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Published Date: 2006-04-27 00:00:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - worldwide (99): UK H7, Germany
Archive Number: 20060427.1226

AVIAN INFLUENZA - WORLDWIDE (99): UK H7, GERMANY
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
In this update:
[1,2] UK (Norfolk), poultry, H7 suspected
[3] Germany (Brandenburg), white stork
[4] Germany (Saxony), tufted duck
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[1] UK (Norfolk), poultry, H7 suspected
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Guardian, 27 Apr 2006 [edited]
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/birdflu/story/0,,1762543,00.html#article_continue>

Officials today named the farm at the centre of Britain's latest bird flu
scare as Witford Lodge farm in Hockering, 13 miles west of Norwich.[Map at
<http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=52.6769&lon=1.0683&scale=100000&icon=x>].
Preliminary tests indicate that the infection is the H7 strain of the virus
rather than the H5N1 strain that has killed more than 100 people worldwide.
But officials from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) said all 35 000 chickens at the farm would be slaughtered
as a precautionary measure to stop the infection spreading.
The outbreak is the first instance of avian influenza detected in the UK
since a swan that tested positive for H5N1 was found in the harbour of the
Scottish town of Cellardyke earlier this month.
Tests later found that the Cellardyke swan was a species not native to
Britain, meaning that it may have become infected and died outside the UK.
A quarantine zone around the harbour was lifted at the weekend.
Test results to confirm the strain of the virus at the Norfolk farm are
expected later today. Norfolk is one of the main centres of Britain's
poultry industry, with around 300 farms in the county.
Britain last saw an infection of H7 avian flu in 1987. Although the strain
is not considered to be as dangerous as H5N1, it is still considered a
risk. A 2003 epidemic in the Netherlands resulted in 89 human infections
and one related death.
******
[2] UK (Norfolk), poultry, H7 suspected
Date: Thu,27 Apr 2006
From: Mary Marshall<tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Bloomberg.com, 27 Apr 2006 [edited]
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aJ8jYMVMvnk0&refer=uk>

Chickens found dead on a farm near Dereham, Norfolk in east England were
infected with bird flu, the government has said. The flu "is likely to be
the H7 strain of avian influenza, and not H5N1," the Department for
Environment Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement on its website.
The farm has been quarantined and its remaining birds are being
slaughtered, the agency said. Debby Reynolds, the UK's chief veterinary
officer, said the source of the flu strain was not yet known and she
expected more test results over the next 24 hours. "Those results will
allow us to decide whether it's the highly pathogenic dangerous form to
birds, which kills a lot of birds, or the low pathogenic which is a much
less serious infection," Reynolds said in an interview with the British
Broadcasting Corporation last night.
The slaughter of as many as 35 000 chickens on the affected farm was a
"highly precautionary" measure to avoid a spread of the disease, Reynolds
told the BBC. "The other investigation is, where did it come from? And at
this stage we don't know the answer to that," she said.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[It is to be hoped that the immediate stamping out of the infected flock
may have prevented further spread; we shall have to patiently wait for the
outcome of the lab investigation, which should disclose the full build-up
of the virus and its pathogenicity. - Mod.AS]
******
[3] Germany (Brandenburg), white stork
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2006
From: Thomas Roesel <roesel@lycos.com>
Source: Maerkische allgemeine, 26 Apr 2006 [trans. by submitter; edited]
<http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/cms/beitrag/10695577/2206212/>

A white stork with the dangerous avian influenza virus H5N1 was found in
the administrative district of Maerkisch-Oderland. It is the first white
stork discovered to have the virus. The speaker for the ministry for the
environment stated that the carcass was found near Letschin. It is not yet
clear whether it is the highly contagious Asian strain of the virus. This
is currently being investigated at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute on the
island of Riems. The number of avian influenza cases (within Brandenburg)
has now risen to 19. The officials established a 3 km radius restricted
area around the point of discovery in Letschin. In addition, a 10 km radius
observation area has been declared.
According to the ministry, this is the 2nd discovery of an infected bird in
the administrative area (Maerkisch-Oderland). The very first case in
Brandenburg arose at the end of February 2006. The last one occurred 11 Apr
2006 in the Dahme-Spreewald administrative area when a dead wild goose was
found. This carried the Asian variant of the H5N1 avian influenza virus,
which can also be dangerous for humans.
[The location of Letschin within the State of Brandenburg can be seen at:
<http://www.informationsarchiv.com/regionalseiten/map/20157/Letschin.png>;
the locations of Maerkisch-Oderland and Dahme-Spreewald at:
<http://www.fewo-direkt.de/vd/maps/VV/DE/brandenburg.gif>].
******
[4] Germany (Saxony)
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2006
From: Thomas Roesel <roesel@lycos.com>
Source: Central Press Agency for the State Government of Saxony, 26 Apr
2007 [trans. by submitter, edited]
<http://wo5app1.saxony.de/app/WebObjects/mspublic.woa/wa/buildFs?action=filter&inst=SMS&style=bf>

The 1st suspected case of avian influenza in a wild bird has been detected
in the Free State of Saxony.
The case involves a tufted duck [_Aythya fuligula_, see
<http://www.vzi.de/b/z3/taucrei.jpg>) from the administrative district of
Bautzen. A sample was sent on 25 Apr 2006 to the Friedrich Loeffler
Institute, the national reference laboratory on the island of Riems.
Today's result from the national reference laboratory revealed H5N1. For
confirmation as to whether it is the highly pathogenic form of the avian
influenza virus, further investigation is required. Within the next few
days, the result is expected.
The necessary measures were taken in accordance with ordinances for a
suspected case of wild bird avian influenza:
- a 3 km radius restricted area (21 day transport ban for poultry, birds
and their products) has been established around the discovery point in area
about the Bautzen dam (located north of the city of Bautzen, a part of the
municipalities of Radibor, Grossdubrau and Malschwitz).
- a 10 km radius observation area (30 day transport ban for poultry and
birds) has been declared around the discovery site.
In both restricted areas, dog leashing is prescribed, and cats are required
to stay indoors. Citizens may obtain more information from the Bautzen
administrative offices through the telephone hotline at 03591-325436.
Additional information can be obtained from <http://www.sms.sachsen.de>.
[A map of the Bautzen area can be found at
<http://www.geocities.com/marcelmonterie/bautzen1.gif>; the location of
Bautzen within a map of Saxony and Germany can be found at
<http://www.informationsarchiv.com/regionalseiten/map/14163/Bautzen.png>].
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The accumulating information on H5N1 in wild birds, derived from
surveillance activities in various EU member-countries, those already
infected as well as those which have been fortunate to remain so far
uninfected, is of obvious importance for the advancement of the knowledge
about the evolving epidemiological situation. The data from different
sources deserve to be compiled, compared, and published by a central EU
scientific authority; ProMED-mail will be grateful for such information and
glad to post its details, when available.
There are several useful websites on the matter, such as the following:
<http://www.uk.foedevarestyrelsen.dk/AnimalHealth/Avian_influenza/Latest_news/forside.htm>
(Denmark; last update 27 Apr 2006);
<http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/wildbirds/survey-results.htm>
(UK; last update 27 Apr 2006);
<http://bfav.hnm.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente/News/av_Influ/LB_Influenza.pdf>
(Germany; last update 13 Apr 2006);
<http://www.cidc-lelystad.wur.nl/NL/onderzoek/Virus/ai/situatie/>
(Netherlands, CIDC Lelystad, in Dutch; last update 24 Apr 2006);
<http://disasters.jrc.it/AvianFlu/index.asp?europe=true> (EU Joint Research
Centre, last update 21 Apr 2006).- Mod.AS]

See Also