Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – Egyptian authorities have reported that a 30-year-old Egyptian woman died of H5N1 avian influenza and a young man is recovering from the same infection, signaling what may be the first known human cases in Africa.

Both patients were exposed to sick poultry, and samples from both tested positive at a US Navy laboratory in Cairo, according to reports from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

(CIDRAP News) – The chiefs of three federal agencies, predicting that the H5N1 avian influenza virus will enter the United States, today unveiled their joint plan for quickly detecting the virus.

(CIDRAP News) – Drug manufacturer Roche said today it is increasing its production capacity for the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) by a third this year and is keeping ahead of the demand from governments stockpiling the drug in preparation for a possible influenza pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – Afghanistan and Myanmar have joined the company of countries hit by H5N1 avian influenza with the confirmation today of the virus in chickens in both countries, according to news service reports.

(CIDRAP News) – The avian influenza spotlight shifted to Scandinavia today as Denmark reported finding an H5 virus in a wild bird and Sweden confirmed suspicions that wild ducks were infected with H5N1 virus, according to news agencies.

(CIDRAP News) – Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt, reporting this week on preparations for a possible influenza pandemic, promised to act soon to boost US flu vaccine production capacity and promote cell-based vaccine technology.

(CIDRAP News) – Authorities in Azerbaijan have reported that three people who died of suspected avian influenza were infected with an H5 virus, and further tests very likely will confirm it to be H5N1, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Three new countries are reporting avian influenza in birds, although confirmation as H5N1 is awaited, according to news service reports today.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has identified H5N1 in its own laboratories. A Reuters story indicates that UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official Dr. Tang Zhengping says samples have been sent to labs in Australia and Thailand for confirmation.

(CIDRAP News) – The human toll of H5N1 avian influenza mounted again today with reports of the deaths of two young Indonesian patients, while authorities in Azerbaijan were investigating a cluster of 10 suspected human cases in one village.

The World Health Organization (WHO) listed one of the Indonesian victims as a 4-year-old boy from Semarang in central Java who fell ill on Feb 10 and died Feb 28.

(CIDRAP News) – The H5N1 avian influenza again demonstrated its adaptability by infecting a weasel-like mammal in Germany called a stone marten, according to reports from Germany yesterday.

The marten was found alive but sick Mar 2 on the Baltic island of Ruegen, where three domestic cats were previously found infected with the virus, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) statement.