North Korea has experienced another H5N1 avian flu outbreak in domestic poultry, according to a report yesterday from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Of a village flock of 501 birds, 136 were killed by the virus, the report said, and the remaining 365 were culled to prevent disease spread. The outbreak, which started on Apr 10, is in North Hwanghae province in the southern part of the country.
The number of patients sickened by H7N9 influenza in China grew by three over the past 3 days, according to reports from three different provinces.
One case is in a 35-year-old woman from Jiangsu province who is hospitalized in critical condition, according to an Apr 19 health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
H5N1 avian flu has struck two chicken factory farms in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang, killing more than 46,000 birds, according to a report posted yesterday by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
In the first outbreak, all 46,217 birds died of the disease in three holding pens for layer hens on a farm at the Hadang chicken factory. The outbreak began Mar 21. Samples from the birds tested positive on Mar 26.
Tongan health officials have confirmed a first-ever chikungunya outbreak affecting more than 10,000 people, according to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) report today. The Polynesian archipelago nation is home to about 100,000 people.
China reported one new H7N9 influenza infection, in a 30-year-old man from Hunan province, according to a Chinese media report that quoted the province's health department.
The report was translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. The patient is hospitalized, and the report didn't list his condition.
Dutch researchers say they've found five mutations that make H5N1 airborne transmissible in ferrets.
Hong Kong and China each reported a new H7N9 influenza case over the past 2 days, according to official statements, signaling ongoing low-level activity in the second wave of activity.
China reported one additional H7N9 influenza case and another death from the virus today, according to health officials in Guangdong province.
The latest case-patient is a 79-year-old man from the Guangzhou, the province's capital, according to a health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board. He is hospitalized in critical condition.
A Cochrane review that included published studies as well as unpublished drug-company data for the two most common antiviral drugs for flu—oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza)—found that they can shorten symptoms by about two thirds of a day but can cause side effects. The investigators also found few data to support stockpiling the drugs for pandemic or seasonal flu, according to reports today in BMJ.
The new H7N9 cases include three from the mainland and one from Hong Kong.
