Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – The role of state officials in an influenza pandemic has been hazy, but the focus became clearer yesterday when the National Governors Association (NGA) released a guide that spells out key planning issues for top state officials.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesian health officials are reporting that a 44-year-old man who died last week tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus, according to news services.

If the man's lab results are confirmed by a World Health Organization (WHO) accredited laboratory in Hong Kong, he will be Indonesia’s 42nd avian flu fatality and 54th confirmed case. Also, Indonesia will be tied with Vietnam for the highest avian flu death toll.

(CIDRAP News) – A 3-year-old girl who died on Jul 6 near Jakarta had Indonesia's 53rd case of H5N1 avian influenza, according to test results announced today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Meanwhile, Bloomberg news reported last night that the only survivor of a recent family cluster of avian flu cases in Indonesia is being treated for brain abscesses.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today that a new animal disease crisis management center will begin operating in late July at FAO headquarters in Rome, with an initial focus on H5N1 avian influenza.

(CIDRAP News) – State agriculture and health officials in Michigan are searching Chinese restaurants and Asian grocery stores for frozen poultry products smuggled from China in violation of an import ban sparked by avian influenza.

(CIDRAP News) – Genetic studies show that the H5N1 avian influenza virus mutated multiple times as it spread through an Indonesia family in May, but the significance of the changes is uncertain, according to a news report today in Nature.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released a guide to helps farmers protect crops and animals from security threats.

The guide, titled "Pre-Harvest Security Guidelines and Checklist 2006," offers voluntary, practical measures to help farmers protect crops and animals from natural disasters and naturally or intentionally introduced pathogens.

(CIDRAP News) – Spain today became the latest country to join the list of nations responding to outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza, as officials reported finding the virus in a wild bird.

(CIDRAP News) – A 3-year-old Indonesian girl who died yesterday tested positive in a local laboratory for the H5N1 avian influenza virus, according to news services.

If her case is confirmed by a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory in Hong Kong, she will be recorded as Indonesia’s 41st avian flu fatality. Only Vietnam, with 42 deaths, has had more fatal cases than Indonesia, which has had a total of 52 confirmed cases.

(CIDRAP News) – Nigeria was the first African nation to report H5N1 avian influenza, and now scientists have found evidence that the virus was introduced into the country at least three separate times, possibly by migratory birds.