Published Date: 2006-02-10 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - worldwide (06): Azerbaijan, Romania
Archive Number: 20060210.0438
AVIAN INFLUENZA - WORLDWIDE (06): AZERBAIJAN, ROMANIA
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In this update:
[1]: Azerbaijan
[2]: Azerbaijan and Nigeria
[3]: Romania (Dolj)
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[1] Azerbaijan
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006
From: Nati Elkin <nati@poultrymed.com>
Source: Reuters alertnet, 10 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10227843.htm>
Azerbaijan said on Friday [10 Feb 2006] that the H5N1 strain of bird
flu had been found in tests on wild birds.
Samples from wild birds in the Caspian Sea were sent for tests to
London and showed the bird flu strain was present, a spokesman for
the Health Ministry said.
"In some analyses the H5N1 bird flu strain was found," a spokesman
for the ministry told Reuters. "Bird flu has not yet been found in
the human population."
--
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[Details on the tested wild birds, particularly their number,
species, clinical status and respective locations, will be helpful.
At the beginning of January 2006, the Azerbaijani veterinary services
stated that mass mortality of birds in the Massaly region (near the
Iranian border) was not caused by avian influenza; ProMED-mail
indicated the need for details on gross pathological findings of the
dead birds and results of tests excluding avian influenza. No
responses have been obtained.
Deaths of birds were recorded in Azerbaijan also during Oct/Nov 2005
(see FAO review of 6 Nov 2005, in 20051106.3251). They remain undiagnosed.
For a map of Azerbaijan see
<http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gmap&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-26&srt=npan&col=aohdq>.
- Mod.AS]
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[2] Azerbaijan and Nigeria
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006
From: Nati Elkin <nati@poultrymed.com>
Source: CNN, 10 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://edition.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/02/10/birdflu.wrap/>
Health officials in Azerbaijan say the deadly H5N1 strain has been
found in dead birds from the country's Caspian sea coast.
State-run Lider TV cited the results from a London laboratory that
had tested the dead birds and the Ministry of Health is expected to
make the announcement Friday.
Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities say they are mounting a major effort
to battle the virus, which has been detected in 2 more states, and
has so far killed more than 100 000 birds.
This is the 1st time the strain has been found in Africa, although no
human infections have yet been reported in Nigeria.
The discovery of the disease in one part of Africa does not bode well
for the rest of the continent, said Alex Thiermann, special adviser
to the director general of the World Organization for Animal Health.
"We have been saying for a while that, were the disease to get to
Africa, it's a continent where most countries have very weak
veterinary infrastructure," he told CNN.
"And we know from our experience in Eastern Europe and in Southeast
Asia that the rapidity with which the disease can be fought, and how
quickly we can eliminate it ... is very directly related to the
quality of the veterinary infrastructures."
Nigerian Information Minister Frank Nweke Jr. said 3 farms were
quarantined, one each in the states of Kaduna, Kano and Jos [which
should probably read Plateau; Jos is Plateau's capital city. -
Mod.AS] and that they could be out of operation for up to a year.
He said the government was paying farmers 250 naira (USD 1.95) for
each bird culled to compensate for their loss and to encourage other
farmers to report diseased birds.
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) spokeswomen Maria
Zampaglione told CNN they would assemble a team of bird flu experts
to send to Nigeria by the end of the week and that the government was
being helpful in its assistance.
Part of the team's job, she said, will be to determine how the birds
came to be infected.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[3] Romania (Dolj)
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006
From: Nati Elkin <nati@poultrymed.com>
Source: Reuters alertnet, 10 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10489752.htm>
Romania confirmed the presence of the H5 bird flu virus in poultry in
a village in the south of the country close to the border with
Bulgaria, officials said on Friday.
Samples will be sent to a British laboratory to establish whether the
birds had caught the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu that
can infect people.
"Tests made on samples from 3 hens from the village of Cetate in Dolj
county confirm the H5 type," head of the Animal Health and Diagnosis
Institute Nicolae Stefan told Reuters.
The agriculture ministry said in a statement that the village was
quarantined and that all the poultry will be culled.
The village of Cetate is about 500 km (300 miles) west of the Danube
delta, Europe's largest wetlands and a major migratory route for wild
birds [44.10 N, 23.05 E; see interactive map of Romania:
<http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gmap&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-182&srt=npan&col=aohdq>].
Avian flu has been discovered in 27 villages across the Black Sea
country since the first outbreak occurred in the delta in October
2005. Romania has not reported any human cases.
Neighbouring Bulgaria has also sent samples to Britain for testing
after discovering H5 bird flu in a dying swan last week.
--
ProMED-mail
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See Also
Avian influenza - Eurasia (06): Turkey, Azerbaijan 20060107.0054Avian influenza - Eurasia (03): Turkey, Azerbaijan 20060106.0045
Avian influenza - worldwide (05): Europe, China (HK) 20060210.0437
2005
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Avian influenza - worldwide (03): FAO Update 20051106.3251
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