Published Date: 2007-01-22 00:00:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (14): Viet Nam, Thailand, S. Korea
Archive Number: 20070122.0295
AVIAN INFLUENZA (14): VIET NAM, THAILAND, SOUTH KOREA
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[1] Viet Nam
[2] Thailand, control policy
[3] South Korea
******
[1] Viet Nam
Date: Mon 22 Jan 2007
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Xinhuanet [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-01/22/content_5636300.htm>
Ducks in Vietnamese province infected with bird flu
-----------------------------------------------
Specimens from healthy ducks in Viet Nam's southern Dong Thap
province have been tested positive to bird flu virus strain H5,
according to local newspaper Youth on Monday [22 Jan 2007].
The tested ducks are in the 3 districts of Thanh Binh, Lap Vo and
Thap Muoi, and Sa Dec town, the newspaper quoted the provincial
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as reporting.
Due to the existence of the virus in healthy ducks, the risk of bird
flu breaking out in Dong Thap is high, the department said, adding
that the province finds it difficult to monitor the cross-border
transport of poultry and quarantine fowl transported to the province.
Bird flu is hitting 38 communes in 18 districts in the 7 southern
localities of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, Soc
Trang and Can Tho, said the Department of Animal Health under the
Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Southern
Tra Vinh province has not detected new bird flu outbreaks in the last
21 days, meeting criteria for announcing an end to bird flu outbreaks
in its territory.
Bird flu outbreaks in Viet Nam, starting in December 2003, have
killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowl in
the country, said the department.
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[2] Thailand, control policy
Date: Sun 21 Jan 2007
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: Bangkok Post [edited]
<http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Jan2007_news06.php>
Poultry movements banned in all 16 districts as mass bird cull gets underway
-----------------------------------------------
All 16 districts in this central province have been declared disaster
zones to help public health authorities with the mass culling of
poultry in bird flu-prone areas.
A ban on fowl movement throughout the province, especially free-range
ducks from other provinces, has also been enforced.
Provincial Governor Cherdpan na Songkhla, who issued the order
yesterday [20 Jan 2007], said areas where bird flu had previously
been confirmed, such as Bang Pahan, Phak Hai and Bang Pa-in
districts, were still at risk because the virus remained dormant in
water resources and residential areas.
Provincial health official Rattanachai Chullanet said the latest
laboratory tests showed that a 43-year-old free-range-duck raiser was
not infected with bird flu virus after he helped bury dead ducks and
later developed a high fever and sore throat.
Deputy permanent secretary for agriculture Yukol Limlamthong said
Thailand should be on alert for a possible outbreak spreading into
the kingdom from neighboring countries.
To prevent a possible new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus, the
Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has sought cooperation from the
Customs Department to monitor and ban the import of poultry and
breeding equipment from neighboring countries hit by avian influenza.
As the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry steps up its guard
against bird flu, public health authorities are considering a new
partner in China to jointly develop influenza vaccines.
Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla and senior health
officials decided to look for a new Chinese biotechnology firm which
could provide better technology and a larger production capacity than
[the] Chinese firm previously targeted for the job.
''We would like to make sure that we get the best technology for
research and development of a vaccine. We need to think thoroughly
before making a decision to sign a contract with any firm,'' Dr.
Mongkol said after returning from China last week.
Dr. Mongkol in October 2006 called for a re-think of plans to
vaccinate animals developed after the country faced a series of avian
flu outbreaks since 2004. He said the virus had mutated and that it
was difficult to diagnose the symptoms in new human fatalities.
The bird flu policy committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Kosit
Panpiemras, will make a decision on limited vaccine use in
bird-flu-plagued areas on 29 Jan 2007.
However, virologist Prasert Thongcharoen said a thorough study on the
effectiveness of animal vaccines used in neighboring countries such
as Viet Nam and Indonesia was essential before undertaking the
measure here. Such a study was necessary to find out whether the
vaccine could reduce the transmission of the virus from both animals
to animals and animals to humans, he said.
Bird flu was still rife in Viet Nam and Indonesia despite their
animal vaccination policies, he said.
[Byline: Sunthorn Pongpao Apiradee Treerutkuarkul]
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[Methods, and recent experiences in the use, of vaccination as one of
the tools to control and prevent avian influenza infections, and
decision-making processes for the implementation of a vaccination
strategy, will be discussed in the scientific conference
"Vaccination: a tool for the control of avian influenza," organized
by OIE, FAO, the European Commission and IZSVe in Verona, Italy,
20-22 Mar 2007 -- see ProMED post Calendar 2006 (43): OIE, FAO, IZSVe
conf on vaccination 20061213.3509. - Mod.AS]
******
[3] South Korea
Date: Sat 20 Jan 2007
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AP via Signonsandiego.com [edited]
<http://www.signonsandiego.com:80/news/world/20070119-2110-skorea-birdflu.html>
South Korea says latest bird flu outbreak caused by the deadly H5N1 virus
-----------------------------------------------
South Korean quarantine officials are set to slaughter 273 000
poultry after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the
Agriculture Ministry and health officials said Saturday [20 Jan 2007].
The outbreak occurred at a chicken farm in Cheonan, about 60 miles
south of Seoul, earlier this week, the 5th such outbreak since
November 2006, said Lee Joo-won, a ministry official.
"We plan to start slaughtering 273 000 poultry within a 500-meter
radius of the outbreak site and destroying eggs as early as Saturday
[20 Jan 2007] evening," Lee said.
The ministry also said it will make a decision on whether to kill
another 386 000 poultry on Sunday [21 Jan 2007] while limiting the
movement of about 2.16 million chickens and ducks from 90 farms
within a 6-mile radius of the outbreak.
South Korea culled 5.3 million birds during the last known outbreak
of bird flu in 2003. The H5N1 virus began ravaging Asian poultry
stocks in late 2003 and has killed more than 160 people worldwide.
Most human cases have resulted from contact with infected birds.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that is more
easily transmitted between people, possibly creating a pandemic that
could kill millions.
"People can be infected with H5N1 virus at any time, but the disease
is curable if people take the antiviral drug Tamiflu within 48 hours
after the infection," said Kwon Jun-wook, an official at the Korea
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kwon, the KCDC's director of the communicable disease control team,
also called for thorough preparations against the deadly H5N1 strain
of bird flu.
Earlier this month [January 2007], South Korean officials said that
the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus had been transmitted to a human
during a recent outbreak among poultry, but the person showed no
symptoms of the disease, as the poultry farm worker had developed
natural immunity to the disease.
[Byline: Kwang-Tae Kim]
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[The Republic of Korea eradicated its 1st HPAI outbreak in early 2004
swiftly and efficiently, being one of the very few countries which
successfully regained its status of official freedom from HPAI. No
vaccination was allowed. The current outbreak, which started in
November 2006, seems to be still simmering. - Mod.AS]
See Also
Avian influenza (12): Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, OIE 20070118.0237Avian influenza (06): Viet Nam, OIE 20070113.0175
Avian influenza (02): Viet Nam 20070105.0050
Avian influenza: Viet Nam (Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Hau Giang) 20070102.0015
Avian influenza, human (18): South Korea 2006 20070121.0289
Avian influenza, human (08): South Korea 20070111.0119
2006
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Avian influenza (222): China, Egypt, S. Korea, Viet Nam 20061225.3605
Avian influenza (216) - South Korea: H5N1, OIE, conf 20061128.3374
Avian influenza, human (146): South Korea, asymptomatic 20060916.2633
2004
----
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (57): OIE 20040329.0862
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (25): OIE 20040215.0498
2003
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Avian influenza - South Korea (06) 20031228.3151
Avian influenza - South Korea (02): OIE 20031213.3049
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