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Published Date: 2006-02-18 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - worldwide (22): Europe, Asia, Africa
Archive Number: 20060218.0526

AVIAN INFLUENZA - WORLDWIDE (22): EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA
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In this update:
[1] Worldwide
[2] India (Maharashtra), 1st case, suspected
[3] Russia (Dagestan)
[4] FAO, OIE, global concerns & control measures
[5] UK, preventive measures
[6] Netherlands, preventive measures
[7] Germany (Ruegen), swans, goose
[8] Austria, duck, swan near Vienna
[9] China (Hong Kong), magpie
******
[1] Worldwide
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AFP via Mail&Guardian Online, South Africa, 18 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?
articleid=264658&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/#>

The most dangerous form of bird flu was confirmed on Friday [17 Feb 2006] in
Egypt, the 2nd African country hit after Nigeria, while France, Europe's
largest poultry producer, said the rapidly spreading H5N1 virus has probably
also penetrated its borders.
6 cases, all involving poultry raised in private homes, have been detected in
the greater Cairo area and one in the Minya region, 250km south of the
capital, said a government spokesperson.
Tests are also being carried out on chickens in the southern governorate of
Qena, where the popular tourist areas of Luxor and Thebes are located, after
the mysterious deaths of about 130 birds in a village there. [See an
interactive map of Egypt at
<http://www.supertravelnet.com/maps/index.php?
action=showmap&country=152_0_4&language=1>].
In Europe, French Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau said late on Friday
there is a "90 percent" chance that a dead wild duck found in the central-
eastern Ain department [bordering, on the east, Haute-Savoie department and
Germany] was infected with the lethal strain of the virus. He added that the
definite test result would be known by late Saturday or early Sunday.
Meanwhile, a new case of H5N1 was confirmed on Fri, 17 Feb 2006 in Austria,
Slovenia and Italy, while Germany admitted its 10 cases confirmed on Thursday
would most likely be followed by more.
H5N1 kills about half the humans it infects. [This statement, repeatedly cited
in the press, is based upon statistics of mortality in clinically affected,
hospitalised cases, which is not necessarily equivalent to all "infected"
persons. Serological surveillance in exposed populations will provide more
accurate assessments of the virus' pathogenicity in humans. - Mod.AS]
Since 2003, just over 90 people, all of whom had come into direct contact with
the carcasses of infected fowl, have died, most of them in China and South-
East Asia, but also in Iraq and eastern Turkey. Even without a mutation,
there remains a significant risk for people. [Less than 200 recognized cases
in over 1 billion people in 2 years is not what I would call significant. -
Mod.JW].
The World Health Organisation [WHO] said on Friday that Romania, with 31
affected villages where the bird-flu virus is sweeping through poultry flocks
in undeveloped rural areas with poor infrastructure, "runs the risk of human
contamination at any moment". Other European countries with confirmed
outbreaks of H5N1 are Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Ukraine and Russia.
Aside from protecting people, a major priority in Europe is to stop avian
influenza spreading from wild birds and devastating the continent's poultry
industry. Sales of chicken have already dropped across Europe.
Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Slovenia joined other European nations on
Friday by ordering all poultry kept indoors to ensure that domestic hens,
ducks and geese do not come into contact with infected wild birds.
The other countries are Denmark, France, Greece, Luxembourg and Sweden.
The Netherlands went a step further and said it would seek authorisation from
the European Commission to vaccinate free-range poultry against avian flu, the
agriculture ministry said on Friday [see [6] below].
In Brussels, the European Commission warned that poorly controlled
vaccinations could allow some birds to become infected and pass on the virus.
The commission has also decided that if H5N1 should be transmitted from a wild
bird to a domestic fowl, there would be a mandatory slaughter and the poultry
eggs destroyed on the infected farm.
Also on Friday, a top animal-health official warned that Africa needed massive
intervention to tackle bird flu. Bernard Vallat, who heads the World
Organisation for Animal Health [OIE], said efforts to prevent the virus from
spreading in Africa would "have to be much superior to that in south-east
Asia, almost colossal. If several regions are affected, as it seems the case
with Nigeria, we must vaccinate all the chickens," he told the French
newspaper Le Figaro. He added that this would be a "very costly procedure
which cannot be conducted unless there is urgent international aid". [OIE,
established in 1927, is an independent international organisation, not a UN
agency. There are 167 member-countries. - Mod.AS]
Nigeria's Information Minister, Frank Nweke, told reporters in Abuja that a
new outbreak of suspected bird flu has been detected in the northern state of
Bauchi. "Following reports of high mortality of birds in a poultry farm in
Toro in Bauchi state, the federal government ordered the immediate stamping
out of the entire bird population in that farm," he said.
H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in 3 northern Nigerian states and was
suspected to be present in several others. It was 1st confirmed in the country
on 8 Feb 2006. [An interactive administrative map of Nigeria can be seen at
<http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gmap&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-
158&srt=npan&col=aohdq>].
The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States said it is drawing up
strategies to combat bird flu in the region, while trying to involve global
bodies such as the UN.
Senegal, which is home to several sites where migratory birds flock, on Friday
said it was stepping up surveillance.
Since the outbreak was first detected in Nigeria, tens of thousands of
poultry, ducks and ostriches have been culled, burned and buried there.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[2] India (Maharashtra), 1st case, suspected
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Reuters alertnet, 18 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18720506.htm>

Dead poultry in India's western Maharashtra state have tested positive for the
H5N1 bird flu virus, the state's animal husbandry minister, Anees Ahmed, told
Reuters on Saturday [18 Feb 2006].
Ahmed said about 50 000 birds have died in the past few days and samples sent
to a government laboratory in central Bhopal town have confirmed bird flu.
"Yes, it is confirmed. The disease is H5N1. It has come to Maharashtra," Ahmed
said by telephone. The minister said the birds died in Nandurbar district.
This is the first case of the virus in India.
"We are treating it as an emergency. We are carrying out the operations of
killing birds in Nandurbar, north of Mumbai (state capital). We have sent 200
veterinary doctors there," Ahmed said.
In New Delhi, an emergency meeting of the cabinet secretariat was called, a TV
report said.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[On 14 Feb 2006, the outbreak in Maharashtra was reported as a diagnosed case
of Newcastle disease; fortunately, samples were forwarded to the government
laboratory in Bhopal to exclude avian influenza. Unfortunately, the correct
diagnosis was found to be, indeed, avian influenza. See contents and
commentary in 20060214.0492, which includes the following data, typical of
avian influenza ("fowl plague"): "Nearly 100 000 'laying birds' in the poultry
sheds of Navapur in Nandurbar district in Maharashtra just across Gujarat are
suspected to have died of Newcastle Disease (NCD), also called Ranikhet
Disease, during the last few weeks". It view of this history, it may be
assumed that the infection is not limited to the said commercial farm.
See map of Navapur at <http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/16/Navapur.html>.
If confirmed (by the reference laboratory), this is bad news indeed, having
the panzootic, and a virus -- H5N1 -- which is devastating to the poultry
industry and (so far -- limited) zoonotic features, within the territories of
the world's 2 most populous countries, China and India, on top of vast
territories in 3 continents.
Maharashtra state (population over 100 million, area 118 530 sq mi = 306 993
sq km) is situated in West India, on the Arabian Sea (location map at
<http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/maharashtra-location-map.gif>
The city of Bombay (Mumbai) is the capital. Further details are anticipated as
soon as possible. - Mod.AS]
[The 13 Feb 2006 report said ""Nearly 100 000 'laying birds' in the poultry
sheds of Navapur in Nandurbar district in Maharashtra ... have died ... during
the last few weeks", indicating this outbreak began in January 2006, if not
earlier. In update (03), archive 20060209.0427, Mod.AS commented: "There is a
low chance of success in containing a highly infectious animal disease such as
H5N1 HPAI, when more than 3 weeks elapse between sampling and (published)
results." - Mod.JW]
******
[3] Russia (Dagestan)
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: Alfonso J. Rodriguez <ajrm_msds@yahoo.es>
Source:Yahoo News, 17 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060217/hl_afp/healthflurussia_060217125207>

An outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been registered at a poultry farm
in the southern Russian province of Dagestan -- the 2nd such case in the
region this week.
"The H5N1 virus was found on a 2nd poultry farm," a spokeswoman from the press
service of Russia's consumer protection agency said.
The outbreak of the virus, which can be dangerous for humans in its highly
pathogenic form, was identified after tests at Eldama farm, where 350 000
birds had died between 25 Jan and 1 Feb 2006, the RIA-Novosti news service
cited a statement from the agency as saying.
An outbreak at another poultry farm in the village of Shamkhal in the volatile
Russian republic in the North Caucasus region was announced on Wed 15 Feb 2006
by veterinary officials, who said it had been spread by wild birds.
Russian veterinary officials said the situation at other poultry farms in the
region was normal, RIA-Novosti said.
The outbreaks were the 1st confirmed cases of H5N1 in the Russian Caucasus, an
area close to Turkey, where 21 cases of the virus have been recorded in human
beings, and across the border from former Soviet Azerbaijan, where cases in
birds have been registered.
Russian officials have repeatedly warned of a possible upsurge in bird flu
outbreaks towards spring, with the start of bird migrations, but have played
down fears that it could spread to humans.
H5N1 appeared in several other Russian provinces during 2005, notably in
Siberia, prompting authorities to slaughter hundreds of thousands of
[domestic] birds in an effort to stem its spread.
--
Alfonso Rodriguez, M.D.
<ajrm_msds@yahoo.es>
******
[4] FAO, OIE, global concerns & control measures
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: Luisa Guarneri <guarneri@fao.org>
Source: FAO press release, 17 Feb 2006 [edited]

FAO today expressed growing concern that the bird flu virus H5N1 may spread to
other countries in West Africa following the discovery of the virus in Nigeria
last week. The effects on a region already facing severe malnutrition would be
devastating, the UN agency warned.
"We should provide incentives to poor African farmers to report immediately if
they suspect an outbreak among poultry, and discourage them from rushing to
sell birds on the market," said Joseph Domenech, FAO's Chief Veterinary
Officer, who is currently in Nigeria with a joint FAO/OIE team of experts.
The country of greatest concern is Niger, which directly borders the affected
areas in Nigeria and where over 2 million people are already vulnerable to
acute hunger.
"The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus poses a very serious threat to
animal health in West Africa. If a poultry epidemic should develop beyond the
boundaries of Nigeria the effects would be disastrous for the livelihoods and
the food security of millions of people," said Domenech.
The agency noted that since the 1st reports of H5N1 outbreaks in Asia at the
end of 2003 nearly 200 million domestic poultry have died or been culled in
order to contain its spread. The economic loss to the economy of affected
Asian countries has been estimated around USD 10 billion.
In contrast to Europe, where most poultry production takes place on large
commercial farms, in Africa poultry is often raised in backyards and is
therefore more difficult to control. Widespread public awareness campaigns
regarding safe farming practises and improved hygiene are essential to help
contain the spread of the virus.
"People need to be informed about the importance of basic hygiene, notably
washing hands after touching poultry and disinfecting boots or shoes before
entering or leaving a poultry farm. They should also be aware of suitable
farming practices such as ensuring that poultry are roofed-in to avoid any
contact with wild birds and not mixing chickens with other species, such as
ducks," said Juan Lubroth, Senior Officer of FAO's Animal Production and
Health Division.
FAO has advised veterinary authorities in Nigeria to stamp out the outbreaks
through immediate humane culling and safe disposal and to strictly control the
movement of people and animals from and to infected areas and neighbouring
countries.
Many countries, including Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mauritania have
prepared bird flu contingency plans. "Such plans and field operations must be
fully supported by national governments with participation of the private
sector. The international community should continue to provide expertise and
financial resources," Lubroth said.
At the Beijing Pledging Conference in mid-January 2006, the international
community pledged a total of USD 1.9 billion. The World Bank estimates that a
human influenza pandemic caused by a virus mutated from avian flu could cost
the global economy USD 800 billion per year.
--
Luisa Guarneri
Information Officer, FAO
<luisa.guarneri@fao.org>
[The above press release was published prior to the news about suspected cases
in India. A press release of the OIE, which participated in the joint OIE/FAO
team of experts' mission to Nigeria and Niger, is available at
<http://oie.int/eng/press/en_060217.htm>. - Mod.AS]
******
[5] UK, preventive measures
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Times, 18 Feb 2006 [edited]

The deadly avian flu strain was closing in on Britain last night after a dead
duck was confirmed with the disease in France.
The wild duck was found at Ain, near Lyon, only 400 miles from Dover and 460
miles from London. A one-mile exclusion zone has been placed around the
location of the bird.
A sample from the bird was being tested at the Veterinary Laboratory Agency,
in Weybridge, Surrey, to check whether it had the lethal H5N1 strain. If
confirmed, France will be the 7th country in the European Union with an
outbreak of the virus in wild birds.
The French have already asked permission from the European Commission to start
vaccinating geese and ducks that are kept outdoors in areas near the
Mediterranean.
Poultry farmers in Britain were bracing themselves last night for a consumer
backlash against chicken and turkey meat, even though the disease has not been
found in poultry on the Continent and the meat is safe to eat when cooked
thoroughly. British shoppers have been holding their nerve after panic about
chicken on the Continent, particularly in Italy, where consumption has fallen
by 70 per cent.
There are still no plans, however, to order the country's 150 million birds
indoors to protect them against the virus. Industry sources said last night
the trigger would be once the 1st case was found in a wild bird on British
shores.
State vets and wildlife experts are monitoring closely the coastal areas of
northern France and the South East of England.
Kent [South East England] is not a main centre for commercial poultry
production but there are certain to be some isolated chicken farms as well as
those who keep small flocks largely as pets or for fresh eggs.
Chickens were not locked up in Britain when avian flu hit the Netherlands 2
years ago.
Ben Bradshaw, the Animal Health Minister, has already given warning that the
spread of disease through Europe made it more likely to reach Britain.
He said: "It's still only in wild birds. It hasn't been found in any poultry
so far in EU countries this time. But, clearly, the closer it gets to us the
risk grows. But the risk according to vets is still low."
Peter Bradnock, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, was calm about
the infected duck in France. "Crucially, it is not in poultry and has not
reached any domestic birds in Europe. Biosecurity is the key and all farms are
operating at a very high standard. If there is an infected wild bird found in
Britain then the exclusion zone will be brought in and that will give us even
extra safeguards."
All poultry movements would be halted inside an exclusion zone and all birds
tested. A single infected bird would prompt the slaughter of the entire flock.
The senior government vet may also decide to close footpaths in the zone. But
the Government is adamant that there is no plan to close the countryside, as
occurred during the foot-and-mouth outbreak that started 5 years ago today.
Ministers and senior vets are drawing up a vaccination plan and are studying
all options. The position at present is that vaccination would be countenanced
only for birds in zoos or collections of rare breeds, or endangered or exotic
species.
There is concern that a vaccine will mask the disease and may even spread
infection. Vaccination is also not practical. Each bird -- and there are 150
million in Britain -- would have to be inoculated manually, and it can take 3
weeks for a bird to develop protective immunity.
Farm ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday to review avian flu.
[Byline: Valerie Elliott]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[6] Netherlands, preventive measures
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters alertnet, 17 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17613192.htm>

Dutch vets found no bird flu in 2 dead swans on Fri, 17 Feb 2006 but
authorities decided to speed up poultry vaccination plans as the disease
spreads in Europe.
"The results were negative for H5N1 (avian flu)," said Benno Bruggink, a
spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry. The birds were found in 2 different
towns in central Netherlands.
The ministry quoted Agriculture Minister Cees Veerman as telling a cabinet
meeting: "It is not a question of 'if', but a question of 'when' bird flu is
found in the Netherlands."
The country is Europe's 2nd biggest poultry producer after France and a top
world exporter. It suffered an outbreak of a different strain [H7N7] in 2003
which led to the culling of 30 million birds, more than 1/3 of its total.
Bird flu experts recommend preventive vaccination of poultry in the small and
densely populated Netherlands, where the risk is seen as high because of the
huge numbers of farmed birds.
Bruggink said the government would present a plan to the European Commission
on Monday, asking it to allow voluntary vaccination of free-range chickens,
most at risk of contact with wild birds.
The Netherlands, whose poultry exports are worth 1.6 billion euros a year,
wants guarantees from the EU that it will not face trade restrictions if it
launches a preventive vaccination campaign. The EU usually approves
vaccination only as a last resort and bans livestock and meat imports from
countries that use it.
Bruggink said obtaining guarantees from EU member states that the Netherlands
could continue exporting was essential.
"It's not going to be easy, we know some countries that will not agree with
that," he said, adding that a special body of the European Commission would
discuss the Dutch plan on Tuesday.
[Byline: Anna Mudeva]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[7] Germany (Ruegen), swans, goose
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Ireland OnLine, 17 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=173126732&p=y73yz7438>

German tests confirmed that 10 more wild birds found dead on a northern island
had the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, the federal animal health institute said
today. They followed 3 previously confirmed cases.
In expanded testing of wild birds found on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, 3
swans [probably mute swan, _Cygnus olor_], 6 whooper swans [_Cygnus cygnus_]
and a goose [species requested] tested positive for H5N1, the Friedrich
Loeffler Institute said.
France, meanwhile, said a duck found dead in the southeast tested positive for
an H5 subtype of bird flu.
Further tests were being conducted to determine the exact strain, France's
Agriculture Ministry said today.
In Hungary, chief veterinarian Miklos Suth said Hungarian lab tests on 3 swans
found dead earlier this month came back positive for H5N1.
Samples were sent to the EU reference lab in Britain for confirmation, he said
today [species not specified].
Germany's Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer urged state governments to
prepare for a worst-case scenario.
"We must expect that this will expand to other geographical areas," he said at
a news conference.
Authorities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state have come under sharp
criticism for failing to immediately cordon off parts of Ruegen where 2 swans
and a hawk -- Germany's 1st cases of H5N1 -- were found to be infected earlier
this week.
Seehofer is to travel to Brussels early next week to discuss ways to stem the
spread of the disease within the European Union, where H5N1 outbreaks have
been confirmed in Austria, Greece, Italy and Slovenia.
"Bird flu can only be fought on an international level," he said.
One of the latest birds to test positive for H5N1 carried a ring that was
attached in 2005 in Latvia, the institute said.
Germany has recorded no human cases of bird flu, but the virus has killed 91
people in Asia and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health
Organisation. Most victims were infected after handling sick birds. But
scientists fear H5N1 could mutate into a form easily passed between humans and
spark a human flu pandemic.
Today, domestic birds in Germany were required kept indoors to prevent contact
with migrating wild fowl.
Seehofer urged state officials to be rigorous in enforcing the measures and
advised Germans to avoid contact with wild birds.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[8] Austria: duck, swan near Vienna
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006 17:07:42 -0000
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Reuters / Alertnet [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L181157.htm>

Austria found 2 cases of deadly H5N1 bird flu virus near Vienna on Saturday,
raising the total number of cases there to 7 and prompting a nationwide order
to confine poultry indoors, the health ministry said.
Health Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat told a news conference that a dead swan
found in the Vienna suburb of Donaustadt and a dead duck found in nearby Lower
Austria province had tested positive for suspected H5N1 infection.
She said a poultry protection zone already established in southern Austria,
where 4 swans and a duck tested positive for H5N1 earlier this week, had been
extended throughout the Alpine republic as a result of Saturday's discoveries.
Laboratory tests on 2 other dead ducks found in the southern province of
Styria were due on Monday. The findings must be confirmed at the European
Union's reference laboratory in Weybridge, England.
"We are well equipped (to handle bird flu) and have everything under control.
We can clearly signal to all Austrians that no danger to people exists," Rauch-
Kallat told ORF public radio earlier on Saturday. "It's absolutely necessary
to keep a close eye on this problem, take it very seriously, and coordinate
measures against it across the EU and beyond. But there is no reason for
panic."
******
[9] China (Hong Kong), magpie
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Reuters alertnet, 18 Feb 2006 [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T144012.htm>

A common magpie [_Pica pica_, picture at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Euromagpie.JPG>] found dead in a densely
populated district in Hong Kong has tested positive for the H5N1 avian
influenza virus, the government said on Sat, 18 Feb 2006. It was the 9th bird
to be found infected with the disease since late January 2006 in Hong Kong,
and the government warned people to avoid touching wild birds or live poultry.
The bird was found dead on Thursday in Sham Shui Po, a district crammed with
open-air markets, run-down residential buildings and often unsanitary
alleyways.
The government also said it was testing another common magpie for H5N1 after
the bird was found dead on Friday in Mongkok, another heavily populated
district that is home to a pet bird market.
Magpies are common in this crowded city of nearly 7 million people and are
often kept as pets.
The H5N1 virus made its 1st known jump to humans in Hong Kong in 1997, killing
6 people. So far, it cannot be passed easily from human to human, but experts
fear the virus could mutate and cause a pandemic.
In Hong Kong, the government began enforcing this week a ban on backyard
poultry. Household chickens are not protected by biosecurity measures and
experts see them as a weak link that could allow the virus to fester and
mutate into a pandemic strain.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

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