May 28, 2013
Nepal details 32 H5N1 outbreaks reported since mid-April
Farms and villages in Nepal have lost more than 122,000 poultry in 32 outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in the past few weeks, according to a report that Nepalese officials filed with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on May 26. A total of 42.653 birds, mostly chickens and ducks, died in the outbreaks, and another 79,681 birds were destroyed to stop disease spread. One large commercial farm in Narayani province accounted for 33,675 of the deaths. The toll includes one wild crow that was found dead near a custom station at the India border. The earliest outbreak included in the report began Apr 11, and the latest one May 20.
May 26 OIE report
WHO sees hint of Southern Hemisphere flu rise
Among Southern Hemisphere countries, the flu season may have already started in South Africa, where the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for flu recently rose to 37.5%, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in two May 24 updates. The Southern Hemisphere's flu season typically runs from May through October. In Central and South America, overall flu activity was low, but health officials reported increased detections of the 2009 H1N1 virus. For example, Venezuelan officials yesterday linked the virus to 250 infections so far, including 17 deaths, Reuters reported yesterday. Flu activity in most of the Northern Hemisphere's temperate regions has fallen to interseasonal levels, except for Canada, where a late-season rise in influenza B lingers and in Egypt, the WHO said in a May 24 epidemiologic update. In the African region, Madagascar reported a rise in flu activity, mainly from the 2009 H1N1 virus. In a separate
virologic update, the WHO said globally about 60% of recent flu detections were influenza A, with 78.1% of them the 2009 H1N1 virus.
May 24 WHO influenza virologic update
May 24 WHO influenza epidemiologic update
May 27 Reuters story
