| CDC sees no need to raise bird flu alert
There is no need for Taiwan to stiffen its precautionary measures against avian influenza for the time being since no suspected case has been reported so far, an official from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC Deputy Director Shih Wen-yi made the remarks amid reports of human infection of bird flu virus in Indonesia and China and bird flu outbreaks among poultry in Japan and Vietnam in recent days. Quoting monitoring data, Shih said Taiwan doesn't face an increased threat of avian flu outbreaks at the moment, despite reports of new human casualties and poultry outbreaks in neighboring Asian countries. In 2006, Shih said, 99 suspected avian influenza cases were reported to the CDC, but none of them were confirmed as infection of any strain of bird flu virus.
City bird flu alert was false alarm
A woman of Asian origin suspected of being infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was on Thursday admitted to an isolation ward at a Pretoria hospital. But an initial evaluation conducted by doctors at the Mediforum Medi-Clinic who liaised with specialists at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) found the case to be negative. Hospital manager Joey le Roux said the patient was admitted to the hospital on Thursday morning. "The hospital responded according to the Medi-Clinic avian flu policy. "The patient was admitted to an isolation ward and all the processes in terms of the policy were followed. Specific gloves, clothing and masks are worn when dealing with cases of avian flu," she said. .
INTERVIEW - Bird flu cases are reminder of threat - WHO expert
GENEVA (Reuters) - A recent spate of human bird flu cases from Egypt to China is a new warning that the virus could yet spark a pandemic, a top WHO official said on Friday. Keiji Fukuda, coordinator for the global influenza programme at the World Health Organisation (WHO), also said there was "no evidence" of any human-to-human transmission of the virus, including in hard-hit Indonesia. But the potential of the H5N1 virus to mutate and spread more easily between people remains a threat, although public complacency may have set in during several relatively quiet months, the U.S. expert warned. "It really looks like this has a kind of seasonal pattern that increases in winter months in the northern hemisphere. I think that is what we're seeing right now," Fukuda told Reuters in an interview.
Avian Flu Test Offered to Nebraska Farmers
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A testing program unveiled Thursday will help Nebraska poultry farmers check their birds for avian influenza. The state Department of Agriculture said department employees will administer the free tests at the request of the farmer. Samples will be sent to the University of Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center for analysis. "Thankfully, avian influenza hasn't been found here, but it's important to be pro-active and vigilant to protect our state," said Greg Ibach, director of the agriculture department. He said the simple tests go a long way to protect the state's poultry industry, which accounts for $1.35 billion of the Nebraska economy each year. Birds that can be tested include chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, guineas, ducks and geese.
City bird flu alert was false alarm
A woman of Asian origin suspected of being infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was on Thursday admitted to an isolation ward at a Pretoria hospital. But an initial evaluation conducted by doctors at the Mediforum Medi-Clinic who liaised with specialists at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) found the case to be negative. Hospital manager Joey le Roux said the patient was admitted to the hospital on Thursday morning. "The hospital responded according to the Medi-Clinic avian flu policy. "The patient was admitted to an isolation ward and all the processes in terms of the policy were followed. Specific gloves, clothing and masks are worn when dealing with cases of avian flu," she said. .
Indonesia reports 2 avian flu cases
Jan 8, 2007 (CIDRAP News) Two Indonesians have been hospitalized in less than a week with H5N1 avian influenza infections, the countrys first in more than a month, according to news services. Indonesias health ministry told Bloomberg News yesterday that a 14-year-old boy who tested positive for the H5N1 virus was being treated at Persahabatan Hospital in Jakarta after showing flulike symptoms on Jan 1. Muhammad Nadirin, an official at the health ministrys avian flu information center, told Bloomberg the ministry received a report that the boy had had contact with a dead duck. The ministry launched in investigation in the boys west Jakarta neighborhood, Nadirin said. A 37-year-old woman is also being treated at Persahabatan Hospital and is from the same areaTangerang on Jakarta's western outskirtsas the 14-year-old boy, the Associated Press (AP) reported today.
World Bank To Support Bangladesh Avian Flu Program
Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - The World Bank (WB) is planning to provide $38 million to Bangladesh's Avian Influenza Program over a period of five years from 2007 to 2011. A group from the bank recently completed the appraisal of the proposed Avian Influenza Program since it was earmarked by the organization to support it, the WB's Dhaka office said in a information note on Monday. Of the total cost, $16 million would be allocated from the existing Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Program, which is funded by the WB in the form of IDA credit and pooled grant resources from participating donors. The Department of Livestock Services of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock will be the implementing agency for AIPRP, while avian influenza activities of human health will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh, the note adds.
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