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Published Date: 2011-11-19 13:10:44
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (71): world update, FAO, China
Archive Number: 20111119.3407

AVIAN INFLUENZA (71): WORLD UPDATE, FAO, CHINA
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

In this update:
[1] FAO update
[2] China

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[1] FAO update
Date: Fri 17 Nov 2011
Source: FAO AIDEnews (Animal Influenza Disease Emergency), situation
update 82 [summ., edited]
http://www.fao.org/avianflu/en/AIDEnews.html

At a glance: the latest HPAI outbreaks for the period 1-31 Oct 2011
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Africa
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- Egypt: 5 positive cases of H5N1 HPAI were reported in 4 governorates
in October: Behera (1), Fayoum (1), Gharbia (1) and Giza (2)
Governorates (number of outbreaks in brackets). The outbreak in Behera
occurred in a vaccinated commercial farm, other outbreaks were in
unvaccinated backyard/roof-top poultry.

Asia
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- Indonesia: September 2011: The Participatory Disease Surveillance
and Response (PDSR) programme through 33 Local Disease Control Centres
covers 72 113 villages in 86 percent of Indonesia's 448 districts and
municipalities in 29 of its 33 provinces. During September 2011, PDSR
conducted surveillance in 1221 villages (1.7 percent). The overall
HPAI incidence was 0.8 infected villages per 1000 villages under
surveillance. The highest HPAI incidence occurred in Bali Province
(5.6 per 1000), followed by Sulawesi Tengah [Central Sulawesi] (4.3
per 1 000), Sulawesi Barat [West Sulawesi] (3.1 per 1000), Sulawesi
Selatan [South Sulawesi] (2.8 per 1 000), and Kalimantan Barat [West
Kalimantan] (3.1 per 1000). There were HPAI outbreaks in 2 villages in
Flores Timur [East Flores] District [Regency], Nusa Tenggara Timur
[East Nusa Tenggara] Province reported by the Disease Investigation
Centre Denpasar. No village visits were undertaken in DKI [Special
Capital City District] Jakarta and Kalimantan Selatan [South
Kalimantan] Provinces during this period.

- Viet Nam: During the 1st part of October 2011, there were no new
outbreaks reported on the government website. However, it seems that
Quang Ngai Province in the South Central Coast Region had sporadic
outbreaks since the disease information released on 29 Oct 2011
indicated that the province was less than 21 days after the last HPAI
H5N1 outbreaks. On 24 Oct 2011, an outbreak of HPAI occurred in 11
households in Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province in the North
Central Coast Region.

Near East
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- Iran: H5N1 HPAI outbreaks have been reported in 3 villages in
Mazandaran Province. The 1st 2 outbreaks started on 13 Sep 2011 among
backyard free-range ducks. Samples sent to the Central Veterinary
Laboratory (CVL) in Teheran tested positive on 15 Sep 2011 by reverse
transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and H5N1 was
confirmed by the Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza in Padova,
Italy on 10 Oct 2011.

On 17 Oct 2011, another H5N1 HPAI outbreak occurred in a farm with
5500 poultry (farmed ducks, geese and backyard chickens). This was
again confirmed by the CVL using RT-PCR.

--
Communicated by:
Juan Lubroth
Chief, Animal Health Service/CVO-FAO
Animal Production & Health Division
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
Rome, Italy
http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/home/en/index.htm

[In addition to the information above, obtained up to 31 Oct 2011,
some additional pieces of information have been forthcoming during the
1st half of November [2011], including outbreaks affecting chickens in
Rajbari, Bangladesh and affecting unvaccinated 46-day-old ducks in Ca
Mau province in Viet Nam. The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture
indicated that scattered outbreaks are expected until March 2012,
encouraging people to raise awareness of disease prevention in
poultry.

Following the information on AI in Iran, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
reported on 17 Nov 2011 that poultry and egg imports from Iran have
been banned; see
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2202988&Language=en.

For an update from China, see [2] below.

A table titled "Summary of confirmed HPAI outbreaks" with information
on 1st outbreak, latest outbreak, animals affected to date, and human
cases/deaths to date (as of 31 Oct 2011), covering all countries
reported since 2006 as infected, is available at the FAO report
above.

The 1st issue of FAO AIDEnews was published on 3 Feb 2004; all issues
are available on-line at the source URL. - Mod.AS]

******
[2] China
Date: Thu 17 Nov 2011
Source: China Central Television (CCTV) live, China Daily report
[summ., edited]
http://english.cntv.cn/20111117/104135.shtml

The bird flu [avian influenza] virus, also known as H5N1, seems to
exist widely in the poultry markets, particularly in South China,
posing a tough challenge for the nation's epidemic intervention work,
senior experts warned.

Worse, a mutant strain of the virus called H5N1-2.3.2.1 was found
spreading among live poultry, which the vaccine now in use cannot
fully protect against, Guo Fusheng, technical adviser in animal health
of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations,
told China Daily on Tuesday [15 Nov 2011], citing information and
statistics from China's Ministry of Agriculture.

"With the arrival of autumn and winter, the country is facing an
escalating risk of bird flu outbreaks among poultry as well as that of
humans getting infected," he warned.

Yu Kangzhen, the national chief veterinary officer of the Ministry of
Agriculture, said previously that it would be hard to avert regional
bird flu cases during autumn and winter but "the chance of large-scale
outbreaks is quite slim."

In late August [2011], FAO warned of a possible resurgence of bird flu
outbreaks around the world. According to the organization, since the
virus was first detected in 2003, it has infected at least 560 people
worldwide, killing 331 of them.

Sun Yan, an official of the Bureau of Veterinary under the Ministry of
Agriculture, conceded that China is at even greater risk of avian
influenza, given that it produced 25 percent chicken, 87 percent
goose, and 65 percent duck of the world's total yield.

In China, some 50 cases of bird flu involving poultry have been
detected on the mainland since 2004, with 31 of these in 2005 alone,
according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health showed 40 human cases were
reported, including 26 deaths.

The last human death happened in June [2010] in Hubei province and the
infected woman tested positive for H5N1-2.3.2.1, said Shu Yuelong,
director of the National Influenza Center of the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, going by all detected human bird flu cases worldwide, the
primary risk factor for human infection appears to be direct or
indirect exposure to infected live or dead poultry or contaminated
environments, according to the World Health Organization.

"The poultry is safe to eat," said Guo, adding that the virus can be
easily killed during cooking.

A new vaccine against the H5N1-2.3.2.1, developed mainly by the
Ministry of Agriculture, has already entered clinical trials, he said.
But regional inspections showed that the inoculation rate among
poultry that stayed in water, like ducks, was even lower than 50
percent.

A duck raiser from Jiangsu province, told China Daily that he did not
like his ducks vaccinated as "they produce less eggs after
vaccination."

[Editor: Zhang Hao]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[According to China's recent periodic report to the OIE, covering the
period January-June 2011, HPAI was last recorded in domestic birds in
2009; in wild birds, on 25 May 2010. For the report, see
http://web.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=report_ann_sem&country=CHN&year=2011&semester=1&aquatic=2&WAHID=1.

It seems that while "outbreaks" in the official sense are absent, the
virus -- according to the Chinese TV report above and the cited
experts -- is widely circulating. - Mod.AS]

See Also