza - South Korea (02): OIE 20031213.3049
Avian influenza - South Korea (03): confirmed 20031216.3070
----------------------------arn/dk
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