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(CIDRAP News) An avian influenza virus from a Vietnamese woman who was one of four family members to have the illness did not contain any human flu genes, indicating that the virus did not spread from person to person, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
"Virus genetic material from this woman, as for the other case in this cluster, is of avian origin and contains no human influenza genes," the WHO said.
(CIDRAP News) The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday that public health must outweigh economic concerns in responding to the highly pathogenic (H5N1) avian influenza crisis in Asia.
The warning came the same day as a report that the Indonesian government had not undertaken a mass slaughter of chickens to stop the outbreaks but was mostly leaving the job to farmers.
(CIDRAP News) – US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said yesterday they have completed their field investigation after tracing as many cows as possible from the original herd of the nation's first cow known to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
(CIDRAP News) – An outbreak of avian influenza at a farm in Delaware has been blamed on an H7 influenza virus, which does not infect humans, unlike the H5N1 subtype causing the widespread avian flu outbreaks in Asia.
(CIDRAP News) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking a $65 million increase in food security funds in fiscal year 2005, with more than half of the money to be used to improve capabilities for testing food for biological, chemical, and radiological contaminants.
(CIDRAP News) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), downplaying statements by a regional FAO official, said today it had no evidence that pigs are involved in transmitting the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Asia.
(CIDRAP News) As the human and animal toll from H5N1 avian influenza continued to rise, United Nations health and agricultural officials at a conference in Rome today endorsed selective vaccination of poultry to fight the spread of the disease.
(CIDRAP News) One of three Senate office buildings that were closed this week after ricin was found in an office was set to reopen today, but the source of the ricin remained a mystery.
(CIDRAP News) A panel of experts that reviewed the US response to the nation's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) says there are probably other cases in the United States and recommends increasing restrictions designed to keep BSE-infected materials out of human food and animal feed.
(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern about China's handling of its fourth recent case of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which involved a 40-year-old physician and hospital director and was revealed Jan 31.
(CIDRAP News) – Test results announced today confirmed that a white powder found yesterday in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office was ricin, a deadly poison derived from castor beans, according to news services.
(CIDRAP News) Two more human deaths resulting from H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) were reported in Southeast Asia today, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was investigating two possible cases of person-to-person spread of the disease in Vietnam.
In addition, China reported outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian flu in four more provinces around the country, bringing the number of affected provinces to 10, according to the WHO.
(CIDRAP News) Highly pathogenic avian influenza has turned up in poultry flocks in two provinces in central China, far from the southern province where the country's first outbreak was reported 3 days ago, Chinese and international health officials said today.
(CIDRAP News) A outbreak of 37 cases of Salmonella infection in the Northeast has prompted the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue an alert urging consumers to take care in handling raw ground beef.
(CIDRAP News) The Bush administration today proposed a $274 million program to improve the nation's alertness for bioterrorism by measures such as increasing environmental monitoring, analyzing health data, and inspecting crops and livestock.
(CIDRAP News) Delaware was the only state reporting widespread influenza activity last week, as the flu continued a decline that began in late December, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
(CIDRAP News) Another human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) was confirmed in Vietnam today, bringing total confirmed cases to 11, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The case involved a 4-year-old boy who fell ill Dec 22, was hospitalized a week later, and is now fully recovered, the WHO said. Vietnam now has had eight confirmed cases, and Thailand has three. Six cases in Vietnam and two in Thailand were fatal.
(CIDRAP News) The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will probably end its investigation of the nation's single bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case within 2 weeks, even if all the cows that might have shared feed with the infected cow are not found, USDA officials said this week.
(CIDRAP News) In response to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a US cow last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced a lengthy set of new rules to shield FDA-regulated foods and food supplements from BSE-contaminated material.
(CIDRAP News) – China reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in ducks today, while the World Health Organization (WHO) joined other international groups in appealing for a multinational campaign to stop the disease's march across Asia.
