Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said today there has been no evidence of more cases of H5N1 avian influenza in the wake of a recent case cluster in Pakistan, as news services reported at least five suspected H5N1 cases in an Indonesian family.

(CIDRAP News) – A new influenza virus discovered in Missouri pigs has a combination of genes from avian and swine flu viruses, supporting the theory that pigs can serve as a mixing vessel for flu viruses and a potential source for a human pandemic strain, according to a report published yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – Despite recent spikes in H5N1 avian influenza activity in humans and birds, there have been fewer bird outbreaks in fewer countries this year than in 2006, according to a preliminary report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

(CIDRAP News) – Vigilance engendered by the possible family cluster of H5N1 avian influenza cases in Pakistan has led to many more reports of potential cases there, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said today.

Tests in Italy have confirmed the first poultry outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in the West African country of Benin, according to news services.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent a team to Pakistan to investigate at least eight suspected human cases of H5N1 avian influenza in the same general area, including cases in four brothers and two of their cousins, according to news services.

(CIDRAP News) – Reports of suspected human H5N1avian influenza cases among brothers in Pakistan are raising fresh fears in the global health community of human-to-human transmission of the virus, amid uncertainty about how a father-son pair in China contracted their H5N1 infections.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed that a 7-year-old girl in Myanmar has recovered from H5N1 avian influenza, marking the country's first reported human case.

The girl is from Kyaing Tone Township in Shan state near the Chinese border, according to a statement from the WHO. Her illness was detected through routine surveillance following an H5N1 outbreak in poultry in the area in mid November, the statement said.

(CIDRAP News) – Dr. Keiji Fukuda still remembers the intense emotions that tumbled through his mind as he waited to board his hastily scheduled flight out of Atlanta. His destination was Asia. In Hong Kong, a newly identified avian influenza virus, recently dubbed H5N1, was making people desperately ill.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesia has reported its 115th human case of H5N1 avian influenza, in a 47-year-old man from Tangerang, according to news services.

The man is in critical condition in a Jakarta hospital, according to a Xinhua report today. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that he fell ill on Dec 2, was hospitalized in Tangerang Dec 5, and was referred to the Jakarta hospital Dec 10.