News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – In a recent update on pandemic influenza preparedness planning, the US government reported meeting more than 90% of a long list of objectives it set for itself about 6 months ago.

The report charts progress on a wide range of preparedness measures, from shoring up laboratory capabilities to planning for distribution of critical medical supplies and preparing checklists for various sectors of the economy.

(CIDRAP News) – A 26-year-old Egyptian man died of H5N1 avian influenza today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported, bringing to 3 the number of deaths from the disease since Christmas Eve.

A 30-year-old woman died Dec 24, and a 15-year-old girl died Dec 25, several media outlets reported. The three patients become Egypt's 16th, 17th, and 18th cases and the country's 8th, 9th, and 10th deaths.

(CIDRAP News) – More poultry have died of H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnamese provinces where the virus recently re-emerged, and the disease has spread to another province in South Korea and 3 more Nigerian states, according to news reports.

(CIDRAP News) – Vietnam's first major outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza since last year struck two poultry farms in the southern Mekong Delta recently, government officials reported yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – A virologist who has treated H5N1 avian influenza patients in Vietnam said the antiviral drug oseltamivir may help avian flu patients even when started later than 2 days after illness onset—generally considered too late, according to a Reuters report today.

(CIDRAP News) – International health officials who met with Chinese health experts last week said the dispute over the "Fujian-like" strain of H5N1 avian influenza reflects confusion over names and vowed to seek an agreement on terminology for the various H5N1 subgroups.

(CIDRAP News) – International donors at a conference in Mali today pledged US $475 million to battle H5N1 avian influenza, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Dr. David Nabarro, the UN's avian and pandemic influenza coordinator, said he was pleased with the amount, even though has been saying that $500 million to $750 million per year will be needed for the next 2 to 3 years.

(CIDRAP News) – Poultry infected with H5N1 avian influenza pose the greatest risk of bringing the disease to the Americas, according to a new study by British and US researchers that challenges US efforts to detect flu in migratory birds.